2020
As a nation and learning community, we are all feeling the impacts of the coronavirus. This session will equip you with online projects and simulations to keep students energized and on board with learning. Participants will experience examples of effective simulations. The simulation activities and online methods will assist you in remote classroom engagement. The VCEE network of centers will offer suggestions of online resources to use during this unique learning environment.
Learn to use the Stock Market Game™ as a valuable educational tool for both teachers and students! Students manage a virtual investment portfolio and compete with teams across the state. Students learn saving and investing, sharpen math and research skills, and experience market forces at work. After participating in the SMG, independent studies show an increase in math scores for elementary and middle school students. It is also a proven way to learn many of the SOL in the high school economics and personal finance course. No prior knowledge of the stock market is necessary.
This program is an excellent way to encourage reading and reinforce the K-3 economics strand in the Social Science Standards of Learning, as well as promote saving for college. Focusing on the lessons and activities based on three featured books, this workshop helps teachers and librarians understand the concepts and ideas for presenting them to students in a meaningful and engaging manner. The three featured books for 2020 are Ella Earns Her Own Money by Lisa Bullard, John Deere That’s Who by Tracy Nelson Maurer, and Spend It! by Cinders McLeod. Participants will receive free classroom ready lesson plans and discover ways to win free books for their school’s library and potential college savings money for their students.
Taxation and tax preparation is a life skill. Using new innovative lessons and in collaboration with Intuit Education, we are excited to demonstrate lessons on how teachers can introduce taxation and tax preparation into classrooms. This session focuses on teaching students how to prepare and file taxes using TurboTax by Intuit. Students will learn about federal, state and local taxes, deductions, filing statuses, tax brackets and W2s.
It’s that time again! Time to focus on economic policy to help determine how economics and elections intersect. This workshop will help you teach students how to think critically about elections and public policy. Lessons will focus on voters and elections; government institutions, programs, marginal error, and public choice. Students will become informed citizens as they consider the trade-offs involved in setting public policy. They will learn to articulate their own views by evaluating primary and secondary sources, engaging in group activities and discussions, and writing brief essays. Workshop participants will receive morning snacks, lunch, and classroom-ready lessons.
2019
Join us for a hand-on workshop to learn strategies you can use to teach math, economics and personal finance topics to elementary-age students. This session will incorporate children’s stories to teach math and “money-smart” economic concepts. Each participant will receive ready to use classroom lessons. Morning snacks, lunch, and door prizes will be included.
This workshop will feature lesson demonstrations which are especially designed for use with young children in the primary grades. Lessons are planned so that teachers can present economic concepts found in popular primary storybooks in a hands-on, active-learning format. Classroom ready lessons and door prizes will be included.
Let’s uncover the truth about the Great Depression by way of Key West and Beans Curry. “Beans,” the opportunistic main character in Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm gives his account of living through the Great Depression and the recovery influenced by the New Deal. Topics discussed include: ethical decision making, cost, benefits, productive resources, jobs, spending, saving, and giving. Classroom ready economic lessons connected to the Virginia SOLs and door prizes will be distributed.
Come explore the benefits of using the newly revised third edition of Financial Fitness for Life for grades 9-12. The curriculum prepares you to teach students to make informed decisions when it comes to earning an income, savings and spending, using credit, and budgeting. The new updates also include activities delivered through educational technology tools, including Kahoot! and Quizlet. This program provides you with an overview of the background information, preparation, materials, student activities and assessments to promote active learning. You will learn how to apply economic reasoning and personal finance decision-making skills to the real world of earning, saving, investing, and spending money. Each participant will receive updated copies of the new Financial Fitness for Life curriculum.
Learn to use the Stock Market Game™ as a valuable educational tool for both teachers and students! Students manage a virtual investment portfolio and compete with teams across the state. Students learn saving and investing, sharpen math and research skills, and experience market forces at work. After participating in the SMG, independent studies show an increase in math scores for elementary and middle school students. It is also a proven way to learn many of the SOL in the high school economics and personal finance course. No prior knowledge of the stock market is necessary.
To achieve economic empowerment, students need knowledge and skills that promote creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation in order to become productive entrepreneurs and employees in our ever-changing global economy. Rooted in performance-based learning and assessment, the lessons demonstrated at this 4-day (Monday-Thursday) Institute reinforce 21st century skills while covering most of the economics learning standards in Civics and Economics and Economics and Personal Finance as well as many of the Career Investigation competencies and some personal finance learning standards. This real-world, entrepreneurship lens for economics instruction also offers a broader context for current events and multidisciplinary instruction in Math, English, and science. Flexible by design, teachers who complete this Institute will have a variety of curriculum options, as each lesson can stand alone or as a complete unit of study. And while not all students will choose an entrepreneurship career path, all will benefit from understanding the basic economics and entrepreneurship concepts constantly at play in the world. Teachers may decide to integrate examples into existing curricula to deliver more engaging, student-relevant instruction. Or, teachers might choose to assist students in starting individual or group businesses or community service learning projects. To capitalize on experiential learning, teachers will write their own business plan drafts. School level “Shark Tank” Pitch Nights will also be discussed. Teachers will receive student-centered instructional resources, including a Virtual Economics 4.5 flash drive ($160 value) that contains over 1,400 K-12 activity-based lessons in economics, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Teachers who successfully complete the entire Institute and pass a test will earn the credentials of a VCEE Certified Economics Educator: Entrepreneurship.
