Federal Reserve Bank
Choices Are Everywhere: Why Can’t We Just Have It All?
Here is a resource covering a range of terms and concepts regarding scarcity, opportunity cost, and government debt in economics.
Council for Economic Education
Opportunity Cost
The price of those new shoes involves more than just money! Individuals explore the concept of opportunity cost using a video clip and gratification discussions. They prepare a budget based off of their set of values in regards to...
Curated OER
Susan's Choice
Young economists explore opportunity cost by counting how much money Susan has in her piggy bank. From here, they are challenged to help Susan make a choice about what she can buy with her money.
Practical Money Skills
Making Decisions
A set of quizzes and assessments would make a great companion to your lesson on making decisions and opportunity risks. Learners watch a PowerPoint before answering multiple choice questions about interest rates, saving money, and the...
Visa
Savvy Spending: Sharpening Money Decisions
Do you really need that new laptop/phone/dress/jacket/etc.? Financial decisions require us to distinguish between our wants and our needs. Through discussion and the evaluation of scenarios on provided worksheets, this resource will...
Practical Money Skills
Making Decisions
Money represents decisions: spending decisions, saving decisions, and investing decisions. Encourage young adults to think about the decisions they make with their money in a three-day unit about personal finance, consumer spending, and...
Curated OER
Scarcity, Choice and Decisions
Students study the basic economic trilogy (scarcity, choice, and costs). For this money management lesson, students use a scenario of a High School Prom to calculate how scarcity, choice and cost apply by completing provided worksheets...
Curated OER
Making Choices
Second graders explore financial decision making. For this introductory economics lesson, 2nd graders listen to the book Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst, and discuss making financial choices based on wants...
Visa
Making Decisions
What economic factors can influence personal and financial decisions? In an effort to understand opportunity costs and the time value of money, pupils engage in role-playing activities and discussion, as well as view a PowerPoint...
Federal Reserve Bank
Cotton in My Sack
As part of a study of saving choices and opportunity costs, class members listen to a reading of Lois Lenski's Cotton in My Sack, and then evaluate the spending choices made by the Hutley family.
Curated OER
Who Wants to Spend $20,000?
Who wouldn't want $20,000 to spend? But, the question becomes, what do you spend it on? Learners discuss loans, interest, and making adult-like financial decisions. They role-play a scenario that depicts the choices of a girl who took...
Curated OER
Scarcity and Opportunity Cost - To Choose Is To Refuse
Students are introduced to scarcity and opportunity costs. They discuss how different societies allocate their resources differently based on their needs. Illustrating trade offs, they create a production possibility frontier. They...
Curated OER
Opportunity Cost
Students review the concept of opportunity cost. Using a clip from a money, they identify the people who made a choice and the value of the choice given up. They read various scenarios about opportunity costs and trade-offs and make...
Curated OER
Production Possibilities & Opportunity Cost
In this economics worksheet, 12th graders respond to 15 multiple choice questions about production possiblities and opportunity costs.
Curated OER
Location of Resources in Early Civilizations
Sixth graders define scarcity and opportunity costs.
Curated OER
Economic Reasoning: Why Are We A Nation Of Couch Potatoes?
Students examine the visual aids of this lesson to study the costs and benefits of decisions about diet and exercise. They investigate human choice as it affects behavior and in turns effects economics and consequences.
Federal Reserve Bank
On the Court with... Michael Jordan
Pupils learn foundational economic concepts and consider the importance of decision-making, how to evaluate choices and alternatives, and the benefits of consistent training and practice by learning about the early life of Michael Jordan.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Opportunity Knocks, But It Costs, Too!
Sixth graders practice six steps to effective problem solving. Working with the school counselor, class members are presented with a scenario that requires them to make a decision. Individuals then write a reflection in which they...
Federal Reserve Bank
Glo Goes Shopping
Making decisions can be very difficult. Show your class one way to evaluate choices with this activity, which is inspired by the book Glo Goes Shopping. Learners practicing using a decision-making grid with the content of the story and a...
Carolina K-12
Sample Test: Economics
From scarcity and marginal benefits and costs to economic systems and GDP, this 22-question multiple choice test covers some of the most fundamental concepts of economics.
Girl Scouts
Daisy Making Choices Leaf
Shed light on the concept of financial literacy with a series of four activities that examines needs vs. wants, gives scholars the opportunity to buy products using paper money, and set goals to save money.
Curated OER
Money Smart Choices
Students make choices regarding money management. For this personal finance lesson, students explore budgets, incomes, and expenses as they learn vocabulary regarding personal finance and consider how to create personal budgets.
Curated OER
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
Fifth graders describe the changes in King George III's policy toward the American colonies by sequencing key events between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. They explain the colonial reactions to command decisions...
Carolina K-12
Factors of Production and Economic Decision-Making
Class members begin this engaging economics activity by listing all the resources used in producing a car and using that example to draw parallels to the four primary factors of production: capital goods, labor, natural resources, and...