Exploring the Options: Teaching Economic Decision-Making with Poetry

Abstract

High-stakes standardized tests in reading and limited instructional time are two powerful disincentives for teaching economics in the elementary classroom. In this article, integrating instruction in poetry and economic decision-making is presented as one way to maximize the use of scarce instructional time. Following a brief introduction to the role of economics in children's lives and a rationale for using poetry to teach significant economic concepts, summaries of four appropriate poetry collections and a description of a recent experience teaching economics with poetry in a fifth-grade classroom are presented.

Keywords:

• economics
• elementary
• decision-making
• poetry