Resources from the Reserve Bank of Australia

It is the time of year when teachers might be reviewing resources and schemes of learning in preparation for September (or having a well deserved rest!)

I recently stumbled upon the website of the Reserve Bank of Australia and it is packed with relevant material to support planning for various economics topics.

Whilst the specifics might be focused on the Australian economy, this nevertheless provides a useful context for students draw upon, giving them another frame of reference that might be useful for context questions requiring the use of their own knowledge.

The really useful material comes in the form of free downloadable PDF resources that can quickly be built into lessons.

The following piece could prove to be a useful addition when teaching the history and functions of money. The article, which can also be downloaded as a PDF, explains cryptocurrencies and also includes a handy infographic explaining how a Bitcoin transaction works. The latter being ideally suited to a wall display!

Colleagues might find the downloadable charts helpful. They are updated monthly and despite having a focus on the Australian economy, also include macro indicators for its trading partners. Again this could be a handy aid to build contextual awareness of other economies.

Finally, Read and Rehash is a skill development activity, demonstrating to students how to analyse pieces of text, enabling them to pull out key elements of economic theory and summarise articles.