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Home > Education Resources > Elementary

Economic Education

Elementary Economics

Red Envelope  E-mail Alert for Elementary Lesson Plans, Activities and Resources

Economics and Personal Finance for Kids Piggy Bank Primer

Piggy Bank Primer: Download Student Activity Book (.pdf)

Economics for Kids Messy Bessey's Holidays

Messy Bessey's Holidays: Download Lesson (.pdf)

Elementary Economics Education Resources & Uncle Jed's Barbershop

Uncle Jed's Barbershop: Download Lesson (.pdf)

Elementary Economics Education Resources & Monster Musical Chairs

Monster Musical Chairs: Download Lesson (.pdf)

Economics for Kids & On the Court with Michael Jordan

On the Court with ... Michael Jordan: Download Lesson (.pdf)

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  • Economics and Personal Finance Glossary
    online glossary
    An economics and personal finance glossary has been added to our website. Our goal is to assist teachers and students with a comprehensive list of terms. If you can't find a term, please notify Barb at barbara.flowers@stls.frb.org.
  • The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
    The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza lesson (.pdf, 13 pgs., 1.2 MB)
    Students learn about consumers and producers and give examples from the book The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. They become producers by making bookmarks. The students draw pictures on their bookmarks of something that happened at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the story. They become consumers when they use their bookmarks to mark a page in a book they are reading. (Book written by Philemon Sturges/ISBN: 0-525-45953-7)
  • Beatrice's Goat
    Beatrice's Goat lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 8.1 MB)
    In this lesson, students listen to a story about Beatrice, a little girl from Uganda, who receives a goat and the impact of that goat on her family. They learn what it means to save and use estimation to decide whether or not people have enough money to reach a savings goal. They also work through a set of problems requiring that they identify how much additional money people must save to reach their goals. Students learn what opportunity cost is and identify the opportunity costs of savings decisions made by Beatrice and her family. (Book written by Page McBrier/ISBN: 0-689-82460-2)
  • Something Special for Me
    Something Special for Me lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 8.1 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 194 kB)
    In this lesson, students learn about the act of saving and how the accumulation of money saved is termed savings. They are read a story about a family that saves and how savings can be used to make a large purchase the family would not ordinarily be able to make. They recognize that there is an opportunity cost to saving, as well as an opportunity cost to spending.(Book written by Vera B. Williams/ISBN-13: 978-0-688-06526-3)
  • The Case of the Shrunken Allowance
    The Case of the Shrunken Allowance lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 501 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1.1 MB)
    Students listen to a story about P.B. who thinks money is missing from the peanut butter jar on his window ledge. In addition to basic concepts of saving and spending, students learn currency equivalency and some measurement concepts.
  • Abraham Lincoln and the Five-Dollar Note
    Abraham Lincoln and the Five-Dollar Note lesson (.pdf, 28 pgs., 971 kB)
    Students participate in a puzzle activity to identify leadership characteristics that Abraham Lincoln possessed. They review the changes in the redesigned $5 note and consider how Lincoln's leadership characteristics contribute to the fact that he is pictured on the $5 note. Students look at a timeline of Lincoln's life and identify significant events in his road to the White House. They play a game to review content learned in the lesson.
  • A Basket of Bangles: How a Business Begins
    A Basket of Bangles: How a Business Begins lesson (.pdf, 16 pgs., 3.7 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 5 MB) | whiteboard Quiz (.notebook, 21 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 5.7 MB)
    Students listen to a story and answer questions about lending in Bangladesh. They complete a diagram that shows the impact of lending on a community. Working as a class, they compare the similarities and differences between banks lending in the United States and the Grameen Bank lending in Bangladesh. Students work with a partner to estimate profits based on Sufiya's prices and costs in the book. (Book written by Ginger Howard / ISBN: 0-7613-1902-6)
  • Beatrice's Goat
    Beatrice's Goat lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 8.1 MB)
    In this lesson, students listen to a story about Beatrice, a little girl from Uganda, who receives a goat and the impact of that goat on her family. They learn what it means to save and use estimation to decide whether or not people have enough money to reach a savings goal. They also work through a set of problems requiring that they identify how much additional money people must save to reach their goals. Students learn what opportunity cost is and identify the opportunity costs of savings decisions made by Beatrice and her family.(Book written by Page McBrier/ISBN: 0-689-82460-2)
