In this lesson, students learn how businesses use advertising to influence the choices consumers make. Using magazines, students see that advertisements use a combination of facts and opinions to influence tastes and preferences. Students also listen to a story about a Korean-American family that owns a food cart. They learn how the business changes as a result of competition and how business owners can influence consumers’ tastes and preferences. Working in groups, students create print advertisements for the food cart in the book to see firsthand how advertisements can influence consumers’ choices through tastes and preferences.

In this lesson, students participate in a simulation using the idea of herd immunization to investigate the concept of positive externalities related to market failure and the role of government. The lesson also introduces the concept of negative externalities.

Drivers may wonder whether the most recent spike in gasoline prices is temporary or will be longer lasting. Will prices eventually decline—maybe even to below $3 per gallon? Or is it time for drivers to alter their driving habits, maybe by buying a hybrid car? Be sure to read the September 2012 issue for a discussion of factors that might influence that decision.

This unique activity features a primary source from the Fed's online archive, FRASER. 75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation, 1861-1935, is an 85-foot long detailed timeline compiled in 1936. The activity reviews the document layout and provides historical inquiry questions divided into four sections: observe, reflect, question, and analyze. Students can evaluate any given year(s) of the timeline, and the document may be used to introduce historical inquiry and/or to support study of historical themes, years or eras noted in the timeline.

Historians are experts at assessing and analyzing documents to build a narrative but may be stymied by numbers. Charts (tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, and so on) provide a graphical view of information and can be a powerful way to display evidence. This toolkit provides a series of resources for students to read, interpret, and think critically about charts in textbooks and historical documents.

This activity reveals a snapshot of declared church affiliation in 1870. It provides historical inquiry questions for students to evaluate the chart. The questions are divided into the following topics: observe, reflect, question, and analyze. This activity may be used to introduce and engage students in the process of historical inquiry and/or to process and reflect about the influence of church affiliation in the United States.

This activity allows students to compare and contrast U.S. occupational categories and school attendance in 1870 across genders and states. It provides questions for students to practice historical inquiry and evaluate the chart. The questions are divided into the following topics: observe, reflect, question, and analyze. This activity may be used to introduce and engage students in the process of historical inquiry and/or to supplement study of workforce participation in the United States.

This activity features a primary source from the Fed's online archive, FRASER. The activity allows students to see maps depicting the best data available for the U.S. population at the time and to practice historical inquiry skills. The activity may be used as a way to introduce early migration or as a supplemental activity.

This activity features a primary source from the Fed's online archive, FRASER. The Statistical Atlas of the United States Based on the Results of the Ninth Census, 1870 includes a "Chart Showing the Principal Constituent Elements of the Population of Each State" that details U.S. population distribution by race. This activity reviews the layout and format of the chart and provides historical inquiry questions divided into four sections: observe, reflect, question, and analyze. The chart may be used to introduce and engage students in historical inquiry and to reflect about race in the United States.

“How Daniel Got What He Wanted” is the fifth video in the Explore Economics animated series. It will help students understand that people have to save to get the things they want. Daniel wants a new bike helmet and must earn income and save to reach his goal.

GDP is a useful measure of the health of the economy, and it’s among the most important and widely reported economic data. However, the current “textbook treatment” of how international trade is measured as part of GDP can lead people to misunderstand the role trade plays in the economy. The September 2018 issue of Page One Economics intends to correct misconceptions and provide clear instruction on how imports affect GDP.

When regulating pollutants, is it more important to consider the science or the economics of the environment? Using the booming shale gas and oil industry as a case study, find out in the March 2019 Issue of Page One Economics how an understanding of the STEM fields and economics can be combined to create environmental policies that balance firm profits with environmental health.

In this lesson, students listen to a story about a little girl who wants to make an apple pie. When she finds the market closed, she travels around the world gathering natural resources to make the pie. Students will follow along with the story by connecting each natural resource to its country of origin and pointing out those places on a globe or world map. They will also identify the capital goods used to transform the natural resources into ingredients by examining the pictures from the book. Students will take part in two rounds of a trading activity, collecting the ingredients required for vanilla ice cream to go along with the apple pie. They will learn about trade and how middlemen, such as grocery stores, help make trade easier.

Want to learn about the Federal Reserve? Have no fear! In Plain English describes the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System in an easy-to-understand interactive format.

Federal individual income tax must be paid to the U.S. government, but the amounts paid vary widely. The December 2016 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses basic facts about the tax—its history, purpose, and current structure.

The federal individual income tax is certain. The December 2018 issue addresses basic facts about the federal individual income tax and the new changes in taxation laws in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

In this 5 minute video, students will examine what inflation is and how it can affect consumers and producers. This video will aid in mastery of standard EPF. 5 (b)

The fourth episode of our podcast series, The Economic Lowdown, discusses three aspects of inflation: what it is, what causes it and how it is measured. The episode also addresses related topics such as deflation, disinflation and the role of the Federal Reserve in monitoring inflation.

Students learn the concepts of money and inflation in the context of world history. They first participate in a role play to learn how debasement increased the Roman money supply and caused inflation in the Roman Empire. They receive a soldier’s wages in coins (candy) and participate in an auction, and then receive higher wages in debased coins (candy) and participate in a second auction. They compare the outcomes of the auctions and learn that inflation occurs when “too much money is chasing too few goods” and that this outcome characterized the economy during the last centuries of the Roman Empire. Finally, students analyze historical data and read historical quotes that show how people in the Roman Empire responded to inflation.

When tragedy strikes, how do people avoid bearing all of the costs of their loss? Learn more in the February 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance.