Capstone: Exemplary Lessons for High School Economics

Overview Economic Way of thinking Overview of Capstone including “mysteries” Lesson 40 Why Do People Trade

Economic Way of Thinking and Capstone Mysteries

The Economics Myth Myth – Economics is all about the money. Reality – Economics is all about how people make choices. – Economics is a way of thinking and understanding.

The Florida Teacher Mystery Teachers have things to do. They: – Prepare lessons – Attend staff meetings – Attend parent conferences – Teach classes – Run clubs and coach sports – Grade papers – Prepare for tests – Complete forms and reports – Enter grades – Attend more meetings… Why would teachers with so many things to do want to attend a seminar on economics -- a subject most teachers love to hate?

The Guide To Economic Reasoning 1.People choose. 2.People’s choices involve costs. 3.People respond to incentives in predictable ways. 4.People create economic systems that influence individual choices and incentives. 5.People gain when they trade voluntarily. 6.People's decisions have consequences that lie in the future.

The Oil Reserves Mystery Proven oil reserves stand at 531 billion barrels and we are consuming 16.5 billion barrels annually. Quick! How many years will it take us to run out of oil? This was the situation in By 2010, proven oil reserves had increased to over 1.30 trillion barrels even though the world is consuming about 35 billion barrels annually. How can this be?

The Battle for the Overhead Bins Air travelers kiss their loved ones goodbye… And then transform into baggage warriors stuffing all sorts to oversized bags rudely into overhead bins. Why do they do that? Bonus Question: How could a change in the rule of the game influence their behavior?

Why Can’t You Buy A Car on Sunday In Detroit, Michigan, – You can buy a lottery ticket on Sunday. – You can buy a cigar on Sunday. – You can buy a bottle of gin on Sunday. But in Michigan (and Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, nad Utah) you can’t buy a new car on Sunday. Why?

Why Grow Cotton in the Desert? Water is a scarce resource, especially in Arizona. Yet, growing cotton and citrus crops are an important part of the Arizona’s economy. Why would farmers grow monsoon crops in the desert?

The Mystery of the Alien Bananas Bananas are a tropical fruit. No one in Florida grows them commercially. Florida statutes provide no plan for getting bananas to grocery stores. Yet, there they are there – everyday, even the most rural grocery stores. How can that be?

John Stossel Gets a Steak

Capstone Features

Complete lesson plans Linked the CEE National Standards Field tested and reviewed Mysteries and Guide to Economic Thinking 45 lessons Assessments for each lesson Glossary

Authors Jane Lopus John Morton Robert Reinke Mark Schug Donald Wentworth

Capstone Mysteries Unit 1 Why do an increasing number of Americans, the same people who admire the slim and slender so often featured in the media, exercise too little and eat too much?

The Guide To Economic Reasoning 1.People choose. 2.People’s choices involve costs. 3.People respond to incentives in predictable ways. 4.People create economic systems that influence individual choices and incentives. 5.People gain when they trade voluntarily. 6.People's decisions have consequences that lie in the future.

True or False Clues Few Americans know that exercising more and eating less can help many people become healthier? T or F? Exercise and a healthy diet are free. T or F ? In jobs that involve physical work, exercise is like a fringe benefit.T or F ? The price of food has been increasing. T or F? Passive modes of entertainment -- like television and video games -- are popular with many Americans. T or F ? Common jobs in the past -- in mining, farming, and manufacturing -- were much safer than today’s jobs in technology, law, and finance? T or F ?

Solving the Mystery Americans are gaining extra weight not because they are lazy or because of a sudden increase in the desire to eat fatty foods. Today many Americans have accepted the new jobs created in a market system that involve less exercise. Americans have traded thinness and some of the health benefits that came with strenuous, dangerous work to live longer and healthier lives. The cost of physical activity has gone up, prompting people to make new choices regarding exercise.

Capstone Mysteries Unit 2 Why did the Soviet Union collapse? Unit 3 Why is it that people in diverse occupations, occupations that contribute in very different ways to the social good, earn such different incomes? Unit 4 How can people acting in their own self-interest contribute to the social good?

Capstone Mysteries Unit 5 Why hasn’t the Endangered Species Act protected more critters? Unit 6 How can the unemployment rate increase at the same time that more people are getting jobs? Unit 7 Since international trade is a relatively small part of the American economy, why is there all the fuss over going global?