This lesson teaches high school students about the role of banks both in history and the present day. Students will learn about key financial concepts that contributed to the evolution of banks.

In this media-enhanced lesson utilizing clips from THE ASCENT OF MONEY, students will be introduced to the concept of insurance and the role it has played in determining the world’s political and economic landscape since its inception in the 18th century.

In this media-enhanced lesson utilizing clips from THE ASCENT OF MONEY, students will be introduced to the concepts of companies, the ownership shares offered by some companies to increase capital and distribute profits and risks, and the stock markets in which such shares are publicly traded as investments.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the practice and industry of microfinance, learning how the provision of unsecured loans to low-income, small-scale entrepreneurs in the developing world has improved the business prospects and quality of life for many desperately poor people around the world.