Volunteer with Us
Stock Market Game
Our Events
Make a Donation

Educator Classroom Resources

Welcome to MCEE Classroom Resources

Discover lessons, games, and tools designed to enhance financial and economic education for students. Click through the links below to explore curated resources from top-quality, free educational platforms.

Economics

Lesson Plans for High School Economics Teachers

Economics Lessons Grades 9-12

Classroom Economist

Interactive Teaching Modules from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Enhance your economics curriculum with this online multimedia teaching package, designed specifically for grades 9–12. These modules provide a wide range of resources to deepen students’ understanding of core economic topics while offering flexibility and interactive features to suit diverse teaching needs.

The program includes video content such as informative lectures from leading economists and master teacher demonstrations of key lessons. Educators can use the entire module as a comprehensive resource or select individual lessons to align with their specific classroom objectives. Interactive features include voice-over PowerPoint presentations with narrators guiding students through slides, SmartBoard-compatible lessons for enhanced classroom engagement, and “Test Your Knowledge” quizzes to assess students’ understanding of the material.

With its user-friendly format, this resource is perfect for high school educators seeking dynamic ways to teach essential economic concepts. Dive into these modules to bring expert insight and engaging tools into your classroom!

AP-Economics

Classroom Economist

Interactive Teaching Modules from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Enhance your economics curriculum with this online multimedia teaching package. Designed for grades 9–12, these modules offer a variety of resources to deepen students’ understanding of core economic topics.

What’s Included:

  • Video Content: Informative videos and lectures from leading economists, along with master teacher demonstrations of lessons.
  • Flexible Use: Utilize the entire module as a comprehensive resource or pick and choose individual lessons to suit your teaching needs.
  • Interactive Features:
    • Voice-over PowerPoint lessons with narrators guiding students through slides.
    • SmartBoard-compatible lessons for classroom engagement.
    • “Test Your Knowledge” interactive quizzes to assess students’ grasp of the material.
    • Format:

This user-friendly format is ideal for high school educators looking for engaging ways to teach essential economic concepts. Explore these modules to bring expert insight and dynamic learning tools into your classroom!

Economic Programs at a Glance
The programs below are versatile and can be implemented as standalone courses, modules, or individual units. Each program includes comprehensive lessons, engaging activities, and a variety of resources to support teaching and learning. For programs requiring student logins, ensure the platform meets your school system’s requirements and adheres to 508 COMAR compliance for accessibility.

To enhance your AP Economics instruction, consider utilizing resources from organizations such as EconEdLink and Econ Lowdown. These platforms offer structured courses, units, and modules tailored for AP-level economics education.

AP Economics Institute Powerpoints
Microeconomic Tips

Albert.com offers a comprehensive guide to help students excel on the AP® Microeconomics exam. This resource provides an in-depth overview of the exam structure and includes recommendations for online AP exam preparation. Designed to enhance understanding and retention, the guide features a variety of study tools tailored to support student success.

The resource includes flashcards for quick concept review, educational videos to clarify and reinforce challenging topics, and general tips to build confidence and improve exam performance. It is an online platform that requires student accounts and a subscription for access.

Econ Lowdown: Comprehensive Economics Education Resources

ECON Lowdown, provided by the St. Louis Federal Reserve, offers a robust collection of over 180 resources to support economic education for students in grades K–12. This platform is designed to meet a variety of instructional needs, whether you’re looking for individual lessons, modules, or a full course. The content library includes 25 AP Economics subject videos that can be filtered by topic, making it easy to tailor resources to specific learning objectives.

To enhance the teaching experience, ECON Lowdown offers pre- and post-testing options for instructors, allowing for effective assessment of student progress. Educators can also create classroom accounts for streamlined management of lessons and resources. The platform is virtual-friendly, with some content requiring student logins. Additionally, it integrates with learning management systems like Canvas, providing a seamless experience for online or hybrid classrooms. Best of all, ECON Lowdown is free to access, making high-quality economic education available to all.

Jacob Clifford Economics

Jacob Clifford’s economics resources, offered through ACDC Leadership, provide educators and students with a wealth of materials to support economics education for grades 9–12. The platform offers a mix of free and premium content to enhance teaching and learning experiences.

Free resources include a comprehensive library of YouTube videos designed for both teachers and students. Students can access engaging lessons and tutorials via the ACDC Leadership YouTube channel, while teachers can find instructional videos and resources tailored to their needs on the teacher-focused channel.

For more in-depth resources, including lesson plans, NearPod activities, and presentations, a one-time purchase is required. Detailed information about these premium materials can be found on the ACDC Leadership website.

