Econosaurus

*Tier 2 vocabulary is a tricky one for students, and it's something we've talked about a lot (eg here). Tier 2 words are the academic vocabulary that turns up far more in writing than in speech. They aren't subject-specific terms like elasticity or externality, and they aren't the everyday words students pick up in conversation. Students who aren't reading a great deal, therefore, are less likely to have come across them, and that can be a barrier when they are reading, creat

This is a quick "don't say it" style game for the macroeconomic indicators. I posted the paper version several years ago, but I've now updated it with a no-prep version. The aim is to get students defining these terms accurately and concisely, rather than the woolly and vague definitions we sometimes get. What's in it There are 27 target words covering the macroeconomic indicators, from GDP, per capita and real vs nominal through to purchasing power parity, the current accou

I always think there is a lot riding on the first few weeks: getting to know them, helping them transition from GCSE, setting routines and expectations, identifying students who might be on the wrong course, all whilst simultaneously trying to inspire a love of economics and also get on with the course because there's a crazy amount to teach... it's a tall order. I've pulled together the best A-Level Economics resources I can find for those first few weeks of term. I've also

I’m delighted that Soumaya Keynes has agreed to join us for EconEdChat on 14 September, so if you want to ask her about any of this yourself, come along! Before I say anything else: if you teach Year 13 Macro, read this book. That bit isn’t up for debate and I’ll come back to why further down. Everything else in this post is me thinking out loud about whether it could do a bigger job than CPD, namely whether it could work as a class read, and where else it might earn its pla

A warning upfront: this one involves a registration fee. The Harvard International Review runs its writing contest in three cycles a year, and the Fall/Winter round closes on 2 January 2027 with a virtual Defense Day on 5 February. Senior entrants in grades 9 to 12 (UK Years 10 to 13) submit an 800 to 1,200 word article on one of three set themes, currently Global Culture in the Digital Era, Security in a Multipolar World, and Technology, Innovation and Power. The economics r

Immerse Education, best known for its fee-paying Oxford and Cambridge summer schools, runs an annual essay competition open to students aged 13 to 18 worldwide, with a choice of over 20 subject categories including Economics alongside Law, Psychology and others. The question isn't published on the site: students register interest and Immerse emails the full prompt guide directly, so there's no way to preview the Economics question before committing. Entries are short, around

I found Chris and Matt's session at the Bank of England Teacher Conference really interesting. I'm wary of overgamification, but this wasn't the type of 'game' they mean at all: the games here are simulations forcing students to think about incentives and are pretty powerful. I'm really pleased to say they have agreed to join us at the November EconEdChat on Tuesday 3rd November In June, Aston University hosted the Bank of England Teacher Conference. The conference brought t

Right, I've been keeping half an eye on my econ competition spreadsheet (still a bit of a hot mess, but it's ticking over) and I reckon it's a good moment for a round-up. Here's everything that's open for entries as I write this, plus a handful landing around the start of September that are worth diarising now before you forget (I say this as someone who has forgotten more deadlines than I'd like to admit). A quick plug for the Econ Teacher Calendar, which I typically update

This is the second part of my write-up from the session I ran at the Bank of England Teacher Conference. The first part was all about sentence-level work, and you can find that here. This part is about moving beyond sophisticated sentences to more sophisticated overall pieces of work. It's worth remembering here that essay writing isn't one skill. It's probably dozens of skills bundled together, and there are loads of ways to make writing better. A lot of them sit around our