Findings from a study to determine the effect of experience-type teaching (real life vs. vicarious) and concept-label-type teaching (invented vs. conventional) on the learning and retention of economics concepts (opportunity cost) by 129 first graders suggest that real-life experiences and invented concept labels enhance learning and retention of…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 5900 Culminating…

Children in two first-grade classes and their teachers decided to take an imaginary trip to Washington D.C. For three weeks, the first graders spent their afternoons on the project, and their simulated flight was the culminating activity of a unit on Washington, D.C. In this article, the author discusses several details of the activity,…

This study explored the effect of experiential and experience-based approaches to learning and instruction on transitional first grade students' (a) acquisition and use of economic concepts and (b) economic reasoning ability as indicated by the presence or absence of misconceptions about economic concepts. A pretest-posttest control group design…

This document provides teaching guidelines and student material for a unit intended for use in first grade mathematics programs. Time allotment is from four to six hours of classroom time. The objective of this capsule is to help students learn how to earn and count money. The student material is divided into two sections. Section I focuses on…

This unit, which contains a teacher's guide and student materials, is designed for students with limited acquaintance with money (Grades K-1). Activities reinforce the basic concept of recognizing a penny, counting pennies, and associating monetary value with pennies from one to ten cents. These activities include listening to a taped read-along…

The teacher's guide is the third in a series of three developed for primary or early intermediate levels. It consists of learning experiences designed to build student familiarity with basic economic terms and concepts: consumer, producer, needs, wants, goods, services, short-range and long-range planning, fixed and variable expenses, and budgets.…

The teacher's guide is the first in a series of three developed for primary and early intermediate levels. The learning experiences focus on helping students to develop an understanding of the family as an economic unit, to acquire elementary classification skills, to appreciate the priority families must place on satisfying basic economic needs,…

The teacher's guide is the second of three developed for primary and early intermediate levels. The learning experiences focus on helping the student to develop an understanding of the family as an economic unit and of money as a medium of exchange that facilitates trade; to identify ways of earning, saving, and spending money; to recognize the…