Creating critical economic thinkers

Economics is an area of social studies that covers a wide range of concepts, and likewise, is a part of our lives everyday. In the classroom economics instruction is not limited to discussion about money, but rather can be used to teach concepts about things students will encounter everyday in life. According to a study, children can begin to understand basic economic concepts as early as kindergarten. Some of these skills include, economic decision making, and weighing alternatives (pros and cons). this is important to consider because by giving students the skills to understand basic economic concepts early on will help them later in life to apply these concepts to real-world situations. One thing that many economists and educators have agreed on about economics instruction is that it is more important to instill in students basic economic concepts rather than placing a lot of importance on large amounts of factual knowledge. By understanding this, educators can shy away from the teaching of economics through memorization of economic terms, and move towards the creation of lessons that will spark students curiosity, and allow students to think critically about situations.

One method to illustrate economics to children in an engaging way is through literature. By analyzing literature that focuses on people from different cultural backgrounds, students can form generalizations and economic conepts that are based on these different economic situations. For example, the books The Ox-cart Man (1979) and Beatrice's Goat (2001), which follow the lives of subsistent farmers in the 1800's and today, can help students to improve their understanding of economics through the book's details, illustrations and questioning. By being exposed to books that illustrate the contrasting economic situations between certain groups of people, teachers can ask students questions that apply to both the content of the book, and important economic principles. Some possible questions that could be discussed include "How are schools in Uganda different from our schools?" Or, "Looking at the pictures, what is something that you think the family really needs. These are important questions to ask because students can make a connection to the question being asked, and relate it to the books content, or make connections with the illustrations.

Another important economic concept that can be applied to student's lives is economic decision-making skills. Decision making skills are a very important economic concept because our lives revolve around scarcity. Scarcity is an important concept for students to realize, and is usually learned early on when they learn (usually from their parents) that they cannot have everything they want. This is because things are scare, and people need to make choices. Because students already have a general understanding of this economic concept, teachers can realize this and teach to build on this prior knowledge. In the textbook Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades Sunal & Haas (2011) contend that "[h]elping students to identify alternatives, criteria, and consequences and to select what they see as the best alternative is the essence of teaching decision making." One way to practice these decision making skills is the creation of decision making charts. In these charts, students can help to generate solutions to problems by organizing pros and cons, to decide a possible alternative, or solution to the problem. Such charts can be made to represent a problem that the students can relate to more such as "Should recess be a required, and scheduled time during the school day?" However, economic concepts can also be used for students to practice decision making skills,  ability to identify pros and cons, or short term and long term consequences of an action. By using these strategies, teachers can guide students in their understand of basic economic concepts, and reinforce them through questioning about their created charts.



A more hands-on method of teaching economics is through field trips. Bringing students to local businesses, or companies can be a very meaningful lesson for students, especially if the students are allowed into areas that the general public is not normally permitted to enter. In addition to this, many government agencies, and federal institution such as the Federal Reserve Banks, the U.S Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service, have developed educational materials that can be given to students.  Allowing students to take a step into the world of economics rather than being read or be lectured about it can be very enlightening to students. For this reason, it is important to engage student in a form of economics instruction that is engaging, interesting, but also touches upon the basic concepts of economics. Through this type of instruction, our students can grow to be independent and critical economic thinkers.