Economics Lesson Plan (DAY 1)

Money & Banking: What is Money? Part 1

Name: Jessica Robbins
Title of lesson: Introducing the Uses, Characteristics, and Types of Money
Length of lesson: 50 minutes
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is an introduction lesson in an 11th grade economics class working on the unit:
Money and Banking. We are starting with money. Later in the week we will be looking further
into banking.
Overview:
This is a lecture based lesson with some breakout discussions and activities to keep students
engaged. We will look at how economists define money compared to how the average person
defines it. Students will learn about how moneys uses, characteristics, and types are what
actually deem money to be money.
Central problem/ Essential question:
How is money used and characterized so that it qualifies as money according to economic
standards?
Objectives:
Students will be able to recognize and recall how economists define money through the use of
certain criteria. (HSCE 2.1.3 Financial Institutions and Money Supply).
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:
I think viewing money as something more than just a means to purchase what we need or
want can be difficult, because it is a concept we deal with on a daily basis. Due to our familiarity
with the topic, many students may be tempted to overlook the deeper meanings of the concepts
within the lesson. Students might take the simplicity of the vocab at face value and not try to
understand its perplexity at a deeper level. As a class, I would like to discuss our preconceptions
about money in order to set up a juxtaposition between what we know verses how scholars view
money.
Materials/Evidence/Sources:
PowerPoint
Derek Thompson What is Money Video

Characteristics video
Uses of Money Formative Assessment
Characteristics of Money Notes

Instructional Sequence:

Introduce Topic

Explain the Free-write and why we are doing it

Money discussion, while I record students ideas

Lecture on what money is (uses, characteristics, types) using PowerPoint while students
take notes

Students do worksheets as a quick review about money uses and characteristics

Video: This ends class with starting to generate the idea of new currency, the bitcoin.

Will open class tomorrow with this video to breed discussion

Assessment:
Free-write
Uses of Money Review
Characteristics of money notes

Economics Lesson Plan (DAY 2&3)

Money & Banking: What is Money? Part 2
Name: Jessica Robbins
Title of lesson: Creating Currency with a Purpose
Length of lesson: 110 minutes
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is an introduction lesson in an 11th grade economics class working on the unit:
Money and Banking. We finished the previous lesson with an individual review of what money
was according to its uses, characteristics and types. Today the students will use this criteria to
determine how to create their own currency. Tomorrow we will begin studying some of the
history of money.
Overview:
This is a two day activity based lesson that causes students to work in a group with their
understanding of the uses, characteristics, and types of money that they learned about in the
previous lesson. Their objective is to create a currency, unlike anything they are used to in

present society, but that still meets the criteria for how economists define money. If it doesnt
fulfill all the standards that is okay, but the student needs to be able to explain why not. They
will be graded slightly on creating a visual representation, but mostly on their ability to argue to
the class how and why their currency meets/does not meet economic standards. The group will
give a short presentation to the class after completely their project.
Central problem/ Essential question:
Can I create a currency that modern economists would characterize as money as it is defined by
todays standards?
Objectives:
Students will be able to create a currency and analyze how that money system may or may not
meet the standards of todays modern definition of money. They will have to be able to explain
how their money system works/does not work according to the certain criteria that economists
use today: uses of money, types of money, and characteristics of money. (HSCE 2.1.3 Financial
Institutions and Money Supply).
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:
Students might have some difficulty with realizing that they can use any object they want
as currency. It does not have to be money as they know it today.
It might also be challenging for students to create a currency that meets all six of the
characteristics of what money is.
I plan to address the class concerning the fact that their currency should NOT be currency in
the form of what we know it today; it will need to be unique and original. I will give them
some examples of different currencies that other students in past years have come up with. I
will also go over the directions for the project with them as a class so that they will know
what is expected of them to analyze and how they will be graded.

Materials/Evidence/Sources:

Currency Project Directions

Rubric

Mr. Bitcoin Intro

PowerPoint (slides 31 & 32)

Instructional Sequence:

Assessment:
The finished product of their visual representation of currency along with their analysis of what
their money is and how it works.
Rubric
Presentation

Economics Lesson Plan (DAY 4)

Money & Banking: History of Money
Name: Jessica Robbins
Title of lesson: Ancient Currencies
Length of lesson: 50 minutes

Context of Lesson:
This lesson is an introduction lesson in an 11th grade economics class working on the unit:
Money and Banking.
Overview:
Central problem/ Essential question:
Objectives:
(HSCE 2.1.3 Financial Institutions and Money Supply).
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:
Materials/Evidence/Sources:

Ancient Currencies Internet Search

Instructional Sequence:

Assessment:

Economics Lesson Plan (DAY 5)

Money & Banking: The History of American Banking Part 1

Name: Jessica Robbins
Title of lesson: Early American Banking
Length of lesson: 50 minutes
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is an introduction lesson in an 11th grade economics class working on the unit:
Money and Banking.
Overview:
Central problem/ Essential question:
Objectives:
(HSCE 2.1.3 Financial Institutions and Money Supply).
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:
Materials/Evidence/Sources:

History of American Banking Research

PowerPoint

Instructional Sequence:

Assessment: