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Resources A to Z
Lesson Plans from Writers around the World
As more countries converge towards market-oriented economies, the
need for economic education has become increasingly apparent to elementary
and secondary teachers in those nations. Publications of the National
Council on Economic Education (NCEE) have been well received by educators
from a wide range of countries. The active-learning approach, emphasized
by the NCEE network of state councils and centers for economic education,
holds strong appeal for many educators.
Economic education that uses active learning has expanded from the
United States to emerging market economies in the former Soviet Union
and eastern and central Europe. Educational materials created for schools
in the United States, however, are not always appropriate for use in
other countries because of language, economic, and cultural differences.
Although economic educators in those countries have written textbooks,
a need for relevant active-learning lesson plans was recognized.
To address this need, NCEE asked us develop a publication to help
teachers write better lessons, Connecting the Pieces: Building
a Better Economics Lesson . The publication shows potential writers
how to identify the economics appropriate for K-12 students; integrate
economics into other subject matter; include thinking skills, active-learning
instructional models, and assessment into a lesson; format lessons;
and conduct pilot tests.
Grants from the U.S. Department of Education, for the Cooperative
Education Exchange Program provided the funding for Connecting
the Pieces as well as annual Training of Writers programs.
As the faculty of this innovative program, we have had the privilege
of working with many creative teachers from the United States and countries
of the former Soviet Union and eastern and central Europe, who aspired
to become better writers of economics lessons.
This publication includes six lesson plans developed by participants
in the international Training of Writers program conducted
by the National Council on Economic Education through the Department
of Education grants. International groups developed some lessons during
the training seminars; individual writers developed other lessons after
the seminars. Six lessons have been developed for the elementary classroom
on the subject of economic resources. These lessons complement other
curricular areas, such as language arts, world history, art, and science.
We hope that you and your fellow teachers will find these lesson plans
useful and rewarding.
| Sarapage McCorkle
University of Missouri-St. Louis |
Bonnie T. Meszaros
University of Delaware |
Mary C. Suiter
University of Missouri-St. Louis |
Foreword
It is a great pleasure to introduce Resources A to Z . This
publication contains six lessons for elementary school classrooms developed
by writers from Belarus, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Poland,
Romania, and the United States. The authors of these lessons were participants
in the Training of Writers program developed and conducted
by the National Council on Economic Education, as part of the Cooperative
Education Exchange Program (formerly known as the International Education
Exchange Program). Since 1996 the Writers program has helped
teachers from both the U.S. and the emerging market democracies learn
how to write instructional materials, through intensive writing exercises,
expert guidance, feedback from peers, and follow-up work by e-mail.
The development of this publication was made possible through a grant
to NCEE from the United States Department of Education, Office of Safe
and Drug-Free Schools under PR Grant # Q304B030002. NCEE extends its
appreciation to the Department of Education and Ms. Rita Foy-Moss for
her support as Program Officer.
NCEE is also grateful that the United States Congress had the foresight
to recognize the need for economic education in the emerging market
economies and the vision to see how an international education exchange
program such as the CEEP could benefit U.S. students and teachers.
Special thanks are extended to the editors, Sarapage McCorkle and
Mary Suiter, Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, University
of Missouri-St. Louis, and Bonnie Meszaros, Center for Economic Education
and Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware, for conceptualizing this
publication and their perseverance and dedication in bringing it to
press, and to Patricia K. Elder, Barbara R. DeVita, and Mary K. Blanusa,
NCEE, for their support of the Writers program and this publication.
Robert F. Duvall
President and Chief Executive Officer
Acknowledgements
Writers
Joe Baker
Utah, USA |
Sarah Culver
Alabama, USA |
Elena Nesterchouk
Belarus |
Alexander Balkunov
Kyrgyzstan |
Geanie Davis
Arkansas, USA |
Ginta Sabaite
Lithuania |
Tiffany Brocious
Virginia, USA |
Kea Deppe
Indiana, USA |
Joanna Stefaniak
Poland |
Alin Cercea
Romania |
Valentin Ghiata
Romania |
Zoran Sumajstorcic
Croatia |
Ruth Cookson
Virginia, USA |
Theresa Modlich
Colorado, USA |
Batima Tolebayeva
Kazakhstan |
Cover design by Martin Baragiola
The National Council on Economic Education gratefully acknowledges
the funding of this publication by the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Educational Research and Improvement, under PR Grant # R304A010003.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in
this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the view of the U.S. Department of Education.
Copyright © 2002, National Council on Economic
Education, 1140 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036.
All rights reserved. The activities and worksheets
may be duplicated for classroom use. Notice of copyright must appear
on all pages. With the exception of activities and visuals, no part
of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States
of America.
ISBN 1-56183-133-6
Downloads
The lesson plans from Resources A to Z are available for download
below in PDF format.
- Lesson 1 From Boxes to Sheep
Productive resources are the natural resources, human resources,
and capital goods (capital resources) available to make goods
and services. In this lesson, students participate in two group activities
that involve distinguishing among types of resources and identifying
intermediate goods (ingredients) used in production. Through the
activities students also learn that people use resources in different
ways to produce different goods and services.
Lesson 1 (pdf: 54kb)
- Lesson 2 Pyramids in Production
The Egyptians built pyramids for their rulers with four sloping outside
walls shaped like triangles. These structures were tombs and could take
twenty or more years to build. Workers used sleds, wooden rollers, and
levers to move heavy stones of about 5,000 pounds. The fine stones for
the outside walls of the pyramids came from as far away as Nubia and
were loaded on barges and carried along the Nile River. In this lesson,
students analyze the use of human, capital, and natural resources in
the pyramid construction.
Lesson 2 (pdf: 36kb)
- Lesson 3 Porridge From an Ax
In this lesson, students learn about natural, human, and capital
resources, as well as ingredients (intermediate goods). They classify
various resources and ingredients. Students listen to a Kyrgyz folk
tale, learn about the resources used in the folk tale, and classify
those resources.
Lesson 3 (pdf: 45kb)
- Lesson 4 Entrepreneurs Exist Everywhere
Students consider how many goods and services were created to make
their lives better. This lesson examines the role of inventions, innovations,
and entrepreneurs in our economy. Working in groups, students engage
in problem solving and think about innovations to make people's lives
better.
Lesson 4 (pdf: 33kb)
- Lesson 5 Dacian Masks
After learning about the Dacians who lived about 2000 years ago in
the area now known as Romania, students make ancient Dacian masks. Students
classify the different productive resources used to produce masks as
natural resources, human resources, and capital goods, and identify
the intermediate goods they used in the production process. Although
this lesson focuses on Dacian masks, other ancient masks may be substituted
to fit with cultures students may be studying.
Lesson 5 (pdf: 32kb)
- Lesson 6 Work Pays
Discussing parent jobs and reading a story help students learn about
human resources. Students work at home and produce goods and services
by helping their families. They receive beans from the teacher as income
for their work. This experience allows students to link the idea that
income is received for work performed.
Lesson 6 (pdf: 38kb)
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