California Council on Economic Education

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California Council on Economic Education
Financial and Economic Education Programs
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Capital Markets Contest
Students learn basic information about financial
markets, such as the difference between stocks,
bonds, and mutual funds, the determination of
stock prices, and the influence of economic,
social, military, and political events on the
markets. They learn to apply economic reasoning
to financial decisions. Winners receive cash
prizes and a trip to New York City.
Teams of students successfully complete three
phases of the contest. The first is a ten-week
stock market contest with a simulated 100,000
portfolio. The second phase is a written essay
evaluating and interpreting recent trends in tax,
fiscal and monetary policy and their interactions
with world affairs. The third is a verbal
presentation by all four members of each team
reviewing the implications of important current
economic and financial forces, and their effect
on the economy and stock market.
The program, created by the California Council on
Economic Education blends intensive curriculum
targeting economic reasoning, reading literacy
and understanding of the capital markets. Student
investors develop decision-making skills,
knowledge of current affairs and an understanding
of the economic forces that significantly affect
the quality of their lives.
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Financial Fitness for Life
Introducing Financial Fitness for Life, the most
comprehensive personal finance curriculum ever
presented to Americas schools. Underwritten by
Bank of America Foundation.

• A new set of curriculum materials to teach kids
  from kindergarten through grade 12 about money,
  making choices, and all those things youve
  learned (and maybe some things you wished you had
  learned) about personal finance.

The Program

• A Teacher Guide for each lesson provides
  material and resources for the teacher to use to
  teach the lesson.
• Student Workouts (Workbook) for each level
  (except for K-2) provides hands-on exercises and
  activities for the students for each lesson.
• The Parents Guide for each level enables
  parents to work with their child to increase the
  classroom learning through interesting and fun
  activities.

Parents Guide

• Enrich the personal financial background of
  parents
• Help parents reinforce instruction that has
  taken place in the classroom
• Enhance informed choice making in personal
  financial matters

Five Themes
Benefit/Cost Analysis Earning Spending and
Saving Credit Money Management
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Living the American Dream
This program helps students learn some of the
basics of buying and owning a home. It is meant
to teach students basic economics concepts such
as benefit/cost analysis, the operation of
product, labor, and credit markets, and the
influence of the Federal Reserve Board on credit
markets in the context of the housing market.
The program is aligned with the California
History/Social Science Standards.
Approximately 50 high school economics teachers
will participate in the initial series of
workshops, with a goal of reaching approximately
5,000 Los Angeles area students. In addition to
the comprehensive curriculum, the program will
also include a contest in which the students and
families have the opportunity to win a
broad-range of prizes based on essays responding
to the following set of questions If the
family already owns a home, how has homeownership
influenced and changed their lives and how have
they budgeted to preserve their homeownership?
If the family does not presently own a home
but would like to how would homeownership
influence their lives and how are they budgeting
and saving to achieve that goal?
The Living the American Dream Program will
provide in person and on-line education materials
and resources designed to teach economic and
financial concepts surrounding home buying and
homeownership. The program is directed to both
students and their parents in the greater Los
Angeles area.
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MoneyWiseTeen
This international award winning web-based
program teaches basic economic concepts as
outlined in the 1998 History/Social Science
Standards in a credit context.
The contest is a state-wide initiative to expand
economic and financial literacy among
Californias high school students and was
sponsored by HSBC North America.

• Ten animated modules illustrate economic
  principles through stories that are
  understandable and relevant to teenagers.
• The program helps develop the reasoning skills
  necessary for economic self-reliance.

This site, developed by the California Council
on Economic Education, was created to help high
school students learn about basic economics, such
as wants and needs and delayed gratification. The
10 vignettes begin with the fact that "you can't
have everything you want," and move through
budgeting, buying a car, having a baby, and
preparing for the world of work. The last two
sections explore the difficulties faced by
Mexican immigrants in the U.S., and ways they can
address those issues. There's also a section on
financial aid for college. Another feature
calculators that provide number-crunching
information on topics such as credit, saving,
budgeting and major purchases. www.moneywisetee
n.org