Financial Markets
Building a Foundation of Finance
Empower students to navigate their world and get prepared for success by understanding the core economic principle of finance through the lens of financial markets. Explore a series of interactive evidence-based resources that examine personal finance connections within the larger context of the global financial market.
Real-World Connections from Classroom to Career
Topic: Futures Markets | Grades: 9-12
Hear from young professionals in the finance industry as they share their inspiring career journeys. Discover why they chose finance and how their teachers made economics come to life in the classroom.
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Educator Guide
The Futures Marketplace: An Introduction for Educators
Topic: Finance | Grade: 9–12
Understanding the futures market allows teachers to provide students with insight into complex economic systems, fostering critical thinking and real-world financial awareness.
Learn more about futures contracts and the crucial role that the derivatives marketplace plays in the global economy. Discover the origins of futures contracts in the world of agriculture and beyond, and find out how businesses and individuals can manage financial risk through the futures marketplace.
Mini Digital Lesson Bundle
Futures Markets and Managing Risk
Topic: Finance | Grade: 9-12
How do financial risks and futures contracts affect students' everyday lives?
Find out how much preference influences people’s final decisions with a hands-on lesson exploring the way financial losses and gains impact human behavior.
Mini Digital Lesson Bundle
Futures Trading
Topic: Finance | Grade: 9-12
Navigating Futures Markets Through Snapshots and Analysis
Immerse students in the world of futures markets and learn how traders make informed decisions by analyzing data, market trends, and current events. Kickstart the lesson with a simple game as students discover the ways that hedgers and speculators help bring balance to the futures marketplace using fundamental analysis and technical analysis.
Self-Paced Module
Foundations of Finance
Topic: Finance | Grade: 9–12
How much can interest rates impact personal finances?
Watch how students’ fortunes grow—or shrink—based on the choices they make in this hands-on simulation! Students must navigate the tricky financial decisions that arise after graduating from high school, from student loans to buying a car.
Standards-Aligned Resources
Build your lessons with handy standards guide
Econ Essentials resources are created in accordance with national education standards. Check out our standards-aligned tools to help build your lessons.
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Supporting Resources
Career & Technical Education Educator Roadmap
Econ Essentials resources can be used in a variety of subject areas—everything from economics and social studies to personal finance and business to career and technical education (CTE) and family and consumer sciences (FCS).
Econ Essentials and Other Resources for Student Investment Clubs
Explore core economics concepts outside the classroom with Econ Essentials resources that are designed to work in afterschool clubs.
“It has helped me understand the difference between different kinds of loans, and I may be needing them depending on what college I decide to attend.”
Elena Sanchez
Student, Ogden International School
Chicago, Illinois
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