Lesson 1: Making Choices (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson Location: Virtual Economics by confronting thorny problems individually and in groups. Choices and Changes in Life, School and Work: Grades 9–10, Lesson 2: Choosing Among Alternatives (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson Location: Virtual Economics This lesson defines benefits and costs. Students use cost/benefit analysis to arrive at a group decision. (Please note the wording in this activity. Consider how to address students’ privacy issues when assigning this journal exercise.) Choices and Changes in Life, School and Work: Grades 9–10, Lesson 4: What Influences Choices? (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson Location: Virtual Economics Students are given a hypothetical situation to explore the positive and negative incentives of making specific choices. Financial Fitness for Life: Grades 9–12, Lesson 2: The Economic Way of Thinking (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson Location: Virtual Economics This lesson introduces a process of reasoning, that is often referred to as the economic way of thinking, summarized in a six-point primer. Using this primer, students analyze two situations. EconEdLink, College: Where Am I Going to Go? (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson Location: This lesson shows students how to use the PACED model to decide what college to go to. The PACED model is a valuable tool for making many decisions. The lesson can be modified to ask students to consider a broaden or more narrow decision they face in determining their plans after high school. Topic 2 Investing in Yourself Questions Addressed “Why do some jobs pay more than others?” “How can I get the kind of job that I want?” “Who decides wage rates?” What Students Will Learn Your human capital is your health, education, experience, training, skills and values. Increasing your human capital increases the range of choices you have for employment and the chances of getting and keeping a job. Employment opportunities and salaries are influenced by supply and demand in the labor market.
Topic 5 Paying for Education: Managing Money and Controlling Debt (Continued) Resources for Grades 9–12 Description / Objective The 10 best sites to look for scholarships Resource Type: Article Location: This article lists (as of January 2016) the 10 best sites that students can use to search for scholarships. U.S. News, Undergrads Blow it With Student Loan Refunds Resource Type: Article Location: This article focuses on the fact that loans are not “free money.” It includes with examples of situations in which students did not carefully consider the consequences of using college loans for a lavish lifestyle in college. CNN Money Debt Calculator Resource Type: Calculator Location: This easy-to-use calculator helps teach the implications of debt on life spending habits. FinAid! The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid Resource Type: Calculator Location: This loan payment calculator computes an estimate of the size of your monthly loan payments and the annual salary required to manage them without too much financial difficulty. This loan calculator can be used with Federal education loans (Stafford, Perkins and PLUS) and most private student loans. (This student loan calculator can also be used as an auto loan calculator or to calculate your mortgage payments.) Jump$tart Reality Check (Jump$tart) Resource Type: Calculator Location: This calculator helps students to calculate how much income they will need to support their desired lifestyle. Invest in What’s Next, Lesson 2, Budgeting for My Future (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) Students examine their education funding options, manage student loans, and balance their desired lifestyle with their expected future income.
(Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) Resource Type: Video Location: (8 minutes) This video helps students to get their bearings in a seemingly endless sea of financial-aid options (grants, scholarships, and loans). Series, Saving for College, Episode 2 (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) Resource Type: Video Location: (6 minutes) The second episode in a series, this video follows high school student, Martina, as she learns about the basics: investing in human capital, factors to consider when choosing a college, and ways to fund higher education. Teachers can register their class through an instructor management panel if they want to provide students with online questions following each video. Additional Resources Resources Description / Objective Investing in a College Education (EconEdLink) Resource Type: Lessons Location: In this 6-lesson module, students learn how to weigh the costs and benefits of attending college. They go through the process as they consider which school to attend and options for financing their education. Great Advice for Parents (Inceptia) Resource Type: Resource Document Location: This resource released in the Fall of 2016 gives parents timely advice on what they should know leading up to the college enrollment process, as well as steps to take now to help their teen be financially prepared. Career Clusters: Pathways to College and Career Readiness Location: Students can explore the different pathways associated with career clusters and select an area(s) of interest. TeachingMoneyVA.org Location: Classroom resources identified to assist Virginia teachers in teaching Economics & Personal Finance Sample Unit Although the topics outlined in this document are best addressed beginning in middle school, teachers might find themselves introducing these concepts for the first time to high school students nearing graduation. If looking for a of resources that can be quickly integrated, below is a sample unit highlighting one lesson from each topic area. Topic Resource Topic 1 Economic Decision-making: Setting Goals and Making Choices Financial Fitness for Life: Grades 9–12, Lesson 2: The Economic Way of Thinking (Council for Economic Education) Resource Type: Lesson