Financial Fitness For Life

National Standards in Economics

Below are the National Standards in Economics that most closely relate to the following lesson. Switch to National Standards in Personal Finance

Theme 2: Lesson 4 - The Grasshopper and the Ant

http://fffl.councilforeconed.org/lessons.php?lid=68167&gradeLevel=3-5

Grades: 3-5

Standard: 2

Grades: 4-12

Decision Making
Students will understand that: Effective decision making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits. Many choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something: few choices "are all or nothing" decisions.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Make effective decisions as consumers, producers, savers, investors, and citizens.

Standard: 1

Grades: 4-12

Scarcity
Students will understand that: Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify what they gain and what they give up when they make choices.

Standard: 12

Grades: 4-12

Interest Rates
Students will understand that: Interest rates, adjusted for inflation, rise and fall to balance the amount saved with the amount borrowed, which affects the allocation of scarce resources between present and future uses.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Explain situations in which they pay or receive interest, and explain how they would react to changes in interest rates if they were making or receiving interest payments.

Standard: 4

Grades: 4-12

Incentives
Students will understand that: People usually respond predictably to positive and negative incentives.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify incentives that affect people's behavior and explain how incentives affect their own behavior.

Standard: 5

Grades: 4-12

Trade
Students will understand that: Voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and among individuals or organizations in different nations.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Negotiate exchanges and identify the gains to themselves and others. Compare the benefits and costs of policies that alter trade barriers between nations, such as tariffs and quotas.

Standard: 11

Grades: 4-12

Money and Inflation
Students will understand that: Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services. The amount of money in the economy affects the overall price level. Inflation is an increase in the overall price level that reduces the value of money.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Explain how their lives would be more difficult in a world with no money, or in a world where money sharply lost its value.

Standard: 6

Grades: 4-12

Specialization
Students will understand that: When individuals, regions, and nations specialize in what they can produce at the lowest cost and then trade with others, both production and consumption increase.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Explain how they can benefit themselves and others by developing special skills and strengths.

Standard: 15

Grades: 4-12

Economic Growth
Students will understand that: Investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people stimulates economic growth and can raise future standards of living.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Predict the consequences of investment decisions made by individuals, businesses, and governments.