Economic Theory Teacher Resources

Understanding how consumers think is key to staying in business. Show high schoolers how their buying behavior really does affect the way the economy works with an informative video from Crash Course Economics. The video illustrates the...

In the "boom and bust" of a business cycle, what takes place during a recession? What should the role of government be? Watch as an American professor of economics comments on this theory, which mixes the interview with relevant graphics...

Competition makes the economy go 'round! Learn about non-price competition and other elements of game theory, along with the details of oligopolies, with a video from Crash Course Economics.

Can capitalism have virtue? Adam Smith thinks so! The 12th video in a series of 13 discusses Smith's political and economic views. Pupils discover these concepts and more through primary source photographs and examples that relate to...

There's an opportunity cost to everything you do, but it's minimal when you're learning about an applicable topic like economics. Join the Crash Course team as they introduce a 35-part video series on economics and briefly address some...

An item that lasts forever becomes truly priceless. The video teaches about the political theories pondered by William Morris. Featuring primary sources, visual aids, and an interesting narrative, scholars are both entertained and...

Beauty and Capitalism—not two words you usually see together. John Ruskin, a prominent political thinker definitely did not think so. Teach pupils about the political theory behind aesthetics and why some countries may value beauty over...

Review macroeconomic theories and graphing using this resource. Learners analyze a diagram illustrating various supply curves, and then complete fill in the blank questions.

Does the structure of capitalism eliminate inequality or reinforce it? That is the essential question of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century. Introduce young economists to Piketty's "Central Contradiction of Capitalism" with a...

Opt out of another dry economics lesson with this crazy video featuring a performance and rap song about the contributions and theories of economists Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes. The primary topic of focus is a boom and bust...

Students create a poster which depicts and summarizes Rostow's 5 stages of economic development. They make a list of 8 data measures that help identify which level of economic development a country is at. They gather data and...

What are oligopolies, and how do they use game theories in order to strategize and consider how competitors will respond? Check out this well-produced video in which a fantastic presenter uses clips from the film The Dark Knight, as well...

Students take a closer look at comparative advantage. In this economics lesson, students discover details about opportunity cost, comparative advantage, and absolute advantage. Students participate in a simulation that requires them to...

Review the principles of public choice economics using this resource. Learners read background information on the theory and theorists. Then they answer five writing prompts in which they are asked to propose a course of action and...

Does consumer spending really grow the economy? Check out this well-produced, comical and memorable video to consider this question with your young economists. 

For use in conjunction with the 2002 McGraw-Hill/Irwin US Economics text, this presentation highlights key points and important vocabulary. Specific economic concepts and theories, R & D expenditures, rate-of-return curve and...

Learners examine both the Phillips Curve and the Wave Curve theories of economics. They read case studies which have implications for labor economics as well as macroeconomics.

In this Sorting Out Macroeconomic Theories, students match thirty-one ideas with the economic theory they are aligned with. Students write the idea under the name of the correct theory.

Third graders identify producers and consumers in SE Utah and Four-Corners communities. They identify the factors that determine economic development and name some occupations in their community. They show and share their graphic...

Why were aggregate swings in the economy and business cycles more pronounced (i.e. "boom and bust") in heavy industries in the nineteenth century? Discover the Austrian capital theory as Friedrich Hayek elaborated it through an interview...

Young scholars map data on employment in wood products manufacturing in Oregon counties. In this Oregon forest activity, students discover the percentage of people employed in the forest manufacturing industry. Young scholars create a...

Students work as a group to research a current issue, articulate the key points relating to the issue and to have data to support those key points, and use appropriate economic theories to help explain the issues arising.

Students examine the history of the game theory. They practice using new vocabulary. They write about the debate on exchange using different viewpoints.

An engaging and unique activity that combines literature and economics is here for you. In it, learners read the short story, "The Doghnuts" found in  the book Homer Price. Pupils define "capital resources," and utilize a worksheet...