|
|
Old MacDonald to Uncle Sam
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 Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI),
U.S. Department of Education, for the CEEP 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 provided
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. Two lessons each are
provided
at the elementary, middle, and high school grade levels.
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 Old MacDonald to Uncle Sam. This publication
contains six lessons for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms developed
by writers from Belarus, Croatia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, 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 Educational
Research and Improvement under PR Grant # R304A010003. NCEE extends its appreciation
to the Department of Education for its support of Cooperative Education Exchange
Program (formerly known as the International Education Exchange Program).
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
Aleksandr Balkunov
Kyrgyzstan |
Liudmila Guinkel
Russia |
Stephenie Stevens
Idaho, USA |
Jadranka Bernik
Croatia |
Martha Hopkins
Virginia, USA |
Lynne Stover
Virginia, USA |
Vernon Dobis
Minnesota, USA |
Agota Matyas
Hungary |
Jennifer Taunton
Arkansas, USA |
Lessie Freeman
Virginia, USA |
Jeanine Kaczorowski Moore
Delaware, USA |
Cathy Trana
Minnesota, USA |
Gerogeta Georgescu
Romania |
Brenda Smith
Colorado, USA |
Svetlana Yurkovskaya
Belarus |
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
|
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Goods and Services: Some are Private, Some
are Not
Scribe for Productivity
Uncle Sam’s Checkbook
Scarcity and Choice
Public Goods and Services
|