Marginal Revolution University

Marginal Revolution University (MRU) offers a versatile collection of resources for teaching economics, suitable for both AP Economics and standard high school courses (grades 9–12). Educators can use MRU’s materials as a full course or select specific topics to complement their curriculum.

The platform features lesson plans, videos, interactive activities, and practice questions designed to engage students and reinforce key economic concepts. MRU also supports professional development for teachers, making it a valuable resource for educators seeking to expand their instructional strategies.

For regular updates on the latest in economics education, teachers can sign up for EconInBox, a weekly newsletter featuring fresh content and insights. Learn more and subscribe at econinbox.com.

MRU’s resources are free to access, fully online, and provide a rich blend of content to support dynamic and effective economics instruction.

Certell Economics (broken Link)
Certell Economics is a comprehensive program tailored for high school students taking a single economics course. The curriculum includes 19 economics modules and 7 personal finance modules, making it a well-rounded resource for teaching key economic principles and financial literacy.

Teachers can access a variety of free materials to support their instruction, including eBooks, videos, discussion prompts, quizzes, exams, and engaging classroom activities. While eBooks require student logins, teacher resources are available at no cost, making Certell Economics an accessible option for educators.

This program is ideal for grades 9–12, providing a flexible and thorough approach to economics education that equips students with essential knowledge and skills.

Common Sense Economics (broken Link)

Common Sense Economics offers a free, downloadable virtual economics textbook packed with embedded videos, lessons, and activities designed to make learning economics engaging and enjoyable. This resource is ideal for high school students, including those in AP Economics courses, providing tools to simplify complex economic concepts and spark interest in the subject.

In addition to the free materials, educators can access supplemental resources such as PowerPoint presentations and PDF lessons to enhance their teaching. For those seeking a deeper dive, the accompanying book, Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity, is available for purchase.

This versatile program is perfect for grades 9–12, offering a comprehensive and flexible approach to teaching economics that’s both informative and fun.

The Economics Classroom (broken link)

The Economics Classroom, created by Jason Welker, provides video lessons tailored specifically for AP Economics courses. These concise, 6–15 minute videos break down key concepts within each unit, making them an excellent resource for both in-class instruction and student review.

The video topics cover a wide range of essential economic principles, including:

  • Basic Economic Concepts
  • Supply and Demand
  • Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  • Imperfect Competition
  • Factor Markets
  • Market Failure and the Role of Government

In addition to video lessons, educators can purchase supplemental materials such as lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to enhance their teaching.

Resources for Teaching Economics

Whether you’re searching for a single lesson plan on a specific topic or a complete course, the following organizations offer a wealth of educational resources and tools tailored for personal finance and economics educators. Explore these platforms to find the materials you need to enhance your teaching and inspire your students!

EconEdLink

EconEdLink, created by the Council for Economic Education, is a robust database of free classroom resources designed for teaching economics and personal finance. With a wide range of tools, lessons, and videos, educators can easily search for materials by concept, standard, grade level, or subject, making it simple to find exactly what you need.

Many lessons include both teacher and student versions, ensuring a seamless classroom experience. The resources are versatile, designed to be delivered in various formats and settings, whether in-person or online. In addition to lessons, EconEdLink offers interactive simulations, assessments, and engaging tools like Nearpod, Kahoot, and slides.

Beyond classroom materials, EconEdLink provides professional development opportunities for teachers, programs for students, and family resources, supporting economic education at all levels. This resource is ideal for grades K–12, offering everything from foundational concepts to advanced topics in economics and personal finance.

10 FRED Activities in 10 Minutes

Discover the power of FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) with this quick and easy guide from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Learn how to find, graph, and analyze economic data using a free online database with over 760,000 time series from national and international sources.

This step-by-step guide features 10 short activities that teach you how to create, customize, and share data visualizations. With just a few minutes of practice, you can master FRED® tools and use data to tell compelling stories about the economy.

Podcasts and Videos

The Economic Lowdown Podcast Series

The Economic Lowdown Podcast Series, produced by the Economic Education department of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, is tailored for high school students. This engaging series explores key topics in economics, banking, and monetary policy, connecting these concepts to real-world decisions and everyday life. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how economic principles influence their choices, helping to build a strong foundation in financial literacy and economic awareness. 

Economic Lowdown Video Companion Series

The Economic Lowdown Video Companion Series complements the podcast series with engaging, easy-to-follow videos. Using clear language and graphic visuals, these brief videos help students better understand and visualize key economic concepts.

By connecting economic principles to real-life choices, this series makes complex ideas accessible and relevant, empowering students to grasp the impact of economics on their daily lives.

