Return to Human Decsion Making Index Page
Essential Question:
"How Do Choices Affect Our Everyday Life?"
Erica Pacheco
Overview
I am a teacher at Cleveland Middle School, a public middle school in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. Our school demographics range from lower fixed income to middle and upper middle
incomes. Student population is categorized into the following:
55% Anglo; 38% Hispanic; 5% Native American; 2% African American. There are
approximately 900 students enrolled at Cleveland. Also, thirty-five percent of our
students receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch.
Our school is a Coalition School Ted Sizer and Deborah Meier put together Ten
Essential Principles that all teachers and students focus on throughout the school year.
The Ten Principles are:
- Focus- Schools help all students to use their minds well.
- Simple Goals- Less is more. Schools must have in-depth study.
- Universal Goals- School practice should be tailor-made to meet the needs of every
group or class of adolescents.
- Personalization- Smaller class size allows teachers to know students.
- Student-as-Worker- Student is engaged in his/her learning; no sage-on-stage
imparting knowledge.
- Demonstration of Mastery- Students exhibit their mastery and understanding of
subject matter.
- Tone- Tone of a school should be safe; child-centered.
- Teacher-as-Generalist- Teacher acts as facilitator or counselor.
- Budget- Budget is the concern for the administration.
- Cultural Diversity- Students and staff recognize and respect diversity.
The students that are in my classroom are sixth grade special education students in a
self-contained classroom, where all core subject areas are integrated during the day. The
class ranges throughout the year from a 12:1 PTR (pupil teacher ratio) to a 15:1 PTR. Each
student has a specific learning disability or a behavioral disorder. The abilities in my
students range from a second grade level to ninth grade level in reading and reading
comprehension. Their confidence and self-esteem are very poor. They are easily distracted,
and it is very difficult for them to retain material that is taught to them on a daily
basis. Their family backgrounds are as diverse as their learning disabilities.
Objectives
- Students will apply problem solving approaches to investigate decision making skills.
- Students will compare, categorize, classify, and sequence ideas and information.
- Students will identify cause and effect relationships.
- Students will predict reasonable outcomes from various novels, poems, rhymes, and
videos.
- Students will learn what inference means and apply it to the tasks at hand.
- Students will examine the role of social studies in various cultures and societies of
the world.
Narrative
Rationale
My goal is to teach my students that there are rational and irrational choices. The
students don’t realize that there is more than one choice that they can make. They
have that self-fullfilling prophecy, "you think I’m bad so I will act bad"
or "I’m in a special education class so I must be stupid." Decisions are a
part of everyday life that children and adults have to make. I want my students to learn
strategies, so that they can decide for themselves, taking into consideration what is
right or wrong. I don’t want to tell them what to think. I want them to think for
themselves while making momentary decisions.
To introduce decision-making to the students I would like to read to them Hunches
in Bunches by Dr. Seuss. All children and most adults like to listen to rhymes and
short easy reading picture books. This will be my hook to get the students interested in
how and why we make choices. Also, it shows about fifty different choices when you cannot
make up your mind.
This unit will be taught in the first semester in our literature/language arts block.
We will read two novels from Kids In Between, a publishing company that has specific
materials for low-functioning handicapped students. The reading level is at a fourth grade
and the subject matter is high interest. First, we will read The Other Side of the
Sun, which is about a fifteen year old juvenile delinquent who is always in
trouble and ends up in a detention center where his teacher notices that he can not read
or write. He has a difficult time admitting he needs help. The adolescent has only known
poverty and failure in school. The poor decisions this adolescent makes about his life
keep getting him further and further into trouble. The other novel is The Bottle in
the Kitchen, where two sisters are children of alcoholics. Though the characters
endure suffering and cope with realistic problems, the story ends in hope. The characters
are admirable teenagers who become strong in spite of what decisions they were dealt. Even
though we will mainly be focusing on this unit during the first semester we will always
refer back to it during the second semester.
I not only want to use the decision-making process in literature, but I would also like
to integrate it through social studies, art, and music. When we study Greek mythology, we
read the stories about the brilliantly gifted creatures, gods and goddesses who make
irrational choices. For example, the usually clear thinking Odysseus was ship wrecked on
Ogygia, a mythical island. He was bewitched by the nymph Calypso who promised Odysseus
immortality and eternal life if he stayed on the island; Calypso kept him captive for
seven years. The wise and noble Priam, king of Troy, ignored the prophet Cassandra’s
warning that the wooden horse was full of Greek soldiers. King Midas was given the gift by
Bacchus of having his wish come true, and that wish was that everything he touched would
turn to gold. In the end Midas almost killed himself, due to the fact that
"everything" included food, and he almost died of starvation. These examples are
just a few of the past mistakes people or creatures have made (Scope & Sequence A:1b).
The Role of Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy is a powerful psychotherapy that was specifically developed to
confront and combat thinking mistakes. Cognitive therapy is based on a number of clinical
developments that share the assumption that most of us possess sufficient common sense to
deal with life’s crises and challenges. When we need our better judgment it is
sometimes clouded by our emotions. May it be love, excitement, anger or unhappiness or
fear, when these emotions come into play we do not see clearly. We rationalize rather than
logically analyze.
