The Economy — Lesson 408

The Value of Money

Students study the Federal Reserve system using cartoon booklets available from the Federal Reserve Bank of NY.  Students also break into groups, choose a country and a currency, and then research exchange rates compared to the US$.

What Students Learn

  • Who establishes the value of money?
  • Why does it fluctuate?
  • How do exchange rates impact our everyday lives?

Suggested Time

  • Preview and Episode Viewing: 45 minutes
  • Activity 1: 30 minutes
  • Activity 2: 30 minutes
Middle School Lesson Plan High School Lesson Plan

Sketch: Business Plans in Space

Clips for this Lesson

Sketch: Business Plans in Space
A poster with a man in a red shirt standing in front of a church.
Credits: Currency Mash-Up
A cartoon image of a woman sitting at a desk.
Capitalist Peg: World Currency
A man is holding up a piece of paper to another man.
BK Hosts: Value of Money

Lessons in The Economy

Lesson

The Value of Money

What Students Learn

  • Considering all the global currencies, what determines the value of money? What are the factors that impact the American Dollar?
Portrait of a woman face
Lesson

Money Moves

What Students Learn

  • Follow a dollar bill as it moves from a depositor’s hand, to the bank vault, over to the Federal Reserve, and finally out to a project the bank is financing.
Woman at the tree shop
Lesson

The Global Economy

What Students Learn

  • Go around the world and follow the flow of imports and exports that make up the interconnected world economy.
Woman talking something
Lesson

Economic Cycles

What Students Learn

  • Economic cycles go up and down. Learn how to protect yourself against negative effects and plan for the positive trends.
Macro Monster Movie clip with a roaring monster
Lesson

The Economics of Economics

What Students Learn

  • See how businesses use economic principles to make financial decisions, from micro to macro economics, supply and demand, and economic indicators.