Cultural Lit. 50: The Economy of the Four-Corners

Summary

Students will: Apply alternative indicators to SE Utah and the Four-Corners regional society to evaluate the social welfare of the population after receiving direct instruction, reading selected texts and working in group structures, within 1 class period.

Materials

1. Economics Textbook
2. Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock. 2001. Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
3. Stephens, E. and Brown, J. 2000. A Handbook of Content Literacy Strategies. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.
4. Journal or notebook.

Instructional Procedures

Anticipatory Set:
Post the names and words 'Leading, coincident, lagging, indicator, fluctuate' on the board, on a flipchart or on a projection device and ask the class if they are familiar with these terms. Conduct a collective brainstorming session (utilizing group structures) and add the generated vocabulary words to posted ones. Allow students to postulate their understanding of words and concepts.

Activities:
1. Students will read--individually or in a group structure--pages from the class text explaining the use of indicators to predict the business cycle and take notes outlining the concept (see Marzano, Pickering and Pollock p. 46, Informal Outline).

2. Students will identify major businesses and industry in SE Utah, and utilizing a cooperative group structure, will take notes listing the businesses (see Marzano, Pickering and Pollock p. 46, Informal Outline).

3. Utilizing a cooperative group structure, students will generate alternative indicators specific to SE Utah and the Four-Corners-Region.

4. Students will report to class from groups.

Assessment Plan

Students will take notes utilizing note-taking frames to list main points of using indicators to predict the business cycle. Students will record in their journals (see Stephens & Brown--Content Journal, p. 28) how they personally are affected by one or more alternative indicators.