When we need to make better judgments, we need a set of smart thinking tools that
enable us to push back on the emotion and return to our common sense. Cognitive therapy
provides such tools: One, try to make unspoken thoughts spoken; habits can be broken. Two,
thinking realistically; realistic thinkers recognize that there can be a middle ground,
that there can be other explanations. Three, challenging your thoughts; when you realize
you are starting to lose control, analyze your worst scenario and you will see that it is
really not the end of the world.
Economics
Economics is a social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production,
distribution, and consumption of wealth. It is also defined as the study of how goods and
services get produced and how they are distributed. By goods and services, economists mean
everything that can be bought and sold. By produced, they mean the processing and making
of goods and services. By distributed they mean the way goods and services are divided
among people.
The major divisions of economics include microeconomics which deals with the behavior
and individual consumers, companies, traders, and farmers. The next division is
macroeconomics, which focuses on aggregates such as the level of income in an economy, the
volume of total employment, and the flow of investment. Another branch, development
economics, investigates the history and changes of economic activity and organization over
a period of time, as well as their relation to other activities. Within these three major
divisions there are specialized areas of study that attempt to answer questions on a broad
spectrum of human economic activity, including public finance, money supply, banking,
international trade, labor, industrial organization, and agriculture. The areas of
investigation in economics overlap with other social sciences, particularly political
science, but economics is primarily concerned with relations between buyer and seller.
Economics is a decision making discipline as it encompasses the following economic
activities: trading, buying, producing. We live in an environment where all people can not
have everything they want, so choices must be made. For example, if I buy a new television
I may not have enough money for my house payment. Also, if I expand my product line, I may
not be able to make as many of something else. So economists are always modeling how
consumers, governments, businesses, make these trade-offs that end up determining how
resources are distributed in the economy as a whole.
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance involves a conflict or dilemma. There is certain evidence that
agrees with what I believe. People tend to think this supportive evidence is more powerful
than the evidence that proves otherwise. For example, I think it will be better to work at
the family restaurant than go to college, even though I received a scholarship. I might be
discounting or ignoring the studies that show people tend to get better paying jobs if
they get more education/trade or a degree, while putting too much emphasis on a
friend’s stories of generous tips.
Opportunity Cost
When making decisions one must always state the opportunity cost of the decision.
Economists use this word when they describe how we weigh our possibilities. The
opportunity cost of any decision is the next best alternative that you gave up, the choice
you didn’t make. What can I do? What are my likes/dislikes? What is available? Which
of my choices will give me the best satisfaction in the end, since all decisions come with
a cost or consequence? What will we lose if we choose "A" instead of choice
"B"? For example, I would like to go on a vacation to Hawaii, which will cost me
$4,000.00. I would also like to purchase a new sport utility vehicle. Due to limited
resources I must choose one. I would choose giving up the trip to Hawaii, because everyday
as I’m driving my new vehicle I will appreciate having a reliable car, but my
memories of a vacation in Hawaii will dim. If I remember what I gave up to purchase the
car and regret it, then maybe I should go to Hawaii instead.
Trade-Offs
Trade-offs are related to opportunity costs, as both concepts are about giving up some
of one thing to get some of another. In general the more desirable solution often results
when two or more objects are partially satisfied rather than when one object is achieved
completely to the exclusion of others. This idea stems from diminishing marginal utility,
which means that the satisfaction you get from any activity or good tends to diminish with
repetition. For example, if a person works all the time then he may make himself better
off, or more satisfied, if he gives up one hour of work to go hang out at the beach for
one hour. Different people make different trade-offs depending on which objectives are
most important to them at that particular time. An argument can be based on, " why
are trade-offs often better than all or nothing decisions."
Marginal Analysis
"The term marginal in this context means incremental, or
additional. When we decide on things we weigh the costs and benefits. We usually have to
give up something for anything that we get. As we engage in more of any activity the
marginal benefits of that activity eventually decline. The additional benefits associated
with an additional unit of the activity get lower. For example, the twentieth hour of
studying in one day is probably less effective than the nineteenth was (and both are less
effective than the tenth). In contrast, the marginal cost of an activity eventually rises
as we engage in more and more of it. We become tired of the activity or lose our
concentration so that the task becomes more difficult. The best choices are made when we
equate the marginal benefits and marginal costs of activity; that is, we try to determine
when engaging in any more of a given activity would produce additional costs in excess of
the additional benefits." (3)
One advantage of marginal analysis is that it helps people avoid
thinking about past costs or errors that can’t be changed.
"Eight Steps in Decision Making" (5)
These eight stages are very important in every decision making process. There are times
that we are unaware that we even take these steps into account for each decision that
arises.
Step 1: Listing and observing all the possibilities, options, or choices involved in
the issue at hand.
Time is a factor in this stage since if a decision needs to be made immediately you may
not be able to make creative lists of pros and cons. Friends can be a useful tool in this
stage as long as they try to stay optimistic and not hinder the decision. Another tool
could be not thinking about the decision every minute of the day. Give yourself
recreational time so that when you come back to your lists you may have a clearer mind.
