What Is EconEdLink and Who Is It For?

Updated

EconEdLink is a free resource hub for K-12 economics and personal finance education, offering lesson plans, videos, activities, games, and professional development for teachers. It is built primarily for K-12 educators, but students and anyone interested in economics education can also use its materials. The site organizes its library so you can filter by grade level and topic, which makes it practical whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school.

Who EconEdLink Serves

The site describes itself as offering "hundreds of free K-12 personal finance and economics professional development, lesson plans, videos, activities, and games." Based on that scope, the main audiences are:

  • K-12 teachers looking for ready-to-use classroom materials in economics and personal finance
  • Students in grades K-12 who use the activities, games, and simulations
  • Economics educators and enthusiasts who want professional development or fresh teaching ideas

The grade filter on the resource search confirms this range: All Grades, Elementary (K-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), and College.

What Kinds of Resources You'll Find

EconEdLink groups its content into several formats, so you can pick the one that fits your teaching goal:

Resource type What it is
Lesson plans Structured classroom lessons, searchable by grade and topic
Videos On-demand webinars and instructional video content
Activities Hands-on exercises, including simulations
Games Interactive tools for students
Professional development Webinars and conference opportunities for teachers

A few concrete examples from the site show the range:

  • My Classroom Investor — a free investment simulation for grades 9-12, developed with Vanguard. Students make saving and investing decisions across a 30-year simulation based on real-world market scenarios and respond to changing conditions.
  • Monetary Tug-Of-War: Limited vs. Ample Reserves — a high school lesson where students review monetary policy by using yarn to adjust limited- and ample-reserve curves.
  • On-demand webinars — including topics like "Student-Led Financial Learning Through Hip Hop" and "Gifting Sense: Lifelong Financial Literacy Begins With Simple Consumer Decisions."

How to Find the Right Resource

The site's search tool lets you narrow results in two main ways:

  1. Select a grade — All Grades, Elementary (K-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), or College.
  2. Select a topic — the topic list is extensive and includes AP Macroeconomics, Aggregate Supply and Demand, Balance of Payments, Business Cycle, Circular Flow, Crowding Out, Debt, Economic Growth, Economic Institutions, Exchange Rates, and more.

Apply both filters to get a short list of materials matched to your students' level and your subject focus.

Practical Notes Before You Start

  • The site's own description and page content describe the resources as free, so you can browse and use them without a stated cost. No pricing or payment details appear in the available site information.
  • Some items are time-sensitive, such as the CEE Educator Conference in Carlsbad, California (listed as October 9-10) and Economic Education Month in October. Check current dates on the site rather than relying on a cached listing.
  • If you teach high school personal finance, the Full-Semester Personal Finance Course is described as a turnkey course "created by teachers for teachers," built to be implemented immediately in the classroom.

Bottom Line

EconEdLink is a good starting point if you teach or study K-12 economics or personal finance and want free, grade-filtered, topic-filtered materials in multiple formats. Start with the resource search, filter by your grade band and topic, and use the lesson plans, simulations, and on-demand webinars that match your needs.