Education Resources Recommended by Jeannette Bennett

Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building Lesson for Grades 3-5
Students learn about human resources, productivity, human capital, and physical capital. They participate in three rounds of a reasoning activity. From round to round they receive training and tools to help them improve their reasoning ability and thus increase their productivity. Students will then listen to a story about how the Empire State Building was built and identify examples of key concepts mentioned or shown in the book.

Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression Lesson for Grades 2-4
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.

Great Depression Curriculum Unit
History holds many economic lessons. The Great Depression, in particular, is an event that provides the opportunity to teach and learn a great deal about economics-whether you're studying the economic reasons that the Depression took place, the factors that helped it come to an end or the impact on Americans who lived through it. This curriculum is designed to provide teachers with economic lessons that they can share with their students to help them understand this significant experience in U.S. history.

Ben Franklin: Highlighting the Printer Lesson for Grades 5-8
Students will learn that money is an invention. They will read and analyze an essay focusing primarily on one aspect of Ben Franklin's life—his work as a printer—and how he was an inventor and entrepreneur who also promoted the use of currency in the United States. Students will cite specific textual evidence regarding problems and solutions and will answer questions and complete a timeline. By using evidence and information gleaned from text, students will write a fictitious social media post defending the selection of Ben Franklin's portrait for the $100 note.

Cards, Cars and Currency Curriculum Unit
Cards, Cars and Currency is a curriculum unit that challenges students to become involved in three specific areas of personal finance: credit cards, debit cards and purchasing a car.

Advertising: Dollars and Decisions
Consumers see or hear thousands of advertisements each day. The April 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance reviews advertising history and strategies ads use to create demand and influence consumer tastes and preferences.

Individual Income Tax: The Basics and New Changes
The federal individual income tax is certain. The December 2018 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses basic facts about the federal individual income tax and the new changes in taxation laws in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Smart Phones and Budget Changes
Spending patterns change over time because of changes in income, education, the structure of our families, and technology. The April 2018 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses how phone technology has changed our lives and our budgets.

Credit Bureaus: The Record Keepers
Credit bureaus have evolved into big businesses. The December 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses the growth of credit bureaus and how the credit reports they maintain affect both creditors and borrowers.

The Story of Unemployment Online Course
How do we know how many people are unemployed? Why are they unemployed? What can be done to get people back to work? Students get the answers to these and other questions in The Story of Unemployment, including why education might be the best way to avoid unemployment in their futures.

Meet Kit: An American Girl Lesson for Grades 3-5
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.