Playdough Economics

About Playdough Economics

The 15 economics lessons in Playdough Economics are designed primarily for elementary and middle school students. Each lesson introduces an economic concept taken from A Framework for Teaching Basic Economic Concepts, K-12, also published by the National Council on Economic Education.

The unique feature of these lessons is the use of modeling clay, which provides motivation through a concrete learning experience. The lessons are activity-oriented simulations which stress an inductive approach to learning, whereby students derive an understanding of the concepts from examples and data generated in the simulations. Teachers will discover a variety of ways to use these lessons in the curriculum. The most obvious place is in social studies, however, many lessons also have applications in other curriculum areas, especially mathematics, fine arts, and decision-making. Lesson are best taught sequentially, but can also be used as a supplement to other economics curriculum materials.

To Order

You can order a copy of the Playdough Economics from the National Council on Economic Education or at get one free at the following Indiana Council workshops.

No workshops scheduled at this time.

Playdough in Action

If you want to learn more about using Playdough Economics, be sure to take a look at these streaming videos

Playdough Pre/Post Test

Please feel free to download and use these tests (in PDF version) with your students. (If you have some success stories about how well your students did on the test please let us know. Perhaps the class of another teacher who did not have economics instruction could be a “control group.”) Likewise, if there are errors or questions that you feel need to be rewritten, please contact us. We are open to improving the test.

Student Attitude Survey towards Business and Economics

Pre- and post-test your students so see how their attitudes towards business and economics have changed during the school year.