This professional development program is for K-12 teachers of all subjects! The hands-on program will begin with a review of performance-based assessments (PBAs) best-practices as recommended by the Virginia Department of Education. Examples of multidisciplinary PBAs correlated to specific Standards of Learning will be shared. While the “Essential Skills” in economics (aka, economic reasoning skills) are required in every K-12 social studies subject, these 21st century life-skills are applicable to all subjects and everyday life. Examples of the benefits of developing these skills include: sharpening critical thinking and critical literacy skills; entertaining multiple perspectives; better understanding current events; laying the groundwork for authentic discussions and civil debates; articulating opinions grounded in basic economic concepts and principles; casting informed votes; and, making students’ thinking explicit for assessment purposes. After the instructor models effective economic reasoning instructional practices, teachers will be grouped by grade levels and subject areas to practice using economic reasoning tools and rubrics. The day will conclude with teachers brainstorming other classroom-ready instructional activities for their students, which they may submit to the 2019 Economic Educator Awards program sponsored by the Virginia Council on Economic Education.
The course focuses on the economics content in the high school Economics and Personal Finance course and provides resources for teaching it to your students. Learn how the “economic way of thinking” turns basic economic concepts into life skills that enable students to make more informed decisions. Learning how market economies work and implications of economic indicators — inflation, unemployment and economic growth — also contributes to better decision-making as consumers, producers, savers, investors, employees and citizens. A broad analysis of economics as a whole engages participants to better understand world situations.
You receive a Virtual Economics 4.5 flashdrive with over 1400 lessons searchable by grade and concept (valued at $160) and other classroom resources. The class is designed to require 6 hours/week over 7 weeks, with weekly reading and other assignments to be completed in order to receive a certificate of completion and have your deposit check returned. Many assignments can be done ahead of schedule, but once a week posting on a discussion board or an experiment is required. Teachers who successfully complete this course will earn recognition as a VCEE Certified Economics Educator: High School.
This Institute allows teachers to experience methods for teaching all of the K-3 elementary economics related Standards of Learning in a manner that is hands-on, effective, and fun. Designed to strengthen and deepen a teacher’s understanding of these concepts, it also provides a variety of resources ready for use in the classroom, including lessons, simulations, performance assessments and demonstrations linked to children’s literature, both classic and new. Participants completing the 12 instructional hours will be eligible for 12 hours of recertification credits and recognition as a VCEE Certified Economics Educator: K-3. Participants receive a number of resources for use in the classroom.
Teachers will learn how they can teach many economic concepts using modeling clay. Modeling clay can be used to illustrate economic concepts such as goods and services, production, scarcity, opportunity costs, trade, specialization, supply and demand, and more. Students will have a blast using these lessons in your classroom! Each workshop attendee will receive activity-oriented lessons spanning from elementary to middle school civics and economics. In addition to classroom ready lessons, the workshop will include snacks and door prizes.
How do you avoid identity theft? What kinds of information and photos are least risky to post on social media? How do students avoid running up a bill on their parents’ credit cards while they’re using an app? How do you recognize false information on the internet? These are a sample of the questions answered in this one-day teacher workshop as we explore basic concepts in economics and personal finance. In this workshop, teachers will experience lessons that they can use in their classrooms, while also teaching students essential skills in economics and personal finance. The session will also feature an expert in cybersecurity who will be available to answer participant questions. A light breakfast and a full lunch will be provided. Participants will receive teaching materials at no cost.
This motivating, interdisciplinary workshop will give teachers the tools to investigate and analyze energy and environment issues. A conceptual framework for generating and comparing multiple alternatives to problems based on how well they meet the criteria will be used. In addition to motivating lessons, the workshop will include classroom ready alternative assessments in which students use a decision making model to analyze an energy or environmental problem. Each alternative assessment requires students to apply skills across several disciplines and also encourages students to make extensive use of resources in their communities. The workshop includes free curriculum, snacks, and door prizes.
Are you currently preparing your students to take the W!SE Financial Literacy test? Then, you will want to attend this session to learn helpful strategies related to vocabulary challenges, receive useful lessons, and discus problematic topics that students experience. This session is designed for teachers who want to deepen their students’ knowledge of personal finance topics and financial literacy vocabulary. Intentional instruction focused on tier two vocabulary for the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification will be delivered. Instructional methodology will be referenced for the personal finance topics of banking, credit, consumer rights and responsibilities, insurance, taxes, and financial planning. Participants will receive various resources for use in the classroom. Snacks and door prizes will be provided.
Learn to use the Stock Market Game™ as a valuable educational tool for both teachers and students! Students manage a virtual investment portfolio and compete with teams across the state. Students learn saving and investing, sharpen math and research skills, and experience market forces at work. After participating in the SMG, independent studies show an increase in math scores for elementary and middle school students. It is also a proven way to learn many of the SOL in the high school economics and personal finance course. No prior knowledge of the stock market is necessary.