Integrating the Social Studies Across Colorado History Elementary Economics November 18, 2015 Marc Johnson Education Program Director Colorado Council for Economic Education Not one more thing! Not only are you supposed to teach PFL & Economics It can be enjoyable and rewarding! As best I can, Ill use the KISS approach Economics Content Area: Social Studies (4 standards) History, Geography, Economics, Civics For each grade level, P-8: One GLE in Economics One GLE in Personal Financial Literacy (PFL) Economics & PFL integrate well Concepts (technical vocabulary) Wants / Needs The economic trilogy scarcity, choice & cost Incentives positive negative Goods & services Productive resources natural, human, capital, entrepreneurship Presentation Objectives for Economics Concepts are universal Across space to the world, Mexico, Colorado, Denver or your classroom! Across time to the present, past or future! Lets Get Started! When I ask ANY group what economics is all about they invariably say MONEY When I ask ANY group what economics is all about they invariably say OR, they cite economic statistics: CO is the 2 nd largest aerospace employer in the US, behind CA. Median per capita income in CO in 2013 was $58,823 (US figure: $52,250). Colorados unemployment rate in December, 2014 was 4%. No economist likes those answers Lets start with some fundamental assumptions of the academic discipline of economics Economics is NOT about money or data. Wants & Needs CO Academic Standards make this distinction: Identify the difference between personal wants and needs. Give examples of the difference between something you want versus something you need. An economists reaction And heres why What do you need to survive the minimum? Were talking mere existence and basic survival. In the context of life in the 21 st century in an affluent society what do you need to survive? The distinctions between needs and wants become blurred. So, economists simply use one category Wants and make distinctions about how much we want something and posit that our wants are unlimited. And thatcreates a problem A Gift from CCEE Who would like this ultimate economics & PFL resource? Wants: ______ Available: 1 THE economic problem? Scarcity Wants > Availability or, Unlimited wants > Limited resources Scarcity Choice Economics is: the study of choice Scarcity necessitates choice people must choose The Economic Way of Thinking: Key Concept Scarcity Choice Trade-offs A World of Choice Grand Slam? Marry the little red- haired girl? Daily, Small Choices Should I go to the library today? Should I go hiking today? Maybe go shopping at the mall? Big, Strategic Decisions Should I go to college? Should I work instead of college? We All Confront Choice A school teacher? A business person? Develop a Decision-Making Framework for Students Help make decisions by learning a process for more careful choice Decision-Making Model Define the Problem outcome to be achieved List the Alternatives ways to achieve the outcome State the Criteria standards to judge alternatives Evaluate the Alternatives apply criteria to each alternative Make a Decision select best alternative Decision-Making Model Define the Problem List the Alternatives State the Criteria Evaluate the Alternatives Make a Decision PACED PACED Example My wife and I decide on restaurant for dinner Where to Go for Dinner? How about Venice restaurant? How about Shanahans restaurant? Problem: What Restaurant for Dinner? Shah Ajuaas Venice Food quality Menu choice Drive Time QuietCost = average+ = above average- = below average Criteria Alternatives What factors are important to you in making this decision? Used to rank one alterative as better than another. Shanahans Problem: Choose a Car to Purchase Alternatives Criteria Greatest value is not in the specific answer, but in the process of identifying important factors. What factors are important to you in making this decision? Used to rank one alterative as better than another. Candy Bar Activity One Volunteer, please? Opportunity lost opportunity cost Value of the best foregone alternative Choosing is refusing choose A, refuse B cost of A is value of B The Dismal Science! Theres no such thing as a free lunch! TNSTAAFL Choice involves cost opportunity cost The Economic Way of Thinking: Key Concept Sample question from Grade 4 CMAS Social Studies Practice Test Type your response in the box. Read the paragraph. What should the student do? Explain what her opportunity cost will be and why. A student is trying to decide whether to go roller skating, practice soccer, or read a book today. She has time to do only one activity. She went roller skating yesterday, she has an important soccer game tomorrow, and the book is a new one by her favorite author. Opportunity Cost Examples Cost of coming to this workshop today? Value of next best foregone alternative joy spending day with family or friends Cost of using frequent flyer miles to fly to Las Vegas? Value of using frequent flyer miles to fly to Miami A students cost of going to a movie with friends? $8.00 movie ticket price $2.00 transport (gas, etc.) $20.00 babysitting earnings given up Explicit Implicit Since Scarcity Requires Choice and since choice involves cost Why choose it? Assume that: People choose X if: B(X) > C(X); otherwise, not where : B(X) benefit of choice X C(X) cost of choice X B(X)C(X) Play It Again, Sam Raise the cost if C(X) > B(X), choose another bar s People respond to incentives The Economic Way of Thinking: Key Concept Are You Willing to be a police person? For: $20,000 per year? $40,000 per year? $60,000 per year? $80,000 per year? $160,000 per year? $320,000 per year? Practice Identify Incentives 1.Why do some students want good grades? 2.What makes you want to be a good teacher? 3.What makes a company want to build a ski resort? 