In 2018, I had the privilege to attend the Mount Vernon Teacher Institute. It was one of the best (if not the best) institute I have ever attended! If you ever have a chance to apply, please do! The resources, relationships, and memories will be with you for a very long time!
At the time of the institute, I was teaching Government/AP Government along with Economics. Like many teachers, one doesn’t think much about how to adapt valuable resources to teach economic concepts. I decided to do just that.
SCARCITY… it is the basis of all Economics! Because of scarcity, individuals have to make choices in how to allocate these scare resources. Economics assumes individuals are rational human beings (insert BIG eye roll), where individuals weigh the pros (benefits) and cons (costs) of each decision. To help teach this concept, I use the Be Washington simulation through Mount Vernon. Although this is geared more towards U.S. History classes, I adapted it for my Economics students. Here is an overview. Please watch before proceeding.
This is a great simulation to teach students how to think through choices. For each option, students will have to choose various advisors to consult before making a final decision. Mount Vernon’s website has lesson plans for each option, including the worksheets students will need. One detail I add to the worksheet is making students tell me which choice they chose and WHY. In the reason (the “WHY”), they must include statements from the people they consulted.
A culminating activity you can do is create a cost/benefit (pro/con) chart as a class. Draw a t-chart on the board. Write the question at the top (for example, should the U.S. support the French in the revolution?). For the t-chart, list pros on one side and cons on the other. Ask students which advisors wanted the U.S. to support he French. List them under the pros/benefit side. All the ones who believed the U.S. should not support the French should be listed in the costs/con side. For each person, have the students give a statement that the advisor stated that supports why the U.S. should or should not help the French. This activity will not only serve as a visual to the students as to how to think through decisions but also show them how complicated domestic and foreign matters can be to a president.
Economics is all about choices which is why it is called the science of choice. The best gift that can be given to students is teaching them how to think through decisions, considering the costs and benefits of each choice they make. Not only will this apply when analyzing history but as they think through current events and all future decisions they will make.
Nothing makes economic concepts more relevant than applying to real world situations, especially to historical events students may have already studied. Economics is more than “the dismal science.” All it takes is a little creativity in adapting what is already available to apply to Economics classes.
