5th Grade Economics Project Page

On this page, you will find ideas for the project you (or you & a partner) can do for the Economic Fair, to be held at the Administration Center on March 12th.


Ideas
Many of these ideas have links to websites that have "built-in" resources for you to complete a project. They are worth exploring. If you find one that looks good, let me know, and we can "tweak" it to fit our parameters for the Economic Fair. 

 Explore some of these sites:


For anyone doing a game or needing trivia - this site has a bunch of quizzes: http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/quiz/index.htm

US Money - Know Your Currency - http://www.newmoney.gov/materials/download.htm

Remember going to this site and playing economic football? You might explore some of these games again and refresh some of our learning: http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games/

 Take notes when watching videos: 

another good site: www.bos.frb.org 




Fact Monster - http://www.factmonster.com/mathmoney.html - avoid clicking on the advertisements which are pretty annoying. 

This is a great site with some free printable "play money" and play checks (Donna Young)....http://donnayoung.org/math/play-money.htm

American Currency Exhibit http://www.frbsf.org/currency/index.html




The Cost of Gasoline and What's Behind It
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lid=664&type=student

 Gasoline Explained
http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=gasoline_factors_affecting_prices

 Goods & Services: Some are private, some are not
http://www.econedlink.org/978
Construct a community map bulletin board using construction paper cutouts of businesses and structures. Explore the goods and services available in our community and determine that some are privately produced and government provides others. Show that taxes, fees, and loans pay for government goods and services.
Mickey Economics: http://www.disneybythenumbers.com/wdw/page20.html
and http://thedisneyblog.com/2011/04/14/mickey-economics/

Competition Works in our Flavor
http://econedlink.org/841
Competition provides benefits for consumers. First, more competition means consumers have more choices of goods and services. Second, when more firms are offering goods and services, competition often leads to lower prices.
  • Explain the role of the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Explain how competition encourages producers to produce more of what consumers are willing and able to buy.
Baseball Economics
http://www.econedlink.org/908
  • Find the average salary of a Major League Baseball (or other professional sport) player.
  • Identify MLB revenue sources in addition to ticket sales.
  • Use economic reasoning to discuss the argument that professional players are overpaid.
  • Describe how MLB team owners are acting in their own self-interest by not selling teams that appear to be losing money.


Supply & Demand: Lessons from Toy Fads
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lid=961&type=student
  • Define supply and demand
  • Draw a supply and demand curve and label the parts, identifying shortage, surplus, equilibrium 
  • Demonstrate the relationship that prices play in supply and demand for different goods and services.
  • Define surplus, shortage, equilibrium


Money Comes and Goes
http://www.econedlink.org/483

  • Identify the components of a budget
  • Design a budget for achieving a savings goal
  • Understand that saving for the future requires giving up something today

Historical Timeline - research and show how governmental regulations have impacted economic conditions in America
http://www.clevelandfed.org/learning_center/online_activities/regulation_and_change/index.cfm?DCS.nav=Local

 A Brief History of Money (power point) - http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Brief-History-of-Money Click on the "Download Now" button, then open up the power point file - it will be in your download folder on your computer


What is the federal debt today? What is each person’s share of the debt today? www.usdebtclock.org  Refer to the Economic Timetable. Make a columnar report – year, federal debt, population, per person share. Record the years 1791, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1850, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and today (March 6, 2013). What conclusions can you draw from this data? If you just look at the years 1800-1835, what conclusion might you draw about the federal government’s efforts to pay off the federal debt at that time?

How much is a million? How much is a billion? How much is a trillion? Read How Much is a Million by David M. Schwartz to get some ideas.

Capitalism. Compare and contrast capitalism to socialism or communism. How can each philosophy affect a country?

Save & Earn – create a collage of items that you could buy if you had $1500. Include the price by each item so it is clear that you did not exceed your budget.

Budgeting - Research a job or career that interests you. Find out the median salary for this career. Put together a budget that incorporates local, state, federal taxes, charity giving, rent/mortgage payments, insurance, car/travel costs, and so on.

Design an advertisement to get others your age to start saving money. Include information about why saving is important. What is interest at a bank, and how much interest can be earned? Show a chart or graph.

Learn the different parts of a budget. Create a budget you could use to reach a savings goal.

Important Terminology (vocabulary words) – lots of things you can create with words
            Inflation (see http://econedlink.org/373)
            Supply & demand
            Recession
            Depression
            Fiat Money
            Coins or tokens?
            …and many more


Supply & Demand
            Any age group can affect supply & demand. Determine 2 products on which you and your classmates (older elementary students/middle school students) have had a direct impact. Create a news report that interviews a classmate about their impact on the process of supply and demand.

 Tic Tac Taxes!
http://econedlink.org/370
You will identify and describe the need for taxation at three different government levels (federal, state, local) and the three kinds of taxes that pay for services. Describe the basic structure and purpose of each tax (income, sales, and property).


History - 
Research one of the time periods, investigate which president during the time made the most impact. Create a "You be the Person" presentation in which you present as that president and talk about your footprint in history.

There was a shift in types and processing of foods available, especially during the 20's. Investigate products that became available then that are still sold today. Create a time-period appropriate advertisement for 3 of the products.

Research millionaires from each time period and how they earned their money. Write a fictional story about an average family that becomes millionaires during the time period you've researched. 

     The Roarin’ 20’s (post WWI and before the Great Depression)

     The Great Depression

     The 1980’s in America

     The Stock Market Crash in 2008


Entrepreneurs
The Sweet Success of Milton Hershey
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lid=1069&type=student

 Research great entrepreneurs of today or the past. Examples could include Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Henry Ford.


Jobs
Research jobs and how much money an average employee makes. Which job sounds like something you would enjoy?

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees
http://econedlink.org/475
  • Identify methods for getting money
  • Explain what to do when you find money or other items that belong to someone else
  • Distinguish between earned and unearned income
  • Create a plan for earning extra money
  • Conduct a survey to learn more about typical allowances provided to people your age

Buy a Bond, James! A Lesson on US Savings Bonds
http://econedlink.org/385
Pretend you are a grandparent. You have $100 to give to a grandchild. Write a letter to that grandchild trying to persuade him or her to save all or part of the money by buying a savings bond. Be sure to let your grandchild know how the government is going to spend the borrowed money.


Money “Industry”
Find out what a bank does besides provide a place for your savings.
http://econedlink.org/455

Questions that lead to research: (write your questions out and submit to Mrs. Steele)
  
Book Report
Choose a book from the list Mrs. Steele has. Some books will need to be ordered from other schools or the public library. 

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