4.What inspired people in Colorado Territory to want to become a state? Intended Consequences If people respond to incentives... then behavior can be altered in desired or intended ways For example The Camel Race s Two Bedouins met in the desert, and fell into an argument over their camels, each claiming that his was the slowest, stubbornest, most useless camel in all of Arabia. s The argument ended in a bet. They agreed to race to the oasis, two miles away, whichever camel arrived last would be proved slowest, and his owner would win ten dirham from the other. Camel Race continued s... They got on their camels, and set off slowly toward the oasis. More slowly, still more slowly. After a while, it became clear that since each Bedouin was trying to win the bet, they were never going to make it to the oasis. s... After a while, a wise sheik rode up on a donkey and asked them why they and their camels were standing still, in the middle of the desert, on a hot day, with the oasis less than two miles away. The Camel Race continued s They got off their camels, and all three sat down in the shade of a rock while the two Bedouins explained about their bet. s The wise sheik whispered two words to them. The Bedouins immediately jumped on the camels and rode off as fast as they could towards the oasis. What were the 2 words? ________ _________ Switch camels! The Treasury, Petra, Jordan Consequences s People respond to incentives causing intended consequences, and unintended consequences which can offset the intended benefits The Tax Man Cometh April 15, IRS rule change: Instead of merely listing each dependent child, tax filers required to provide Social Security number. Result? 7 million children disappeared Key Concept, Once Again s People respond to incentives and the rest is commentary Armchair Economist Stephen Landsberg Freakonomics & Super Freakonomics Steven Levitt Goods and Services Goods Things that can satisfy peoples wants. A car A house A dish of ice cream An i-pod Other goods Goods and Services Services Activities that can satisfy peoples wants. Dentistry (a dentist checking your teeth) Selling you a car (car sales person) Babysitting (babysitter) Playing professional football (professional athlete) Other services Where do goods and services come from? Think of a goodlike a house. What do you need to produce or build a house? Lumber Nails Saws Carpenters Roofers Economists call all of these resources. There are three kinds of resources. Human Resources Human resources are people who work to produce a good or service. Examples: Truck driver Plumber Teacher Nurse Can you name others? Natural Resources Natural resources are things that occur naturally in the world and can be used to produce a good or service. Examples: granite natural gas deer water gold Can you think of others? Capital Resources Capital resources are goods produced and used to make other goods and services. Examples: an office building a copy machine pots & pans a tractor a projector in school Can you name any more? Human, Natural & Capital Resources Practice... What productive resources are necessary to produce a haircut? Comb, brush, razor, clippers, electricity, scissors Hair stylist, receptionist Water Productive Resources Focus: Grades 3-5 Economics Lesson 1 Rolling for Resources Slides are hidden here but are available in the PPT you have access to in the class WIKI. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES Each group displays all its resource cards face-up. Make certain the cards are scattered slightly so that each resource card is visible. To win the individual game, a student must be the first to collect a human resource card, a natural resource card and a capital resource card. To win the group game, all members of the group must have all cards; first group to finish wins. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES The resource cards have dots on the back that match the dots for each type of resource on the die (human resources one dot; natural resources two dots; capital resources three dots). Students will take turns rolling the die. Begin with the youngest student in the group. After that, play will move to the left. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES If the die lands on natural resources, the student should find a natural resource card from the resource cards. If the die lands on human resource, the student should find a human resource card from the resource cards. If the die lands on capital resource, the student should find a capital resource card from the resource cards. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES If a student selects the correct resource card, the number on the back of the card will match the number of dots for the type of resource on the die. If a student selects a correct resource card from all the resource cards, he or she may keep the card and his or her turn is over. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES If the card selected isnt a correct example of the resource displayed on the die, the student must put the card back in the pile and wait for his or her next turn. If a student rolls the die and it lands on a resource for which he or she already has a card, he or she may roll a second time. If the die again lands on a type of resource for which he or she already has a card, he or she must wait until his or her next turn. A Game: Rolling for Resources RULES The game is played until each student in the group has correctly selected cards for each type of resource. When groups have finished Each group member gets a copy of Activity 1.3. Identify the resource cards you selected during the game by writing the resource name in the correct space in Activity 1.3. In the box next to each type of resource on Activity 1.3, write a sentence containing the name of this good or service and draw a picture of the good or service. Display completed 1.3 around the room. Discussion Why do people use productive resources? Name one of the three kinds of productive resources. What are natural resources? Give some examples of natural resources. What are human resources? Give some examples of human resources. Discussion What are capital resources? Give some examples of capital resources. What are some human resources needed to build a house? What are some capital resources needed to build a house? What are some natural resources needed to build a house? Assessment Activity 1.4 Did we achieve our objectives? Concepts (technical vocabulary) Wants / needs The economic trilogy scarcity, choice & cost Incentives positive / negative Goods & Services Productive resources natural, human, capital, entrepreneurship For Whom? Rationing Device Lottery First come Market/Price Command/Planner Force Share Need Market Economy or Command Economy? Two Primary Mechanisms Observed in World? Lets vote on the one we want to use for the gift from CCEE.