Food, Fuel, and Finance … The 3Fs of Economics

Nearly half of U.S. high school students say they do not know how to establish good credit and more than one-fourth believe they will be unprepared to manage their finances upon graduation. This is according to recent research that reveals a lack of financial literacy among American youth.But teachers and schools can now turn to a dynamic interactive learning module, Foundations of Finance, to introduce students to fundamentals of personal finance, such as saving, applying for student loans and buying a car, among other features.

The module — one of three aligned with the Council for Economic Education’s standards for economics — is offered by CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.Foundations of Finance also presents students with fundamentals of economics using real-world scenarios, interactive components, embedded assessments, and accompanying Educator Guides.

The Foundations of Finance module is part of an Econ Essentials trio of standards-aligned educational modules that includes: The Facts About Food, which lets students take a journey from “farm to table” by serving as an advisor to a farm, and Fueling the Future, which challenges students to start a shuttle business.

In The Facts About Food module, students learn how the supply chain and other global factors influence supply and demand. They also explore the role of economics in food prices as well as what influences food prices.With the Fueling the Future module, students learn about supply and demand by discovering how and why gas prices fluctuate and the impact of changing gas prices on their daily lives. Students apply their knowledge to set a ticket price for their business to determine if they make a profit.

Teachers find that the Econ Essentials educational program helps their students learn fundamental economic principles in an engaging, digital environment.”Students become equipped to make wise decisions in both their public and private lives, and also grow such important skills as critical thinking, problem solving, media and information literacy,” says Jackie Prester, business and technology teacher at Mansfield (Mass.) Public Schools.