1. What Does This Mean For
Economics Education?
By:
The USF Stavros Center

2. Overview of the Initiative
State-led and developed common core
standards for K-12 in English/language arts
and mathematics
Focus on learning expectations for students,
not how students get there.

3. Why Now?
• Different standards across states
• Student mobility
• Global competition
• Today’s jobs require different skills

4. Key Shifts in ELA/Literacy
• Balancing informational and literary text
• Building knowledge in the disciplines
• Complex Texts and Close Reading
• Text-Based Answers
• Writing From Sources
– Argumentative
– Short and sustained research projects
• Academic Vocabulary
4

5. Balancing Informational & Literary
Text
• In economics K-5, use of:
– Social Studies textbook
– Non-fiction & primary sources
– Literary texts (literature/fiction)
– Digital (websites, photos, videos, etc.)
5

6. Building knowledge in the disciplines
• In economics, emphasize reading to learn:
– Learn from what they read
– Do not summarize for them
6

7. Staircase of Complexity/Complex Texts
• Students read the central, grade appropriate
text (based on “lexiles” and other measures).
– Economics textbooks need to be more complex
– Include text plus primary source documents and
other complexities (graphs, charts, images, etc)
7
CCSS, Appendix A, page 4

8. http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/

9. Texts
9

10. Text-Based Answers
It’s all about the text!
Ask good questions, based on reading.
Expect answers, based on evidence from reading.
For example, in Economics:
– Economic Way of Thinking
– Core Economics Concepts
10

11. The Economic Way of Thinking
11
http://www.kidseconposters.com/images/6core.swf

12. Common Sense Economics
Dwight Lee
• Lexile® Measure 1450L
• Demand and Supply
12
http://commonsenseeconomics.com/

13. Writing From Sources
• Writing uses evidence from different sources
– Writing to inform: use textbook and other
documents (including photos, videos, primary
sources, websites) to provide information.
– Writing to make an argument: use textbook and
other documents (i.e. photos, videos, websites,
maps, primary sources) to argue facts and persuade
*Use newspaper or magazine articles: The Economist,
Time Moneyland, New York Times, The Atlantic,
Wall Street Journal (classroom edition)
http://classroom.wsj.com/
13

14. Primary Source Lessons from the
Federal Reserve
• Lesson to Accompany the First Bank of the U.S.A.publication:
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/teachers/lesson-plans/
• Myths, Tall Tales and Urban Legends: Facts Behind the Fed :
http://www.frbatlanta.org/documents/edresources/MythsLessonC
• Free Silver Lesson:
https://www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources/assets/lesson_pla
• Our Great Depression curriculum website also has links to
primary source documents, videos, interviews, photographs,
and FDR's fireside chats:
http://www.stlouisfed.org/greatdepression/
14

15. Data Resources
• FRASER: Federal Reserve Archives :
http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/
• FRED: Customizable graphs
--http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
• GeoFRED- Geography based tool :
http://geofred.stlouisfed.org/#
15

16. Academic Vocabulary
• Focus on general academic words: discourse,
generate, theory, compare/contrast.
• Focus on discipline-specific words: economic
concepts and associated words
– Economics Glossary:
http://www.econedlink.org/economic-resources/gloss
– Fifty Nifty Econ Cards:
http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/resources/fif
16

17. What Should We Do?
• MAINTAIN NGSSS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES!
• Leveling texts we have and creating new texts.
• Attention to primary sources
• Writing from sources: writing like an economist!
• Reading complex texts: thinking like an economist!
• Match materials to standards
• Integrate literacy standards as tools to teach the content:
reading and writing about economics!
• Provide Economics Activities that relate to standards

18. More Information
• Visit http://www.corestandards.org/
• Visit our home page for a link to more information:
http://stavros.coedu.usf.edu/ and click the common core
message under What’s New or to to:
http://globalliteracies.wordpress.com/common-core-for-
global-literacies/