Early February Holiday Resources (the FEATURED stuff)

Economic Lesson Plan - Council for Economic Education, "The Costs and Benefits of Hosting the Olympics" (posted Aug 2025)

I'll admit a small amount of bias here - I've worked with Ruth Cookson in different settings several times in the past few years (and much more recently) and I know she does a great job on lesson plans that can be immediately used in your classroom. But this was also timely - while much of the focus is on Summer Olympics (since they get the "bigger bucks") it did include up-to-date information for the upcoming Winter Games in northern Italy. I've included a couple of screenshots here, including a look at the cost-benefit analysis worksheet the students would be working on within this lesson:

“The Costs and Benefits of Hosting the Olympics” (lesson plan), Council for Economic Education, Aug 2025, https://econedlink.org/resources/the-costsandbenefits-of-hosting-the-olympics/

Video Playlist on the "Science of the Winter Olympics" from NBC News Learn, created for the 2022 Winter Olympics (but very little of the science technology is "out of date")

IThis is the result of a partnership between NBC News Learn, the National Science Foundation, and NBC's Olympics coverage team. They began the partnership for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada - then have updated and expanded this series of videos in 2014, 2018, and 2022 (when the most recent set was created). The playlist on YouTube is up to 25 videos at this point. There are currently no stories to go with them yet (guessing they will wait until closer to the Opening Ceremonies on February 6th) but I have also linked below a story from Science News Explores from 2022 to go with it in the interim. Here are 2 of the 25 videos to give you a taste for the style - some focusing on specific events, while others focusing on the technology.

“Science of the Winter Olympics" (video playlist), NBC News Learn, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRpUYjB1LkA97vS6sT745jwnak8-mBNFP

"Let’s learn about the science of the Winter Olympics", Science News Explores, Feb 2022, https://www.snexplores.org/article/lets-learn-about-science-winter-olympics

I'm going to start with two articles/lessons related to the Winter Olympics - one focused on the economic decision to host (or not), and one looking at the science/math behind many of the most popular events. I will feature two on Super Bowl economics, but since most of those new materials don't often appear until the week before the game I anticipate coming back to that topic first week of February. And finally, I'll mention a few resources for a holiday a little more "outside the box" . . .

Economic Lesson Plan - Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), "The Cost of a Super Bowl Bet" (originally posted Feb 2025, but will be updated on 1/26/26 with this year's matchup)

I've seen this lesson "sampled" twice in the last few months - once in person, and once last week during a webinar. In both cases I think it really is up to the teacher to decide a) Is this a topic you are willing to take on in your classroom? and b) How much time do you want to spend on it? Personally, I think it would be an interesting one to start this coming week, ignore for the following couple of weeks before the Super Bowl, and then come back to after the game to see how successful the bets were (or how much was lost). I also think it would be a good opportunity to discuss "opportunity cost" - what else could you have spent the bet money on instead? I've included a couple of screenshots here:

“The Cost of a Super Bowl Bet” (lesson plan), Foundation for Economic Education, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QAKgxN0IE_tDeAse875JmlQGL3fDReaQ0ghZgiaQbV0

Video (w/discussion questions) - NGPF Fincap Friday - "Super Bowl Spectacle"

If you are not already familiar, Fincap Fridays is NGPF's weekly series, with 3-5 minute videos covering financial literacy current events topics. Beyond the video, NGPF also provides a Kahoot quiz (can also be found in a no-tech version) and extended resources on the topic. This is a video from February 2024 on the economics behind the money spent during the Super Bowl - ads, celebrities, and performers. Below I have links to the YouTube version of the video, as well as a link to the blog article (which will lead you to the other resources mentioned above).

“FinCap Friday: Super Bowl Spectacle” (video), NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rOwfvGAfNA (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-Super-Bowl-Spectacle/ (blog article)

4 Resources on the Economics of Girl Scout Cookies - Econlife.com, Freakonomics.com, and an article on alternative investments

Yeah, I know the start of annual Girl Scout Cookie sales is not really a traditional "holiday" - but then again, neither are the Winter Olympics or Super Bowl. It is something special that a lot of people look forward to each year . . . and definitely has some good connnections to economics and financial literacy. So here are four different types of sources - an article from a professional economist, a podcast from a professional economist, a video from NPR and the Wall Street Journal, and an "outside the box" article from the PFL side:

“Behind the $800 Million Girl Scout Cookie Empire” (video), The Economics of from the Wall Street Journal, Jan 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXZrYzadoLk

“Girl Scout Economics: Thin Mints, Thick Margins”, Alts Community (focusing on alternative investments), Mar 2025, https://altea.circle.so/c/knowledge/girl-scout-economics-thin-mints-thick-margins

“The Economics of Everyday Things: Girl Scout Cookies” (podcast), Freakonomics Radio, Jan 2026 (originally Jan 2023), https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-economics-of-everyday-things-girl-scout-cookies/

“The Real Reason We Love Girl Scout Cookies”, Econlife, Feb 2022, https://econlife.com/2022/02/girl-scout-cookie-economics/