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Build a Better Understanding of the Economy

It’s been nearly 100 years since the stock market crash of 1929, an economic event that had a huge impact on American history. On October 29, 1929, Wall Street investors traded over 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, resulting in billions of dollars in losses that impacted  thousands of investors. Use these ten resources to help your students to understand the economy and its impact on the world around us. 

Grades 6-12

New York Fed's Educational Comic Books

Learn about basic financial concepts and the Federal Reserve's part of the process through two free, downloadable comic books for middle and high school students. Many of the comic books also include lesson plans correlated to standards.

Grades 5-12

The Inflation Calculator

View and compare the value of a dollar in any year from 1800–2022 using the Inflation Calculator. Enter the dollar amount, the initial year, and the final year to view the adjusted amount and see how much inflation has impacted the value of currency.

Grades 8-12

Budgeting for the Future

This interactive tool compares and contrasts different plans for reducing the federal deficit. Choose from the various plans offered on the site, then select categories to view proposals. Compare up to three plans at one time.

Grades 8-12

The Reformer: An Interactive Tool to Fix Social Security

How do we fix Social Security to make it sustainable in the future? Try your hand at making changes using this interactive calculator. Select from options to adjust benefits and revenues to view long-term modifications to the Social Security trust fund.

Grades 8-12

The Fiscal Ship

Your challenge in this game is to manage the federal budget and keep it on a sustainable course. The real challenge to winning is managing the budget while maintaining your values and priorities. Scroll down the page to download the game guide.

Grades 8-12

Economic Games

Economic Games offers more than 40 multiplayer games and 14 simulations to help students learn economic concepts. All games include complete details, an introductory demo, and a How to Play link with full information on starting and sharing games.

Grades 8-12

Investing for Beginners

Investing for Beginners is a YouTube playlist created by Fidelity Investments. The playlist includes 17 videos with titles like “Investing for Beginners” and “How to Define Your Investing Personality.” Videos all run less than five minutes in length.

Grades 9-12

WeTheEconomy - 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss

Build your understanding of the U.S. economy through a creative, well-organized collection of short films (5–8 min) that explains 20 key concepts that any informed citizen needs to understand. The collection includes five chapters on the economy.

Grades 8-12

Wall Street Survivor

Create a free account to access free courses and stock market simulations. Once registered, join stock market leagues. Set up your own practice portfolio for a no-risk option to dabble in stock trading and buying. Play against friends and classmates.

Grades 5-12

People's Pie

People's Pie is a simulation where you control all of the money in the United States. Start by setting taxes to fund government programs and setting the age for citizens to receive Social Security and Medicare entitlements. Try out the extension packet.

This Week at TeachersFirst

We invite you to join us for our next OK2Ask virtual workshop this Tuesday. We are also excited to start our Globetracker's Mission (a geographical choose-your-own-adventure story) and to share a new blog post.