We've collected a number of useful elementary-level economics lessons for you to use with your students.
Click the button to either download a PDF file of the lesson, or see a page with resources.
Lesson: Alexander Who used to be Rich Last Sunday
GRADES: K-12
CONCEPTS: Opportunity Cost, Saving, Spending
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: Booker T. Washington: “Fifty Cents and a Dream”
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Capital, Capital Resources, Decision Making, Economic Growth, Human Resources, Income, Job, Productive Resources, Scarcity, Specialization
SOURCE: EconEdLink.org
Lesson: Bunny Money
GRADES: K-3
CONCEPTS: Goods, Interest, Long-term goals, Saving, Savings goal, Short-term Goals, Spending
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis
Lesson: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
GRADES: 2-5
CONCEPTS: Capital Resources, Human Resources, Natural Resources
SOURCE: LibrarySparks
Lesson: The Colonial Worker’s Web
GRADES: 4-8
CONCEPTS: goods, services, producers, consumers, self-sufficiency, specialization, interdependence, barter
SOURCE: Adventures in Economics and U.S. History, Volume 1
Lesson: Earth Day-Hooray!
GRADES: K-3
CONCEPTS: Incentives, Penalties, Rewards
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: The Goat in the Rug
GRADES: 1-3
CONCEPTS: Natural Resources, Human Resources, Capital Resources, Intermediate Goods, Producers
SOURCE: Economics and Children’s Literature
Lesson: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Production, Interdependence, Global Market
SOURCE: Loudon County Public Schools
Lesson: If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
GRADES: 1-3
CONCEPTS: Unlimited Wants, Goods, Services,
SOURCE: Economics and Children’s Literature
Lesson: Money, Money, Honey Bunny
Lesson: One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
Opportunity Cost Lesson
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Borrow, Entrepreneurship, Income, Money, Profit, Save
SOURCE: EconEdLink.org
Lesson: One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
Resource Relay Lesson
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Choice, Opportunity Cost
SOURCE: JMU Center for Economic Education
Lesson: The Pickle Patch Bathtub
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Opportunity Cost, Saving, Saving Goal, Saving Plan
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: Potato, A Tale of the Great Depression
GRADES: K-3
CONCEPTS: Barter, Consumers, Goods, Income, Money, Wants
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: Trouble is Brewing in Boston: Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Choice, Decision Making, Goods, Incentive, Opportunity Cost, Producers, Scarcity, Services, Specialization, Wants
SOURCE: EconEdLink.org
Lesson: Saturday Sancocho
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Barter, Coincidence of Wants, Money
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: Saving Strawberry Farm
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Banks, Goods, Services, Saving
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: Something from Nothing
GRADES: 3-5
CONCEPTS: Changes, Opportunity Cost
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson: What Pet Should I Get?: Dr. Seuss and Decision Making
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Choice, Cost/Benefit Analysis, Decision Making, Goods, Opportunity Cost, Scarcity, Services
SOURCE: EconEdLink.org
Lesson Collections
Lesson Collection: 2017-2018 Reading makes Cent$ Lessons
TITLES: What Pet Should I Get? Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions, Isabel’s Car Wash
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Choices, Personal Finance, Saving, Budgeting, Incentives, Scarcity, Opportunity Cost, Goods and Services
SOURCE: Virginia Council on Economic Education
Lesson Collection: 2016-2017 Reading makes Cent$ Lessons
TITLES: Lemonade in Winter, My Rows and Piles of Coins, andRock, Brock, and the Savings Shock
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Decision-Making, Choices, Personal Finance, Saving, Budgeting, Incentives, Scarcity, Opportunity Cost
SOURCE: Virginia Council on Economic Education
Lesson Collection: 2015-2016 Reading makes Cent$ Lessons
TITLES: Tia Isa Wants a Car, Helen’s Big World: Life of Helen Keller, Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
GRADES: K-5
CONCEPTS: Personal Finance, Saving, Budgeting, Incentives, Scarcity, Opportunity Cost
SOURCE: Virginia Council on Economic Education
Lesson Collection: Financial Fables
TITLES: Percy Peacock and the Credit Crisis, Oscar Ostrich Faces the Future, Shopping Wisely With Olivia Owl, Penny Pigeon and the Missing Nest Egg
GRADES: K-5
SOURCE: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Lesson Collection: Kiddynomics: An Economics Curriculum for Young Learners
TITLES: Betty Bunny Wants Everything, Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!, An Orange in January, You Can’t Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime
GRADES: PK-K
CONCEPTS: Banks, Economics, Money, Personal Finance, Saving
SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson Collection: Personal Finance Education for Children
GRADES: 3-6
CONCEPTS: Personal Finance, Budgeting, Saving, Investing, Comparison Shopping
SOURCE: Incharge.org
