Everyday Economics
Six hands-on money and market labs
Work through practical economics activities with worksheets and explained answers.
Teaching resources.
Free activities and complete packs, with worksheets and teacher answers. Find the right topic and format for your learners.
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Before You Buy
A Practical Homebuying and Mortgage Workbook
Explore mortgage costs, closing costs, extra payments and Baily’s Buying Compass with worked examples.
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Find teaching resources
25 resources
Free activityFree
Personal finance
Make it to payday
Can a budget finish positive and still run short? Compare three cash-flow scenarios with a printable worksheet and explained answers.
- Format
- Printable activity + teacher guide
- Time
- 25–35 minutes
- Audience
- High school / adult introductory; addition and subtraction
Free activityFree
Game theory
World Strategy Lab: game theory
Predict opponent behavior, compare individual and joint outcomes, and test strategic incentives across eight arenas.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable teaching guide
- Time
- 45–60 minutes
- Audience
- 14 and up; tables and basic arithmetic
Free activityFree
Supply & demand
Supply and demand: from terminology to total gains
Distinguish demand from quantity demanded, predict a curve shift, and calculate consumer, producer and total surplus.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 75 minutes
- Audience
- 14 and up; Read a graph, multiply and divide; no prior economics course needed.
Free activityFree
Applied economics
How shipping disruptions can affect your grocery bill
Explain a possible cost transmission channel without treating a freight-rate change as a retail-price forecast.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; Percentages and the idea of a supply curve.
Free activityFree
Applied economics
Lower inflation, higher prices: work through your basket
Explain why slowing positive inflation does not reverse earlier price increases.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Audience
- 12 and up; Multiply by a percentage; a calculator is welcome.
Free activityFree
Applied economics
Price a small business product and review the result
Distinguish revenue, profit, margin and markup, then test whether a price covers the entered costs.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Audience
- 14 and up; Percentages and basic multiplication.
Free activityFree
Applied economics
Build a home budget before choosing a mortgage
Separate a household housing budget from a lender’s qualification amount.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 16 and up; Monthly budgeting and subtraction.
Free activityFree
Applied economics
Compare job offers beyond the salary
Compare consistent pay estimates and job-related costs while recognizing benefits that are not spendable cash.
- Format
- Guided sequence + printable worksheet + explained answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 15 and up; Monthly budgeting and multiplication.
Free activityFree
Inflation & purchasing power
Does a bigger paycheck buy more?
Distinguish nominal income from purchasing power and calculate a fixed basket price index.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; introductory economics
Free activityFree
Taxes & government spending
What would you fund with a limited budget?
Calculate a budget balance and explain who bears the tradeoffs when taxes or spending change.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; introductory economics
Free activityFree
Interest, saving & borrowing
When does interest start earning interest?
Compare simple and compound interest and explain how the same growth can help a saver or increase an unpaid debt.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; introductory economics
Free activityFree
Jobs, wages & productivity
Can higher productivity support higher wages?
Separate output per worker, total output, wages, and revenue available to cover other costs.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; introductory economics
Free activityFree
Business costs & break-even
How many sales cover the costs?
Calculate revenue, costs, contribution margin, and the sales needed to avoid a loss.
- Format
- Interactive lab + printable worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- 13 and up; introductory economics
Free activityFree
Trade & opportunity cost
Can both sides gain from trade?
Calculate opportunity costs and identify which producer gives up less to make each good.
- Format
- Starter + teacher answers
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Audience
- 13 to 18
Free activityFree
Public goods & free riding
Who pays for a warning everyone hears?
Calculate a shared project’s total net benefit and compare how equal contributions affect each household.
- Format
- Starter + teacher answers
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Audience
- 13 to 18
Free activityFree
External costs & policy
Who pays for the smoke?
Include pollution damage in social costs and identify which batches add positive net benefits.
- Format
- Starter + teacher answers
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Audience
- 13 to 18
Free activityFree
Inflation
Why can inflation fall while prices stay high?
Calculate a fixed basket, distinguish price levels from inflation rates, and explain the result.
- Format
- Lesson + worksheet + answers
- Time
- 35 minutes
- Audience
- High school / introductory college
Free activityFree
Supply & demand
A market you can move
Move curves, explore terminology, and see how equilibrium, surplus, and taxes change.
- Format
- Interactive lab
- Time
- Self paced
- Audience
- Introductory economics
Free activityFree
Personal finance & business
Calculator classroom activities
Ten guided activities using fictional budgets, businesses, jobs, borrowing, and saving scenarios.
- Format
- Printable activity collection
- Time
- 40 to 60 minutes each
- Audience
- Grades 7 to 12; varies by activity
Free activityFree
Current events
Current events teaching packs
Connect published economic analysis to student questions, vocabulary, and teacher answers.
- Format
- Article worksheets
- Time
- Varies by article
- Audience
- Guided secondary learning
Free activityFree
Economics foundations
Free introductory economics course
A six lesson sequence with written activities, a suggested pace, and a final project.
- Format
- Course sequence
- Time
- Six lessons
- Audience
- Guided homeschool / classroom
Paid pack$19
Supply & demand
Supply & Demand Teaching Pack
One teacher · up to 30 learnersSeparate a shift of demand from a change in quantity demanded, trace a supply disruption, and explain who bears a tax in a simplified market.
- Format
- 16 page PDF + answers
- Time
- Three 45 minute lessons
- Audience
- 13 to 18; one cohort up to 30
- Preparation for first session
- 10 minutes: open the free graph lab or prepare paper axes.
- Prerequisites
- Read graph axes and solve simple linear equations; adult guidance can support the algebra.
Paid pack$19
Trade, public goods & pollution
Markets & Society Teaching Pack
One teacher · up to 30 learnersDistinguish productivity from opportunity cost, total gains from distribution, and private cost from social cost.
- Format
- 18 page PDF + answers
- Time
- Three 45 minute lessons
- Audience
- 13 to 18; one cohort up to 30
- Preparation for first session
- 10 minutes: paper and a calculator.
- Prerequisites
- Understand costs, benefits and basic market tradeoffs.
Paid pack$19
Household curriculum
Complete Homeschool Economics Library
One householdFive household units on grocery choices, inflation, work, trade, and growth.
- Format
- 127 page PDF
- Time
- Five units
- Audience
- 11 to 16; one household
- Preparation for first session
- 5–10 minutes: paper, pencil and two fictional product labels.
- Prerequisites
- Multiply whole numbers and compare unit prices.
Paid pack$49
Group curriculum
Economics Club Kit
One cohort · up to 10A facilitator guide and five printable units for an adult led group.
- Format
- 128 page PDF
- Time
- Ten suggested sessions
- Audience
- 11 to 16; one cohort up to 10
- Preparation for first session
- 5–10 minutes: paper, pencil and two fictional product labels.
- Prerequisites
- Multiply whole numbers and compare unit prices.
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