Economics addresses the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The concept of scarcity is understood to mean that available resources are insufficient to satisfy the wants and needs of everyone. Economics is therefore founded upon the alternative use of available resources and the study of choices.
Kindergarten-Grade 2
Essential Concepts and/or Skills
- Understand people are both consumers and producers.
- Understand that a cost is what you give up when you decide to do something, and a benefit is something that satisfies your wants.
- Understand that since people cannot have everything they want, they must make choices about using goods and services to satisfy wants.
- Understand the role of money in everyday life.
- Understand that a price is the amount of money people pay for a good or service.
- Understand that people sell resources to businesses to earn income.
- Understand that in an exchange people trade goods and services for other goods and services or for money.
- Understand that money is a good that can be used to buy all other goods and services.
- Understand that barter is trading goods and services for other goods and services without using money.
- Understand natural resources are from nature; capital resources are made by humans; human resources (labor) are the efforts of people who produce goods and services.
- Understand the role of fiscal and monetary policies in governments.
- Understand government regulation of industries.
- Understand the economic trade-offs of government assistance programs.
- Understand the impact of the federal budget on the economy at the individual, household, and business levels.
- Understand changes in spending and taxation affect national deficits, surpluses, and debt.
- Understand the role of the Federal Reserve.
- Understand the basic concept of trading.
- Understand that different currencies are used throughout the world.
- Understand that the types of jobs and goods and services change over time.
- Understand the technological developments that influenced changes in communication and transportation.
- Understand that people are always inventing new ways to solve problems and accomplish work.
- Understand that manufacturing technology creates a design of a product and then produces the product in quantity.
- Understand the difference between needs and wants.
- Understand the concepts of consumers and producers.
- Understand that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want.
Grades 3-5
Essential Concepts and/or Skills
- Understand that goods and services are scarce because there are not enough resources to satisfy all of the wants of individuals, governments, and societies
- Understand that consumers buy less of products and services when prices go up and buy more when prices go down.
- Understand that businesses are willing to sell more products and services when prices go up and less when the price goes down.
- Understand the concept of unemployment.
- Understand the importance of work.
- Understand how competition among sellers results in lowers costs and higher product quality.
- Understand that banks provide money to consumers and serve as the intermediary between savers and borrowers.
- Understand that the government pays for goods and services it provides by taxing and borrowing.
- Understand that all societies have developed economic systems and there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of system.
- Understand when consumers buy goods some of the money that goes to the business is used to pay for resources and taxes.
- Understand that when countries specialize they become more interdependent.
- Understand the impact of increasing economic interdependence in different regions of the world.
- Understand that local goods and services are part of the global economy.
- Understand the concepts of exports and imports.
- Understand that technologies have costs and benefits associated with them.
- Understand that new inventions reflect people's needs and wants; and when these change, technology changes to reflect the new needs and wants.
- Understand that the design process is a series of methodical steps for turning ideas into useful products and systems.
- Understand that the manufacturing process includes designing product, gathering the resources, and producing a finished product.
- Understand that there are producers and consumers in all economies.
- Understand supply and demand in various types of economies.
- Understand that production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services are economic decisions with which all societies and nations must deal.
- Understand how nations throughout the world have joined with one another to promote economic development and growth.
- Understand barriers to trade among people across nations.
Grades 6-8
Essential Concepts and/or Skills
- Understand the cost and benefits of economic trade-offs and how scarcity of resources affects costs and benefits.
- Understand economic trade-offs at different levels (personal, business, local government).
- Understand the short term and long term impact of economic trade-offs on society.
- Understand the services that are available at banks and credit unions.
- Understand the process of interests and payments for goods.
- Understand the role banks play among savers, borrowers, and investors.
- Understand the types of specialized economic institutions found in market economies (corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, labor unions, banks, and nonprofit organizations).
- Understand goods and services that the government provides.
- Understand the government's purpose in preventing monopolies.
- Understand how taxes are used at the local, state, and national levels.
- Understand revenues and expenditures in the federal budget.
- Understand the concepts of balanced budget, budget deficit, budget surplus, and national debt.
- Understand the role of the Federal Reserve on the economy.
- Understand the process of filing personal tax returns.
- Understand the impact of imported and exported goods and services in the local community.
- Understand the concepts of free trade and trade barriers.
- Understand trade barriers imposed by the United States from a historical perspective and the impact of those actions.
- Understand the interdependence of America and other regions of the world in terms of imports and exports.
- Understand balance of trade and trade deficits and their impact on the price of goods.
- Understand that the increased interdependence of the world market causes economic conditions in one country to affect others.
- Understand the evolution of technology over time.
- Understand the role of technologies that interlock the global economy.
- Understand the role of investment and government support in advancing technologies.
- Understand the different types of economies and universal economic concepts (supply and demand, production, consumption, labor, capital, etc.) and their influence on each other.
- Understand how the laws of supply and demand affect price and consumers' responses to prices.
- Understand how the change of price for one good or service can affect the price for other goods and services.
- Understand causes of inflation, deflation, and recessions and who gains or loses from them.
- Understand the relation between gross domestic products and standards of living among countries.
- Understand unemployment.
- Understand the role of profit in motivating entrepreneurs in starting new businesses.
- Understand checking accounts.
- Understand that bank accounts, loans and other services vary from one bank to another.
Grades 9-12
Essential Concepts and/or Skills
- Understand the cost of borrowing money over long periods of time.
- Understand the concept of insurance.
- Understand credit cards.
- Understand the role of personal taxes in society.
- Understand different financial investments, such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds.
- Understand saving for retirement.
- Understand the concepts of marginal benefit and marginal cost in connection to economic actions.
- Understand increases and decreases in productivity are influenced by positive and negative incentives.
- Understand production possibilities curves.
- Understand the impact of increases in wages or a change in government policy (new taxes, interest rate, subsidies) on consumers, producers, workers, savers and investors.
- Understand the role of business plans.
- Understand long-term unintended consequences of economic choices made by individuals, businesses, and governments.
- Understand the unemployment rate.
- Understand the basic functions of money.
- Understand the composition of the money supply.
- Understand that economic institutions have different goals, rules, and constraints.
- Understand banks and other financial institutions affect the economy.
- Understand government policies affect economic institutions.
- Understand the role of non-profit organizations.
- Understand the role of fiscal and monetary policies in governments.
- Understand government regulation of industries.
- Understand the economic trade-offs of government assistance programs.
- Understand the impact of the federal budget on the economy at the individual, household, and business levels.
- Understand changes in spending and taxation affect national deficits, surpluses, and debt.
- Understand the role of the Federal Reserve.
- Understand the law of supply and demand affects the price of products.
- Understand major world economic systems.
- Understand factors that influence Gross Domestic Product for specific countries.
- Understand different policies and actions that combat inflation, deflation, and recession.
- Understand economic self-interest influences economic decisions.
- Understand the difference between domestic and global economic systems and how the two interact.
- Understand absolute and comparative advantage.
- Understand the costs and benefits of free trade among countries.
- Understand trade barriers imposed by the United States from a historical perspective and the impact of those actions.
- Understand the role of exchange rates between countries and their effect on purchasing power.
- Understand government subsidies to industries and the effect on global trade.
- Understand the role of technologies that interlock the global economy.
- Understand the role of investment and government support in advancing technologies.
- Understand the impact of green technologies in the global economy.
Iowa Core Social Studies (.pdf)
Iowa Core Social Studies (.doc)