Troy D. White shows high school teachers how to infuse economics into US History courses. Presented at the Greater Metropolitan New York (GMNY) Social Studies Conference on February 9, 2009.

1. Understanding Economics
in
U.S. History
How Economics Can Strengthen the Teaching of History
Today You'll Discover How To:
1. Apply Economic Reasoning to Historical Events
2. Use Mystery-based Lesson Plans and Activities
3. Find Supplemental Online Lesson Plans
Resources:
Focus: Understanding Economics In U.S. History -- http://ushistory.councilforeconed.org
EconEdLink -- http://www.econedlink.org
Troy D. White, Director of Sales and Marketing
Council for Economic Education
GMNY 2009
twhite@councilforeconed.org
February 7, 2009
212-730-1791 work
917-270-0634 cell

2. I became a teacher because
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3. What are some of the challenges of teaching history?
How Economics can help
Economics stresses that all people make choices. But...
... they don’t know, at the time, what the consequences of their choices will be.
So, people make decisions by weighing costs vs. benefits.
Your Goal
Get your students to see a range of possibilities by looking at historical events
through a prism of costs vs. benefits analysis
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 choices have consequences that lie in the future.

4. Visit
http://ushistory.councilforeconed.org/related_lessons.php
to find online lessons

5. Finding Teachable Moment Lesson Plans on EconEdLink.org
Step 1. Scroll to the bottom of http://www.econedlink.org and click on "quick search" to find
a particular concept
Step 2. Refine your search with the "Find a Lesson" section on the left side of the screen.
Click the "advanced" button to search the title and body for keywords
Step 3. Use these links to navigate the site:
a) Current Events – latest economic news, with "related lesson plans" that help you
apply economics lessons to current events
b) Weblinks – online resources and Web sites
c) Datalinks – key economic data, and what it means
d) Cyberteach – includes a "Today In History" with related lessons to teach that topic;
EconEdLink Tools, http://www.econedlink.org/cyberteach/tools.php, has interactives
e) Standards – find lesson plans that meet the NY economic standards
References, Additional Resources for Teaching Economics in
U.S. History
Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial Edition, Edited by Richard Sutch and
Susan Carter with contributions from 200 other scholars, Cambridge University Press, 2006
History of the American Economy, Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff, South-Western
Thompson Learning
American Economic History, Jonathan Hughes and Louis P. Cain, Pearson Education, Inc.
An Entrepreneurial History of the United States, Gerald Gunderson, Beard Books
Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, Thomas Sowell, Basic Books
Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity
James Gwartney, Richard Stroup and Dwight Lee, St. Martin’s Press
www.commonsenseeconomics.com