  • Bunny Money
    Bunny Money lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 8.1 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 4.9 MB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 1.8 MB)
    In this lesson, students listen to the story of Ruby and Max, two bunnies that go shopping and make many spending decisions. They are introduced to short-term and long-term savings goals to help them save for the goods they want in the future. After a goal-sorting activity, students choose and illustrate their own savings goal. (Book written by Rosemary Wells / ISBN: 978-0-14-056750-2)
  • The Case of the Shrunken Allowance
    The Case of the Shrunken Allowance lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 501 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1.1 MB)
    Students listen to a story about P.B. who thinks money is missing from the peanut butter jar on his window ledge. In addition to basic concepts of saving and spending, students learn currency equivalency and some measurement concepts.
  • A Chair for My Mother
    A Chair for My Mother lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 216 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1 MB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 189 kB)
    Students read A Chair for My Mother, about a little girl and her family who save money to buy a chair after their furniture is destroyed in a fire. Students learn that characters in the book are human resources who save part of the income they earn. Students identify other human resources, discuss how their work allows them to earn income and name strategies that will help them reach a savings goal. (Book written by Vera B. Williams / ISBN: 068804074-8)
  • Earth Day—Hooray!
    Earth Day—Hooray! lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 151 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 27 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 187 kB)
    Students listen to the book Earth Day—Hooray! and learn how incentives change people's behavior. The students learn how characters in the book collect cans to sell to the recycling center and use the money they receive to buy flowers to plant in the park. In a classroom discussion of the story, students track the number of cans brought to school each day. Students evaluate scenarios to determine what behavior is being encouraged or discouraged and to identify whether the incentives are rewards or penalties. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000129-1)
  • Glo Goes Shopping
    Glo Goes Shopping lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 1.4 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1.1 MB)
    Students listen to the story, Glo Goes Shopping. They learn about saving, spending, decision making and opportunity cost. They learn to use a decision-making grid to make decisions. Mathematics skills include learning about rows and columns in a grid.
  • Glossary of Economics and Personal Finance Terms
    online glossary
    An economics and personal finance glossary to assist teachers and students with a comprehensive list of defined terms. If you can't find a term, please notify Barb at barbara.flowers@stls.frb.org.
  • The Goat in the Rug
    The Goat in the Rug lesson (.pdf, 14 pgs., 144 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 965 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 1.9 MB)
    Students listen to the book The Goat in the Rug, about a Navajo weaver who uses a number of resources and intermediate goods to make a traditional Navajo rug. The students are placed in groups to learn about productive resources and intermediate goods. They play a matching game and make posters to classify the natural resources, human resources, capital resources and intermediate goods used in the story. (Book written by Charles L. Blood and Martin Link / ISBN: 0-689-71418-1)
  • Less Than Zero
    Less Than Zero lesson (.pdf, 8 pgs., 109 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 193 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 570 kB)
    Students learn about saving, savings goals, interest, borrowing and opportunity cost by reading Less Than Zero. Students use a number line and a line graph to track spending and borrowing in the story. (Book written by Stuart J. Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-000126-7)
  • Little House in the Big Woods
    Little House in the Big Woods lesson (.pdf, 14 pgs., 724 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 203 kB)
    Little House in the Big Woods describes how the Ingalls family produced the goods they needed to survive while living in a log cabin far from their nearest neighbors. In this lesson, students will define the production function as the combination of inputs that results in outputs and will identify the inputs as human resources, capital resources, natural resources, and intermediate goods. (Book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder / ISBN: 0-06-058180-8)
  • Little Nino's Pizzeria
    Little Nino's Pizzeria lesson (.pdf, 7 pgs., 200 kB)
