Teacher Guide:

EconQuest is an educational series that brings economic research to life in your high school or college classroom. It features a specific economic topic and optional, stand-alone activities for students to apply what they learn. The various skill-building activities are designed for students to experience the economy and their connection to it in a meaningful, hands-on way.

Check out the student activities below and the economic research article to get them started. Additional information on the topic can be found in the Teacher Guide.

Research Article:

Is It Time to Add Food-at-Home Inflation to Measures of Core Inflation?

Authors: Francisco Scott, Jose Mustre-del-Rio, Amaze Lusompa, and Jalen Nichols - Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Overview: For several decades the Federal Reserve has worked to understand how prices shift over time. This includes the study of inflation, a general and sustained upward movement of prices. One measure used to gauge inflation is the consumer price index (CPI), which shows average variations in prices of a select group of goods and services over time. Core CPI is the same measurement excluding food and energy because of their historical price volatility. However, recent studies suggest that the cost of food has not changed dramatically compared to other goods and services more recently and therefore should remain within core inflation measures. Read the details in the short article linked above.

Student Activities:

  • Quiz Quest: Answer open-ended questions about the research article in this quiz.
  • Video Quest: After reading the research article, watch a short External Linkvideo about inflation and summarize what you learned here.
  • Visualization Quest: After reading the research article, create a chart/graph of data showing price fluctuations and summarize your findings here.
  • Imagination Quest: After reading the research article, work in small groups to brainstorm the economic impact of scenarios in this quest.
  • Debate Quest: After reading the research article, collaborate to formulate arguments for and against the question provided and record your ideas here.

Inflation

Glossary of Economic Terms

  • Consumer Price Index (CPI) - shows an average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a selected group of goods and services.
  • Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) - shows an average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a selected group of goods and services without the inclusion of food or energy.
  • Federal Reserve - the central bank of the United States.
  • Goods – objects that can satisfy people’s wants.
  • Inflation - a general and sustained upward movement of prices for goods and services in an economy.
  • Price stability - a low and stable rate of inflation maintained over an extended period.
  • Services – activities that can satisfy people’s wants.
How do food prices help measure inflation? Download the article to learn more.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or the Federal Reserve System.