VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3
August 2003

EconEdLink provides educators the opportunity to review and share lessons.
EconEdLink is a program of the National Council on Economic Education and a member of the MarcoPolo consortium. EconEdLink provides a premier source of classroom-tested, internet-based economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students.

In pursuing this mission EconEdLink has provided a link on every lesson that provides the opportunity to submit a review of the lesson. Upon submission this review is then inserted at the end of the lesson on the teachers version. example: http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM203&page=teacher [scroll to the end of this lesson, to read the review] This is an opportunity for educators to share their insight on EconEdLink lessons with other educators.

EconEdLink has also provided a link on every lesson that provides the opportunity to email this lesson. The EMAIL THIS LESSON link provides a form that you may fill out and then submit. Upon submission this lesson will be emailed to a colleague with your attached comments.

Check out both of this features by going to the teacher version of any of the EconEdLink lessons

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/

Hey Pop!
One of the best sounds and smells is fresh popcorn! At the movies, at the fair, or at
home, everyone likes to munch on popcorn. What is your favorite brand? Is the most expensive the best? You will conduct a taste test to find out. You will get the chance to learn about its history, where it is grown, unscramble a timeline of Corn and complete a math treasure hunt.

This Little Piggybank Went to Market
Students will learn that work is the source of income and that banks are places in which people save and secure money they have earned.

This lesson is written for K-2 students
and the teacher version can be found at the following web address:

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM318&page=teacher

President Bush's Allowance
In this lesson, students will identify different expenses in the US budget and will
decide on the order of importance for different expenses.

This lesson is written for 3-5 students
and the teacher version can be found at the following web address:

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM375&page=teacher

Bringing the Market to the Farm
Students learn how community supported agriculture (CSAs) is changing the relationship between the farmer and the consumer.

This lesson is written for 6-8 students
and the teacher version can be found at the following web address:

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM403&page=teacher

What Do People Want to Wear?
To stay in business, fashion merchandisers must be able to anticipate what consumers want. By looking at different retail web sites, students will look to anticipate what consumers are demanding. Students will then go through the market scenarios for each product and try to anticipate the effect the scenario will have on the demand and price (assuming constant supply) for the product they have chosen.

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM458&page=teacher

MarcoGram from the MarcoPolo Education Foundation
MarcoGrams are valuable curriculum e-mail newsletters, distributed monthly to educators across the country, highlighting common themes from space exploration to family culture. Each MarcoGram features motivating warm-ups for classroom discussion and links to the best K-12 interdisciplinary lessons and resources from our Content Partners. Share MarcoGrams with fellow educators via e-mail, or print and distribute them.

To view the latest MarcoGram, click on this link.

To receive MarcoGrams by e-mail each month, subscribe here.

Join GATE - today
Global Association of Teachers of Economics (GATE)

• Stay current on content and innovative teaching materials
• Share teaching strategies and learn about exciting new programs and competitions
• Get great discounts on award-winning economic and financial education packages
• Make valuable contacts and meet like-minded colleagues

GATE is a new national and international membership organization sponsored by the National Council on Economic Education exclusively for K-12 teachers and others who are interested in economic and financial education.

For more information and application visit http://www.ncee.net/gate/

Frequently Asked Economic Questions
Q. How does monetary policy slow or stimulate economic growth?

A. Monetary policy is conducted by the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve. Monetary policy consists of the manipulation of three tools, required reserves, discount rate and the open market operations. The required reserves is money that the Federal Reserve requires all banks to keep in their vault or at the Federal Reserve. The discount rate is the interest that banks must pay when they borrow from the Fed. The open market operations is the buying and selling of bonds. If the economy is experiencing demand-pull inflation during a normal expansion of the business cycle, the Fed may decide to increase the required reserves, increase the discount rate and/or sell bonds. When any one of these three things are done, the banks will actually have less money to loan. having less money to loan will cause a decrease in the expansion capability of the banks. Thus interest rates will increase. Because interest rates are now at a higher level, businesses will demand less money for investment (building factories). When businesses stop purchasing machines, tools and factories, the aggregate demand in the economy decreases. A decrease in aggregate demand results in a lower price level, lower output and lower employment. If the economy is experiencing an increase in cyclical unemployment, the Federal Reserve may choose to decrease the required reserve, decrease the discount rate and/or buy bonds. This will cause banks to have more money to loan. The money expansion capability of the banks will increase. As a result interest rates will decrease. With lower interest rates, the businesses will find it more profitable to borrow money for the purchase of tools, machines, and factories. This increased business investment will increase aggregate demand and put pressure upward on prices. Also, the output and the employment in the economy will increase.

More information can be found at http://www.econedlink.org/cyberteach/faq_5.cfm

Lynn Huselton
Plano East Senior High
Plano, TX

2003 National Council on Economic Education / National Association of Economic Educators Annual Conference
On October 15-18, 2003 the Louisiana Council on Economic Education will host the Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA For more information visit the conference web site at:

http://www.ncee.net/conference/

Leading the charge for economic & financial literacy for 54 years