Artifact Bags

Artifact Bag Lesson Plan

The Importance of History

Why study history?

Peter Stearns wrote, "because we virtually must, to gain access to the laboratory of human experience."

Ch. 11 Objective 5 :

Explain why the teaching of history must include the examination of conflicts.

 In order to teach history, you must examine conflicts. Conflicts shape history, without them, we would have never progressed, cultures would have never formed, civilizations would have never formed, etc.  When we examine conflicts we usually start with the causes first. Why did this conflict start? It is important to examine these causes because it can help to avoid conflicts in the future. We also examine the effects of the conflict/event. What changed after the conflict ended? Did society get better or worse? Also, by examining the causes and effects we can better understand these conflicts and realize the importance of them and the impact they had on life then and life now. 

For example: The American Revolution. There were many causes, unfair taxes was just one cause. The effect of the revolution was a new nation, The United States of America.

Literacy & Economics

What is Economics?

Economics is the study of how people use resources to fulfill their basic needs. It can change overtime. In our world today, we use money/currency to fulfill our needs. Our government uses money to fund programs, pay for military, etc. On a smaller scale, households use money to pay bills, gas, food, etc. .

Economics in the elementary school

How can we teach students to be literate in economics?

1. Relating ideas to current events
2. Biz Movie Project
3. Using Picture Books to read, discuss and create 

In class we discussed several children's books that dealt with Economics. The one that I looked at was for grades 1-2 and was called "How Much is a Million?" By David Schwartz. It talked about the value of money and ideas for what to do with money. It talked about responsible spending, saving and how to make more money. It also talked about banks and using checks. I think this book puts economics in a really good perspective for students and I would use it in a lesson. For example, I would read it aloud to the students and then ask them, "If I gave you $10, what would you do with it?". I would have them write in their notebooks and then share their answers with the rest of the class.