Planet Money from NPR

Planet Money, a popular podcast from NPR, covers a wide range of contemporary economic topics. With engaging storytelling and accessible explanations, the series breaks down complex economic issues and connects them to everyday life. Perfect for educators and students alike, it provides valuable insights into the world of economics in an entertaining and informative format.

Economic Resources by Topic

Tailored for high school educators, this collection includes lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities focused on specific economic concepts. If you’re searching for lessons on a particular topic, reach out to Mary Metzler at mmetzler@towson.edu for assistance.

AP Economics

AP Microeconomics Entrance and Exit Tickets

Provided by the St. Louis Federal Reserve, these entrance and exit tickets are designed to align with the AP Microeconomics and Macroeconomics curriculum. The downloadable PDF includes handouts for students, teacher resources, and a spreadsheet for students to track their progress. These tools offer a structured way to assess understanding and monitor growth throughout the course.

AP Macroeconomics Entrance and Exit Tickets

These quick, formative assessments are designed to align with the AP Macroeconomics curriculum. Each entrance and exit ticket takes less than five minutes and provides instructors with immediate feedback on students’ understanding of the day’s lessons.

Students can use the accompanying spreadsheet to track their confidence levels in understanding each macroeconomic topic covered in the course, fostering self-awareness and growth in their learning journey.

The Federal Reserve

Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve

This concise three-minute video from Marginal Revolution University (MRU) introduces students to the core functions of the Federal Reserve. It provides a clear and engaging overview of monetary policy, helping learners understand the Federal Reserve’s role in the U.S. economy.

Monetary Policy

Teaching the New Tools of Monetary Policy

The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank offers a comprehensive webpage featuring resources to teach the new tools of monetary policy. This collection includes classroom materials, articles, blog posts, videos, and webinars, providing educators with a variety of formats to effectively engage students in understanding modern monetary policy concepts.

Monetary Policy – The Economic Lowdown Video Series

This video series from the Economic Lowdown explains how the Federal Reserve uses monetary policy to achieve its economic goals. The series is divided into three informative parts:

  • Part 1: The Fed and the Dual Mandate
    Learn how the Federal Reserve adjusts the target range for the federal funds rate to influence economic activity and meet its dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment.

  • Part 2: Two Important Interest Rates in Monetary Policy Implementation
    Understand how the Federal Reserve uses the federal funds rate and the interest on reserve balances rate as tools to implement monetary policy effectively.

  • Part 3: Reservation Rate and Arbitrage
    Discover how the interest on reserve balances rate serves as a reservation rate for banks and how arbitrage ensures that it helps steer the federal funds rate toward the FOMC’s target range.

This series provides a clear, step-by-step breakdown of the Federal Reserve’s approach to monetary policy, making complex concepts accessible for students.

The Fed’s New Monetary Policy Tools

 Explore the Federal Reserve’s new monetary policy tools and how they are used to guide the economy toward maximum employment and price stability. This module, part of the EconLowDown series, provides a detailed yet accessible overview of the Fed’s modern approach to monetary policy, making it an invaluable resource for understanding these critical economic mechanisms.

Fiscal Policy

Fiscal Policy Outline Modules for Teachers and Students

These interactive modules from the St. Louis Federal Reserve explore the fundamentals of fiscal policy and its impact on real-world economic issues like inflation, unemployment, recession, and economic growth.

Students will gain an understanding of how Congress and the president use fiscal policy tools to influence the economy. Designed to engage both teachers and students, these modules provide a clear and practical introduction to the role of fiscal policy in economic management.

Teaching Fiscal Policy in the COVID Era

This series from the Council on Economic Education examines how events like the COVID-19 pandemic create significant economic challenges, impacting the nation’s economy and the financial well-being of its citizens. Through these lessons, students learn about the fiscal policy tools governments use to address such crises, offering a real-world perspective on economic resilience and response strategies.

What is Fiscal Policy? Interactive Teaching Tools

Explore a curated list of interactive tools designed to help students understand the complexities of fiscal policy. These engaging resources provide hands-on learning opportunities, allowing students to experiment with real-world economic scenarios:

  • The Economic Policy Institute: Tax and Spending Explorer – Analyze how tax and spending decisions impact the economy.
  • Brookings Institution: The Fiscal Ship – Navigate fiscal challenges and explore the trade-offs of policy decisions.
  • The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) & Bipartisan Policy Center: Debt Fixer and Balancing Act – Simulate managing the national budget and balancing fiscal priorities.

These tools and more offer students practical insights into how fiscal policy shapes economic outcomes.

