Tag Archives: economics/finance

The Weekly Text, 10 October 2025: Two Context Clues on the Nouns Deficit and Surplus, with a Lexicon Clarifying the Meaning and Use of These Words

Posted on October 10, 2025 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text, for social studies teachers in general and business education teachers in particular, is this context clues worksheet on the noun deficit, another on the noun surplus, and a lexicon to clarify their meanings and use.

Jeez, there really isn’t much more to say about these. I think they explain themselves. If they don’t, you might want to grab a copy of the Context Clues Worksheets Users’ Manuals.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in Independent Practice, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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The Weekly Text, 29 August 2025: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Charles Ponzi

Posted on August 22, 2025 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text is a reading on Charles Ponzi accompanied but its vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

In the fall of 2008, when the United States economy crashed and nearly took the rest of the world down with it, I had just accepted a job at an economics-and-finance-themed high school in the Financial District in Manhattan. I rode the 2 or the 5 train from the North Bronx to the Wall Street Station. My school was on Trinity Place, right across the street from Zuccotti Park. In other words, I worked right in the middle of the Financial District while the place was–metaphorically–going up in flames. It was a weird time: the streets were weirdly quiet, and the restaurants and bars, usually full of boisterous traders, were dead.

Then came Bernie Madoff. My students couldn’t understand what he’d done, but several of them sure were interested. These documents are some of the fruits of my labor that sought to educate these kids about, well, rip-off artists.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, New York City, Social Sciences, The Weekly Text, Worksheets

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Cultural Literacy: Treasury Bills

Posted on June 13, 2025 | Leave a comment

I rather doubt there will be a huge amount of demand for this Cultural Literacy worksheet on treasury bills, though perhaps there should be. I developed it when I worked in a economics-and-finance-themed high school in Manhattan a number of years ago, then never used it.

In any case. this is a half-page worksheet with a reading of three sentences and three comprehension questions. The second two of the three sentences are longish compounds separated by semicolons which might be best broken up and rewritten as simpler clauses for students who struggle with these kinds of sentences.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Social Sciences, Worksheets

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