Browse lesson plans, videos, activities, and more by grade level

Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Did Greek Cuisine Foreshadow Economic Problems?

A food writer sees parallels between Greece's crushing economic problems and its departure from its simple, humble culinary roots. Paul...

Key Concepts: Budget Deficit, Budgeting, Consumers…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Spain's Housing Dip Adds to Europe's Troubles

The housing market is on a downward slide in Spain and this could mean more problems for Europe's vulnerable economy....

Key Concepts: Budget Deficit, Budgeting, Credit…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Will Greek Austerity Plans Buckle Under Pressure?

Paul Solman examines how Greece's debt woes began and what's being done to contain the problems from spreading throughout Europe...

Key Concepts: Budget Deficit, Budgeting, Credit…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Greek Prime Minister: Debt Recovery is Daunting

Paul Solman talks with Greek Prime Minister George George Papandreau about the country's debt crisis and its impacts on the...

Key Concepts: Budget Deficit, Budgeting, Credit…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Small Businesses Battle the Credit Crunch

Paul Solman examines the struggles of companies to gain enough credit to stay afloat as lending remains tight.

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Credit, Economic Institutions…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Economists Examine Potential for Longer Recession

Paul Solman talks to two economists about recent market instability and the possibility of a double-dip recession.

Key Concepts: Budget Deficit, Budgeting, Credit…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Grads Still Bound for Wall Street Despite Crisis

Paul Solman talks to Harvard economist Ben Friedman about college graduates who continue flocking to Wall Street, three years into...

Key Concepts: Division of Labor/Specialization, Goods and Services, Incentive…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Do Obama's Financial Reforms Measure Up?

Paul Solman talks to Simon Johnson about how President Obama's financial reforms compare to those of past presidents.

Key Concepts: Business Costs and Revenues, Economic Institutions, Market Structure…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Some Eye Strategic Defaults as Home Values Tumble

Paul Solman tells the story of some homeowners who have stopped paying their mortgages even though they can still afford...

Key Concepts: Credit, Decision, Decision Making/Cost-Benefit Analysis…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Winners and Losers of Florida's Foreclosure Crisis

Paul Solman kicks off the Spotlight series with a report from Florida on people who have lost their homes to...

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Investing, Market Structures…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Should Consumers Move Money from the Megabanks?

As part of his series making sense of the economy, Paul Solman compares small community banks and too-big-to-fail financial giants.

Key Concepts: Business Costs and Revenues, Credit, Decision Making/Cost-Benefit Analysis…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Tiny Technology Holds Big Economic Potential

In the latest in a series of reports making sense of the economy, business correspondent Paul Solman examines the economic...

Key Concepts: Business Costs and Revenues, Economic Development, Market Structure…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Evaluating and Preventing a Financial Crisis

As part of his continuing series of reports making sense of business and the economy, Paul Solman talks to MIT...

Key Concepts: Incentive, Market Structures, Markets

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Is the U.S. the Latest World Power in Decline?

As part of his series of economic reports examining the country's economic future, Paul Solman sits down with Yale historian...

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Budget Deficit, Budgeting…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Should Obama Pull the TARP from Under Banks?

Paul Solman sits down with bank consultant and former FDIC chair William Isaac for a critical look at the Troubled...

Key Concepts: Credit, Economic Institutions, Markets

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: How Goldman Sachs Turned Tax Money Into Profits

Paul Solman explores how investment powerhouse Goldman Sachs used taxpayer money to make more profits.

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Credit, Economic Institutions…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Inside Goldman Sachs, Record Profits

Paul Solman examines the inner workings of investment powerhouse Goldman Sachs and how it managed to post a huge profit...

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Economic Institutions, Investing…

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Reagan Budget Chief Defends Obama Budget Reforms

Paul Solman talks with David Stockman, former Reagan budget chief about the proposal to tax banks on their size and...

Key Concepts: Business Costs and Revenues, Economic Institutions, Market Structure

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Grades 9-12

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: Are Big Banks Good for the Economy?

The Obama Administration is trying to rein in big bangs, but Robert Kelly, chief executive officer of Bank of New...

Key Concepts: Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments, Business Costs and Revenues, Economic Institutions…

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Grades 9-12

Traditional Economies and the Inuit

The Inuit people of northern Canada provide an example of a traditional economy. For thousands of years, Inuit parents have...

Key Concepts: Demand, Economic Systems, Goods and Services…

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