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 4: Lesson 12 - Types of Savings Plans and Investments

http://fffl.councilforeconed.org/lessons.php?lid=68243&gradeLevel=6-8

Grades: 6-8

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: 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: 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: 14

Grades: 4-12

Entrepreneurship
Students will understand that: Entrepreneurs take on the calculated risk of starting new businesses, either by embarking on new ventures similar to existing ones or by introducing new innovations. Entrepreneurial innovation is an important source of economic growth.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify the risks and potential returns to entrepreneurship, as well as the skills necessary to engage in it. Understand the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation to economic growth, and how public policies affect incentives for and, consequently, the success of entrepreneurship in the United States.

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: 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: 19

Grades: 4-12

Unemployment and Inflation
Students will understand that: Unemployment imposes costs on individuals and the overall economy. Inflation, both expected and unexpected, also imposes costs on individuals and the overall economy. Unemployment increases during recessions and decreases during recoveries.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Make informed decisions by anticipating the consequences of inflation and unemployment.

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.

Standard: 10

Grades: 4-12

Institutions
Students will understand that: Institutions evolve and are created to help individuals and groups accomplish their goals. Banks, labor unions, markets, corporations, legal systems, and not-for-profit organizations are examples of important institutions. A different kind of institution, clearly defined and enforced property rights, is essential to a market economy.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Describe the roles of various economic institutions and explain the importance of property rights in a market economy.

Standard: 20

Grades: 4-12

Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Students will understand that: Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices.
Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Anticipate the impact of the federal government and the Federal Reserve System macroeconomic policy decisions on themselves and others.