Integrating economics into mathematics.

New Progress in Mathematics, with Pre-Algrebra Readiness
McDonnell, et al
Sadlier-Oxford Mathematics Series
Copyright 2003

Use the lesson, A Penny Saved is a Penny at 4.7% Earned, when helping students calculate a budget.

Science
Daniel, et al
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
Copyright 2002

Use the lesson, Destination: Mars, when students are studying the solar system.

Exploring Physical Science
Maton, et al
Prentice Hall Publishing
Copyright 1999

Use the lesson, Cost/Benefit Analysis: Three Gorges Dam, when studying environmental issues. The article, The Chains That Bind, from the above text discusses the effect of mercury poisoning in waterways.

Science, People, Concepts, Processes
Neal J. Holmes, et al
Webster Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company
Copyright 1974

Ryan Tomlinson suggests using the lesson, Destination: Mars, When discussing how resource is funded and how finding effects the way the resource is done. This would be a good opportunity to discuss with the class what scarcity of resources is how it plays a role in science and discovery. The link to the website below is a lesson plan that deals with how what resources a person has access to can effect how scientists conduct research.

Elementary School Mathematics (grades 1-2)
Robert E. Eicholz
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
Copyright: 1971

Annette Taylor suggests using the lesson, Every Penny Counts, with certain concepts presented in this text.

Annette's notes...

The lesson was on the value of coins; counting change, deciding what coins would be needed to buy an item, and writing down the value of groups of coins. The lesson was very old fashioned and needed some interesting stories and games to go along with it. I chose a lesson on the economic lesson plan site [econedlink] titled, “Every Penny Counts.” It was great for younger kids because it had two interactive links so the students could play a couple games that were fun and colorful. The items and questions were something children could relate to in their personal lives. The site also provided a story where the teacher reads half of it then discusses with the class the problem of making choices (opportunity costs). The story goes on and tells how Josh decides to buy a hamster and all the different items needed for this kind of pet and what the added costs will be. This story leaves the teacher and students great opportunities for all kinds of discussions about spending money and the importance of making wise decisions. I think this would be a really fun way to teach the value of money and the concept of a limited budget.

Merrill Mathematics
Merrill Publishing Company
Copyright 1985

Carolyn Bond recommends using the interactive economics lesson, The Best Deal Popup Challenge, when teaching about the concepts presented in this textbook.

Editor's note: Carolyn's lesson suggestion complements elementary math texts addressing unit pricing.

Carolyn's notes...

In the Merrill Mathematics elementary textbook titled “Mathematics and Consumers,” students learn how to calculate the unit price of an item of different amounts. Such a lesson will provide a challenging activity for students who are comfortable with dividing numbers with decimals. To compare the determined unit prices, the students must also be comfortable with subtraction operations.

The lesson features an example comparing the price per ounce of a small jar to the price per ounce of a large jar. After determining the unit price, students can determine which amount of the good is the best buy. Several exercises are also provided for additional practice. The authors have also included several word problems for the students to solve. These problems allow students to translate the problem into a mathematical equation.

The online teacher’s resource, Econ Ed Link provides an interactive activity to test students’ comprehension of this subject. “The Best Deal Pop Up Challenge” gives several scenarios of different amounts of a given good, and the students must calculate the unit price in order to determine the lowest cost per unit and the best buy.

To complete this activity, students will need to have mastered division of decimals, subtraction, in addition to finding the least common multiple among a set of numbers. For instance, one question asks students to determine which statement describes the lowest unit price and to compare the prices of a good at the volumes of 8, 16, and 20. In order to complete this problem, students will need to determine the cost per unit of the item at a volume of 4.

The online activity tallies the correct answers and generates a percent on the results page. This results page may be e-mailed to the instructor or printed for grading. This activity is an appropriate supplement to the third through fifth grade curriculum.

Grandma Essie's Covered Wagon
Written by David Williams
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Reading
James Flood
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
Copyright 2003

Gabrielle suggests using the lesson, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Frontier Town, as a complement to the story.

Gabrielle's notes...

“Grandma Essie’s Covered Wagon” is a story about a family trying to cope with hardships of life in frontier times. As the family moves from one location to another to find a way to support the family, we can see glimpses of the economy as they were at that time. The economics lesson shows what kinds of markets were available to people during this time period. It lets students find out what goods and services were available, and how people utilized those goods and services. This lesson is definitely geared to 4th or 5th graders. I think that no matter how technologically advanced kids are today, they enjoy exploring how people lived and survived in a different time!

Math Advantage
Harcourt Brace & Company
Copyright 1994

Stacey Kollarik suggests using the lesson, Old Business, New Business, when addressing consumer math in elementary texts.

Stacey's notes...

When flipping through a math textbook that appears to be somewhere between grades 4-5, I discovered that there are side sections in it entitled “Consumer Connections.” Each one of these has do with a different economics concept ranging from discounts to advertising to being consumers. I found them to be very interesting as well as good areas where economics can be integrated into the subject.

The “Consumer Connection” I chose to use is one regarding advertising. On the website econedlink.org, I found a lesson called “Old Business, New Business.” This lesson allows students to research old companies and see how they have changed over the years in area of advertising, what goods and services were provided by the company and technological changes made by the company.