Welcome to the Focus: Understanding Economic in U.S. History Workshop Leader's Guide (WLG)
The purpose of this online guide is to help state Councils on Economic Education and university Centers for Economic Education to provide professional development for teachers so they can effectively use the Focus: Understanding Economic in U.S. History curriculum in their classrooms. But the materials here also are useful to teachers. For example, there are 10 PowerPoint presentations ready to use in your workshop. Check it out!
- Download Entire WLG (.zip file - 8 MB)
Workshop Nuts and Bolts
The WLG contains strategies for recruiting teachers for workshops, sample workshop agendas, PowerPoint presentations and an evaluation form.
- Strategies for Recruiting Teachers (Word - 31 KB)
- Evaluation Form (Word - 26 KB)
Workshop Description
A sample workshop description is provided. This is designed for use on brochures or to submit as a session at your state council for social studies meetings.
- Workshop Description (Word - 24 KB)
Sample Agendas
The WLG has a sample agenda for a one hour, a half-day workshop and a one-day workshop. Everything you need to implement these agendas is listed below. Just point and click and the right PowerPoint presentation or lesson to be demonstrated will be ready for downloading.
- One Hour Workshop Agenda (Word - 41 KB)
- Half-Day Workshop Agenda (Word - 49 KB)
- One-Day Workshop Agenda (Word - 57 KB)
PowerPoint Presentations
There are 10 PowerPoint presentations ready to download and use. They are:
- How Economics Can Strengthen the Teaching of History (PowerPoint - 1 MB)
- Introduction to Economic Thinking (PowerPoint - 2 MB)
- Lesson 3 Why Do Economies Grow? (PowerPoint - 1 MB)
- Lesson 5 Indentured Servants (PowerPoint - 635 KB)
- Lesson 8 and 9 Economics of the Constitution (PowerPoint - 378 KB)
- Lesson 10 Rising Living Standards in the New Nation (PowerPoint - 564 KB)
- Lesson 18 and 19 Economics of the Civil War (PowerPoint - 473 KB)
- Lesson 23 Industrial Development (PowerPoint - 201 KB)
- Lesson 30 Whatdunnit? (PowerPoint - 231 KB)
- Wrap Up Key References (PowerPoint - 36 KB)
Sample Lessons
There are PDF files of the lessons demonstrated in the half-day and one-day workshops. These are duplicates of the lessons in the book. The lessons are:
- Lesson 3 - Why Do Economics Grow? (PDF - 88 KB)
- Lesson 4 - Understanding the Colonial Economy in a Global Context (PDF - 93 KB)
- Lesson 5 - Indentured Servitude: Why Sell Yourself into Bondage? (PDF - 81 KB)
- Lesson 8 - Problems Under the Articles of Confederation (PDF - 81 KB)
- Lesson 9 - The U.S. Constitution: Rules of the Game (PDF - 76 KB)
- Lesson 10 - Rising Living Standards in the New Nation (PDF - 138 KB)
- Lesson 18 - Why Did the South Secede? (PDF - 76 KB)
- Lesson 19 - Economic Analysis of the Civil War (PDF - 63 KB)
- Lesson 23 - Bigger Is Better: The Economics of Mass Production (PDF - 70 KB)
- Lesson 30 - Whatdunit? The Great Depression Mystery (PDF - 83 KB)