    Students are read the story Little Nino's Pizzeria and identify the inputs in a pizza, categorizing them as intermediate goods, natural resources, human resources, and capital resources. They use a Venn diagram to sort attributes of each restaurant mentioned in the story and the attributes the restaurants share. As an assessment, students write a restaurant review, categorizing the inputs of pizza.
  • The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
    The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza lesson (.pdf, 13 pgs., 1.2 MB)
    Students learn about consumers and producers and give examples from the book The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. They become producers by making bookmarks. The students draw pictures on their bookmarks of something that happened at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the story. They become consumers when they use their bookmarks to mark a page in a book they are reading. (Book written by Philemon Sturges/ISBN: 0-525-45953-7)
  • Meet Kit: An American Girl
    Meet Kit: An American Girl lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 629 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 122 kB)
    Students listen to the story Meet Kit about a young girl's life in America during the Great Depression. They learn through discussion and role-playing about the impact that unemployment and reduced consumer and business spending can have on people's lives. (Book written by Valerie Tripp / ISBN: 1-58485-016-7)
  • Messy Bessey's Holidays
    Economics for Kids Messy Bessey's Holidays lesson (.pdf, 19 pgs., 2,330 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 509 kB)
    In the book, Messy Bessey's Holidays, Bessey wants to make holiday cookies to give as presents to her friends. Students learn the factors of production, natural resources, human resources and capital resources (capital goods); as well as the intermediate goods used in making cookies. As assessment of knowledge, students classify factors of production and intermediate goods. (Book written by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack / ISBN: 0-516-26476-1)
  • Money, Money, Honey Bunny!
    Money, Money, Honey Bunny! lesson (.pdf, 14 pages, 2,238 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 3.1 MB)
    Students listen to a story written in rhyme about a bunny who has a lot of money in her piggy bank. Students distinguish between spending and saving and goods and services. They play a matching game to review the content of the story and to practice rhyming words. (Book written by Marilyn Sadler / ISBN: 0-375-93370-0)
  • Monster Musical Chairs
    Elementary Economics Education Resources & Monster Musical Chairs lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 366 kB)
    Students listen to the story and identify the scarcity problem the monsters had—not enough chairs for every monster to have one. Students wear a picture of a want they have drawn and play a version of musical chairs in which the chairs are labeled goods. Students learn that a good can satisfy a want. They also learn that, because of scarcity, not everyone's wants are satisfied. (Book written by Stewart Murphy / ISBN: 0-06-028020-4)
  • My Side of the Mountain
    My Side of the Mountain lesson (.pdf, 11 pgs., 137 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 11 kB)
    After reading the book My Side of the Mountain, students discuss the human capital that Sam possessed, the investments in human capital that he made and why these investments were important. Students work in groups to create a four-fold chart to help them define and understand the meaning of investment in human capital. Students use a KWLH chart to create a plan for investing in their human capital. (Book written by Jean Craighead George / ISBN: 0-14-240111-0)
  • One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
    One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference lesson (.pdf, 16 pgs., 1.7 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 3.5 MB)
    Students learn the definition of entrepreneurship and are introduced to the characteristics of entrepreneurs. Students are asked to apply these characteristics to themselves and people in their own communities by completing a story pyramid and then writing a short story that demonstrates how entrepreneurial activity can contribute to higher standards of living.
  • On the Court with ... Michael Jordan
    Economics for Kids & On the Court with Michael Jordan lesson (.pdf, 14 pgs., 189 kB)
    Students participate in a simulation to learn about choices, alternatives, opportunity cost and human capital. They learn the PACED decision-making model, apply the model and recognize that learning the model is an investment in their human capital. Student groups build a tower with paper cups. Each group has different physical abilities based on an assigned level of human capital. (Book written by Matt Christopher / ISBN: 0-316-13792-8)
  • The Pickle Patch Bathtub
    The Pickle Patch Bathtub lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 294 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 847 kB)
    Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals. (Book written by Frances Kennedy / ISBN: 1-58246-112-0)
  • Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History
    Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History student activity book (.pdf, 35 pgs., 9.8 MB)
    answer key (.pdf, 3 pgs., 288 kB)
