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

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.
Vintage BK, Micro vs. Macro Monster Movie
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.