Georgia Economic History
Mike Raymer
Program Manager
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
“I hope I die during a workshop
because the transition from life
to death would be so subtle.”
-anonymous teacher
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
The Vision
Students leaving school prepared for
their roles as:
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Productive Workers
Informed Consumers
Involved Citizens
Prudent Savers
Wise Investors
Sound lifelong decision makers in a
globally interdependent world
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
The Mission
To help teachers teach those
students, K-12, in the public and
independent schools of Georgia
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Economically
Are You Smarter
^
Than an Eighth Grader?
Teaching the Economics in the
Georgia Performance Standards
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Where in the World?
1. Find ten items in the room.
2. Write down the name of each item.
3. Look at “made in” tag.
4. Record country where item was made.
Why a workshop
on economics?
Remember…this is a
Georgia History
course!!
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
The New GPS
Grades K-8
• approved October 2004
• two major changes
focus on the United States seven of
nine years during K-8
builds across the grades like a ladder
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Spiral vs. Ladder
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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The New GPS
• rollout training completed
• implementation began Fall 2007
• new CRCT administered
Spring 2008
- scores fell…
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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The New CRCT
• history
• geography
• civics/government
• economics
(including personal finance)
• core skills
• map and globe
• information processing
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Content Weight
for the GPS CRCT
GPS
Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Hist
30%
50%
50%
30%
47%
Geog
20%
15%
15%
30%
12%
Civic
30%
20%
20%
20%
25%
Econ
20%
15%
15%
20%
16%
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Why economics in
United States and
Georgia History?
U.S. schools rely on history to
teach about our national identity
and knowledge of our past.
Are we succeeding?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Why economics in
Georgia History?
Think about the context of history…
History is the record of political and
economic decisions
that people have made
across time.
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Integrate
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Enrich
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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How do we prepare?
Focus on
economic decision making
across the eras of
Georgia history.
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Who Would Have
Predicted in 1980…
• the collapse of the
Soviet Union
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Who Would Have
Predicted in 1980…
• Nelson Mandela
as president of
South Africa
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Who Would Have
Predicted in 1980…
• a long period of economic
stagnation in Japan
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Who Would Have
Predicted in 1980…
• record economic
expansion in the
1990s
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Who Would Have
Predicted in 2007…
Gas prices
would be
$4.00 per
gallon in
2008?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Consider the following...
• Economics is a
Shadow Curriculum
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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What do adults frequently
identify as the most basic
concept in economics?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Economics is
More Than
Supply and Demand
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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What do students frequently
identify as the most basic
concept in economics?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Economics is
More Than
Money
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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What is the most basic,
fundamental concept in
economics?
Scarcity
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Marooned…
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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6 feet of rope
25 cans of SPAM
6’ x 6’ tarp
Swiss Army knife
A case of ice cream sandwiches
Chainsaw
Flare gun (two flares)
Small mirror
Case of Powerade
Matt Ryan jersey
Irish setter named George
Survival guide book
16 gallons of drinking water
Machete
A bible
32 pairs of blue jeans
Because of scarcity, people
must choose.
Student Student Student
Options Student
A
B
C
D
• movies 1st 3rd 2nd 2nd
• skating 3rd 1st 1st 3rd
2nd 2nd 3rd 1st
• pizza
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Because of scarcity, people
must choose.
Options
• third term
• Mount Vernon
• king
George Washington’s
Priorities
2nd
1st
3rd
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Opportunity Cost
The next best alternative
given up when a
decision is made.
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Our essential question…
What is economics?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Our enduring understanding…
Economics is…
making decisions about
allocating limited resources
to get the unlimited number
of things we want.
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Handouts
1. What is Economics?
2. Economics Thinking Guide
3. Economic Decision Guide
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Factors of Production

Productive Resources
• Natural Resources/Land
• Human Resources/Labor
• Capital Goods/Tools
• Entrepreneurship
• risk taker
• innovative ideas
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Demonstration Lesson
Lesson 5
Land, land everywhere...
How do I get my share?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Guide to Economic Thinking
Pulling the Pieces Together
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.
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Economics…
Do You Teach this
“stuff”?
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Demonstration Lesson
Lesson 7
The War will be over in
a few days….
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Georgia
Economic History
Teaching the Economics
Georgia Performance Standards
at Grade 8
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Components of
Georgia Economic History
• Essay for the teacher on the economic
history of our nation
• Series of seventeen lesson plans, one for
each era of the GPS framework
• Includes Georgia Stories and The New
Georgia Encyclopedia
• Glossary of GPS economic terms
• Sample CRCT test questions
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Introducing the
Georgia Economic History
Lessons
- embedded in eras of history
- lesson essential question
- introduction/abstract
- GPS correlation
- economic concepts
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Introducing the
Georgia Economic History
Lessons
- knowledge and skills objectives
- materials needed
 Georgia Stories and New Georgia Encyclopedia
- time required
- procedure
- assessment
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Personal Finance
• comprehensive
program targeted
at grades K-2, 3-5
and 6-8
• separate workshop
• offered through
the Stock Market
Game workshop
Georgia Council on Economic Education
www.gcee.org
Georgia’s Global Economy
• One in every ten manufacturing jobs in Georgia is
related to exports
• One-sixth of Georgia’s farm products are exported
• Georgia is the Southeast’s gateway to the world
with 12 airlines operating 55 direct international
flights per day to 36 cities; Delta alone offers service
to 72 foreign cities in 45 countries
• Savannah is the fifth largest port in the United
States; the second largest single container facility
and the fastest growing port in the country
Georgia’s Global Economy
• State of Georgia agencies maintain 11 economic
business offices in Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil,
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Israel, South
Korea, China, Japan
• Fifteen foreign governments have operations in
Georgia to promote trade between their countries
and Georgia
• Seventy-six governments are represented in
Atlanta, operating 21 career consulates, 31
honorary consulates, 24 trade and tourism offices,
and 39 foreign-American chambers of commerce
Georgia’s Global Economy
Georgia’s business community includes
more than 2,500 internationally owned
facilities from 61 countries and
employing more than 148,000
Georgians with an estimated capital
investment of $24.3 billion.
Georgia’s Global Economy
• Germany has the
largest presence –
245 companies
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Japan 189
the UK 118
France 83
Canada 74
Netherlands 73
• Japanese companies
employ the most
Georgians – 27,051
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Germany 14,914
Netherlands 12,968
UK 11,314
Canada 9,343
France 8,100
Exports from Georgia by
Region, 2005
The Americas
Europe
Asia
Exports from Georgia
• Georgia is the world leader in the production
of carpet, kaolin, chicken and watermelon.
• Top industries include automotive,
agriculture, food processing, tourism, life
sciences, high technology, metal fabrication
and plastics.
• Exports from Georgia industries totaled
$27.5 billion in 2008, ranking Georgia as the
13th largest exporting state in the nation.
Demonstration Lesson
Lesson 15
Planes, trains, boats,
and automobiles…
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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Georgia Council on Economic Education
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The end
Georgia Council on Economic Education
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