    Students take a close look at nickels and quarters commemorating many of the proudest moments in our country and in the seven states that make up the Federal Reserve's Eighth District.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting
    Economics and Personal Finance for Kids Piggy Bank Primer student activity book (.pdf, 33 pgs., 5.5 MB)
    teacher's guide (.pdf, 16 pgs., 515 kB)
    Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.
  • Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression
    Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression lesson (.pdf, 14 pgs., 202 kB)
    After reading and discussing a story about a family during the Great Depression, students differentiate between goods, services, barter and money. Students are led through several rounds of a barter activity that incorporates math skills. Through this activity, students learn about the difficulties of using barter to satisfy wants. (Book written by Kate Lied / ISBN: 0-7922-6946-2)
  • Saturday Sancocho
    Saturday Sancocho lesson (.pdf, 18 pgs., 1.98 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 14 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 174 kB)
    Students listen to a story and answer questions about a family in Central or South America that barters to get the ingredients for chicken sancocho, a kind of stew. The students complete sentences that record the various trades carried out by the family to obtain all of the ingredients for the sancocho. They also participate in trading activities that illustrate money's advantages over barter. (Book written by Leyla Torres / ISBN: 0-374-46451-0)
  • Saving Strawberry Farm
    Saving Strawberry Farm lesson (.pdf, 13 pgs., 659 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 384 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 595 kB)
    In this lesson, students learn that saving is essential to economic well-being, especially in times of extreme economic downturn. They read Saving Strawberry Farm, a story about a Depression-era family attempting to save a neighbor's farm by waging a penny auction. Students hear about the lack of goods and services available and the high rate of joblessness during this terrible time. They simulate a bank run to see how even those with savings were affected. Finally, they learn that savings are safe in banks today. (Book written by Deborah Hopkinson / ISBN: 0-688-17400-0)
  • Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand
    Scraps of Time 1960: Abby Takes a Stand lesson (.pdf, 14 pgs., 238 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 98 kB)
    whiteboard (.flipchart, 262 kB)
    In this lesson, students read about incidences of racial discrimination and how those incidences were met with methods of protests. They engage in an activity that matches programs for low-income people with the type of economic inequity the program addresses and observe an activity simulating tax payments and transfers. (Book written by Patricia C. McKissack / ISBN: 0-14-240687-2)
  • Sheep in a Shop
    Sheep in a Shop lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 649 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1.1 MB)
    Students listen to a story about sheep that go shopping for a gift. Unfortunately, they don't have quite enough money and must barter wool to obtain the gift they want. The students discuss what barter is and suggest other solutions to the sheep's problems. Students earn cotton balls and pennies for work that they do. They use the cotton balls to decorate a sheep and use extra cotton balls and pennies to buy additional decorations for their sheep.
  • So Few of Me
    So Few of Me lesson (.pdf, 19 pgs., 308 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 690 kB)
    Students learn about scarcity, alternatives, choices and opportunity costs by reading So Few of Me. The class participates in an activity to help Perdita figure out her morning schedule at summer camp. The students identify Perdita's alternatives, choose activities for her and identify the opportunity costs of those choices. Then, students work in groups to make choices and identify opportunity costs for Juan's after-school schedule. (Book written by Peter H. Reynolds / ISBN: 076362623-6)
  • Something from Nothing
    Something from Nothing lesson (.pdf, 11 pgs., 340 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 310 kB)
    Students make a choice between a cookie and an ice cream cone and state the opportunity cost of their decisions. They then listen to the story Something from Nothing and identify all the items Grandpa makes his grandson Joseph, beginning with a blanket. Using a sheet of paper that represents Joseph's blanket, students cut out the various items Grandpa made and identify the opportunity cost for each item they cut out. (Book written by Phoebe Gilman / ISBN 0-590-47280-1)
  • Something Special for Me
    Something Special for Me lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 8.1 MB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 194 kB)
    In this lesson, students learn about the act of saving and how the accumulation of money saved is termed savings. They are read a story about a family that saves and how savings can be used to make a large purchase the family would not ordinarily be able to make. They recognize that there is an opportunity cost to saving, as well as an opportunity cost to spending.(Book written by Vera B. Williams/ISBN-13: 978-0-688-06526-3)