 

National Debt

Making Sense of the Federal Budget, Debt, and Deficits

This five-lesson unit from the Foundation for Teaching Economics provides an in-depth exploration of the federal budget, national debt, and fiscal policies. The unit covers the following key topics:

  • The origins and history of the national debt
  • Government spending and federal budget allocations
  • Assessing the sustainability of the federal debt
  • Budgeting at federal, state, and local levels
  • Spending, funding, and government financial accounting
  • How rational public choices can result in budget deficits

Each lesson includes enduring understandings, objectives, presentations, reading assignments, and engaging student activities, which can be done individually or in groups. This comprehensive unit is ideal for helping students grasp the complexities of government financial systems and decision-making.

The Business Cycle

Introduction to Macroeconomic Indicators

In this lesson from the Council on Economic Education, students will explore the components of the business cycle by analyzing graphs and interpreting key macroeconomic indicators.

The lesson includes:

  • A PowerPoint presentation for visual learning and instruction.
  • Group and individual activities to deepen understanding through collaboration and independent analysis.
  • A Kahoot assessment for an interactive and engaging evaluation of student comprehension.
Personal Finance

Personal Finance Programs

Explore a variety of personal finance programs designed for students in grades K–12. These resources are flexible, allowing educators to use entire programs or select specific components to suit their classroom needs. Many programs include downloadable lessons, PowerPoint presentations, and interactive activities, providing engaging and practical tools to teach essential financial literacy skills.

Personal Finance Resources

If you’re looking for a single lesson or background information, explore this curated list of personal finance resources. These tools provide focused, easy-to-access materials to support your teaching and enhance student learning.

 

Lesson Plans for Middle and High School Personal Finance Teachers

Explore MCEE-created high school lesson plans aligned with MSDE Standards for Economics. These resources include comprehensive lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations from the AP Economics Institute, designed to support personal finance and economics education for middle and high school students.

Personal Finance Lessions Grade 6-8: 

Catalog Ordering:

This hands-on activity allows students to explore the financial aspects of catalog shopping. Using catalogs provided by the teacher or brought from home, students will “shop” for items, complete an order form, and calculate the total cost of their purchases, including any applicable charges. Through this process, they will discover that catalog ordering often involves additional costs that do not apply to in-store purchases.

Designed for students in grades 6–8, this lesson aligns with Maryland Personal Financial Literacy Standards. Students will apply financial literacy reasoning to make informed, responsible decisions and develop skills to plan and manage money effectively by identifying financial goals and creating spending plans.

Helping Others: 

The “Helping Others” lesson for grades 6-8 highlights the importance of charitable giving at all levels, teaching students to identify local charities, understand their impact on the community, and explore various ways to contribute. Through the lens of economic concepts like costs and benefits, the lesson encourages students to apply financial literacy reasoning to make informed, responsible decisions about giving.

Making a Contract:
 

The “Making a Contract” lesson for grades 6-8 uses cell phones as an example to teach students about the purpose and conditions of contracts. Through interactive activities, students will explore why contracts are used, understand their components, and create their own contract. The lesson aligns with Maryland State Curriculum Personal Financial Literacy Standard 3, focusing on developing skills to plan and manage money effectively by identifying financial goals and creating spending plans.

Other Useful Resources

“Rock Brock and the Savings Shock”

The story highlights key economic concepts such as consumption, production, and money management, emphasizing the long-term benefits of saving over spending. Aligned with Maryland State Curriculum Personal Financial Literacy Standard 2, the story helps students relate their education and career choices to their earning potential, fostering financial responsibility in grades 6-8.

Personal Finance Lessons Grades 9-12

This curriculum provides teachers with resources and activities designed to meet personal finance state standards and engage high school students in practical financial literacy concepts.

Curriculum for Teachers to Meet the Personal Finance State Standards
Inflation Activity
The Super Bowl Investment
What is Credit and How Does it Affect Financial Decisions

Interactives, Games, and Simulations (broken Link)

Explore a variety of engaging interactives, games, and simulations designed to enhance financial literacy and economics education.

Unless otherwise noted, these activities require access to computers and the internet. For programs that require student logins, ensure the websites or digital tools comply with your school system’s requirements and are 508 COMAR compliant to support accessibility.

Math in the Real World + NearPod

The “Math in the Real World” collection, developed by the Council for Economic Education and available on EconEdLink, offers interactive Nearpod lessons for grades 6-12 that integrate mathematics with personal finance and economic concepts.

These interdisciplinary lessons, such as analyzing income distribution, understanding spending multipliers, exploring budget constraints, and examining tax structures, apply math to real-world financial scenarios to enhance engagement and comprehension.

Free access to these resources is provided on EconEdLink, along with webinars to guide educators in incorporating them into classrooms, making math more practical and relevant for students.

Learn More →