  • Supermarket
    Supermarket lesson (.pdf, 12 pgs., 237 kB)
    After reading a story about a supermarket, students examine the change in supermarket jobs due to the advances in technology. Students observe two demonstrations. One simulates the checkout process at a grocery store using a cash register, and the other uses scanners that are in stores today. Students conclude which method is faster and more accurate and why. (Book written by Kathleen Krull / ISBN: 0-8234-1546-5)
  • Ten Mile Day
    Ten Mile Day lesson (.pdf, 23 pgs., 213 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 20 kB)
    In this multidisciplinary lesson, students work in small groups ("work crews") while participating in a production activity. Students learn about competition, division of labor, and incentives. They also demonstrate how division of labor and incentives help lead to greater productivity. (Book written by Mary Ann Fraser / ISBN: 0-8050-4703-4)
  • Tortilla Factory
    Tortilla Factory lesson (.pdf, 10 pgs., 276 kB)
    Students observe the teacher produce a paper taco and then produce their own paper tacos. Students learn about the productive resources and intermediate goods used to make final goods and services. They listen to the book Tortilla Factory and identify the productive resources and intermediate goods used to produce corn tortillas. Students classify the resources used to produce their paper tacos. (Book written by Gary Paulsen / ISBN: 0-15-201698-8)
  • Uncle Jed's Barbershop
    Elementary Economics Education Resources & Uncle Jed's Barbershop lesson (.pdf, 15 pgs., 207 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 630 kB)
    Students listen to the book Uncle Jed's Barbershop, about an African-American barber who, despite significant setbacks, saves enough money to buy his own barbershop. From the story, students learn about saving, savings goals, opportunity cost, and segregation. The students participate in a card game to further investigate what it takes to reach a savings goal. (Book written by Margaree King Mitchell / ISBN: 0-8050-4703-4)
  • Wants on a Continuum
    lesson (.pdf, 6 pgs., 676 kB)
    whiteboard (.notebook, 1.1 MB)
    Students will understand that people can't have everything that they want and that they must make choices. Working in groups students will prioritize a list of goods in the order of their wants from greatest to least. Students will display and discuss their work with the use of a whiteboard.
  • Glossary of Economics and Personal Finance Terms
    online glossary
    An economics and personal finance glossary to assist teachers and students with a comprehensive list of defined terms. If you can't find a term, please notify Barb at barbara.flowers@stls.frb.org.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History
    Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History student activity book (.pdf, 35 pgs., 10 MB)
    25 Cents Worth of History is the second student activity book in "The Piggy Bank Primer" series. Young fans of Pig E. Bank will enjoy this new activity book, designed for students ages 8-10 who take a close look at nickels and quarters commemorating many of the proudest moments in our country and in the seven states that make up the Eighth District of the Federal Reserve. Other topics include the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Mint and the history and resources of Eighth District states. Activities include: designing a state coin, matching the "fun facts" with the correct state, locating Fed branch cities on a map and trying to determine which states are endowed with which particular natural resources. You'll learn something fun and interesting with each turn of a page.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting
    Economics and Personal Finance for Kids Piggy Bank Primer student activity book (.pdf, 33 pgs., 5.5 MB)
    teacher's guide (.pdf, 16 pgs., 515 kB)
    Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History
    Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History .pdf 10 MB
    The second student activity book in "The Piggy Bank Primer" series. Young fans of Pig E. Bank will enjoy this new activity book, designed for students ages 8-10 who take a close look at nickels and quarters commemorating many of the proudest moments in our country and in the seven states that make up the Eighth District of the Federal Reserve. Other topics include the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Mint and the history and resources of Eighth District states.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting—Student Activity Book
    Economics and Personal Finance for Kids Piggy Bank Primer | Student Activity Book .pdf 5.5 MB | order copiesOrder Copies
    A student activity book and teacher guide for grades 1-3. Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost. A teacher may order 25 copies and a teacher guide.
  • Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting—Teacher Guide
    Piggy Bank Primer: Saving and Budgeting | Teacher Guide .pdf 515 kB | order copiesOrder Copies
    A student activity book and teacher guide for grades 1-3. Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost. A teacher may order 25 copies and a teacher guide.