This may be a difficult stage for those people who are impulsive. You must keep an open
mind and not prematurely eliminate some of your choices. By considering the alternatives,
you have a clear ideas of the opportunity cost of your decision.
Step 2: Sustaining a free flow of feelings and thoughts about each of the possible
options and priorities.
Emotions play a big part on our decision making process so they must be weighed
accordingly. Time in this stage can make someone do impulsive and irrational choices. This
is a time when pondering the issue needs to be taken at great length.
Step 3: Observing thoughts and feelings about each of the options and applying those
feelings.
In order to reach stage three stage two’s observation of feelings go hand in hand. At
the time of the decision certain options outweigh others. Given time, that option may not
be the "best" choice. We apply logical rationale to each choice and to our
feelings and thoughts about them. This is a time to use constructive judgement. When we
worry about other people and their feelings, this is a time that over-thinking about the
decision can become a problem, especially if one has a poor self-esteem. This may be where
abdicating decision-making authority to a peer group to an authority figure may play a
significant role. Once stage three has been completed, observation which leads to logical
application has taken place.
Step 4: Relating choices to established priorities.
How is this important to us? Applying a priority list to the choices is the beginning of
making a final decision. Actually writing out your priorities helps to visualize your
feelings and decisions more clearly.
Step 5: Coming to a conclusion by designating a choice and eliminating/discarding those
not chosen.
This step is arrived by the preceding steps. It is at that time our most desirable outcome
takes precedent. Designation makes itself known usually when our feelings have come into
play, and our decision feels like it is the "best" decision. Once we have
designated our choice, we start to feel good about ourselves. Deciding strengthens our
confidence and our identity.
Step 6: Registering the decision.
This is a time when we can express our choice openly without worry. Also, all other
options are being discarded as we say a definitive goodbye to them as we are becoming more
solid with the choice we have made. We are starting to piece it all together before we
take action. This is not a time to back track or to second-guess ourselves.
Step 7: Investing the decision with committed feelings, thoughts, time, and energy and
completing the elimination of the unused options.
This is the stage of commitment in the decision-making process. A choice is not a decision
until it is implemented. If we are regretting, then we must re-evaluate our choices. You
must see yourself carrying out the decision.
Step 8: Translating the decision into optimistic action.
A sense of self worth is taking place even though another decision may not have been the
most rational at that time. The entire process must feel like a success story.
Obstacles
When trying to make the "best" decisions there are times we become side tracked
and lose sight of our good intentions. Something stands in our way or opposes what we
"really" want to do.
Instant Gratification/Time Inconsistency
We are often tempted by immediate satisfaction or pleasure without any regard to future
costs associated with that decision. Cheating on a test gives instant gratification.
First, there is the relief that the test is over and he/she didn’t have to get a
bad/low grade for not knowing the answers. Also, there was no thought put into the
consequences if he/she would have been caught. This is an example of time inconsistency
since the decision focuses on current benefits but devalues future costs (ie. getting
caught).
Greed
Sometimes consumer decisions are affected by a strong desire for more; an overwhelming
desire to have more of something. Impulse buying is just one example. We might buy $500 of
new clothes because we wanted to, not that we needed them or anything.
Examples are: everyone else has one, it was "on sale",etc.
Saliency
This refers to attaching too much significance to information or input. An examples of
information that might be particularly salient includes an opinion coming from a best
friend. Ads in the media might also have a lot of immediate impact. For example, you might
be looking at a magazine together and noticing a new line of clothes just because of the
sexy, shirtless male model.
Group Influences
One person may have an effect on the whole group so that together they may do things that
the individuals would not have done. For example, I didn’t want to drink, but
everyone else was doing it. Another example considers how a group gradually accepts ideas
that would have been unacceptable in the beginning. For example, if I went along with the
first thing we did, the second thing didn’t seem all that bad, I knew the third thing
was really bad, but by then I was already sucked into the whole group philosophy. So then
I just went right along and did the third thing.
Vulnerability
Without adequate protection, a person is open to emotional or physical danger or harm.
Wishful Thinking
Some decisions are based on the belief that wishes correspond with reality; the
unrealistic belief that something that is wished for is actually true or will be realized.
This is linked to the tendency to attach too much weight to opinions, information,
predictions that agree with your own and to discount all contrary ones.
Strategies
Lists
Analyze the advantages and disadvantages (pros and cons) of each method in terms of who
gains and who loses. What has happened in the past and what do we know right now at this
moment compared to what things were like in the past?
Scarce Resource
Apply the decision-making process to the allocation of a scarce resource. Examples of
scare resources include time, energy, and money. If the decision requires expenditure of
money or an investment of time, whether these can be spared should be considered. Choices
involve allocating a limited resource like time, money education, etc. Identify the
criteria implied in each allocating method.
Decision Trees
Decision trees are a visual aid. They diagram choices with options emerging at different
"branches." One could then go to the end of each node to select the payoff or
outcome you want and move backwards through the "tree" to see how to get to that
particular point. This procedure is called backward induction. A rational decision
considers all options before a choice is made; by using a decision tree one can get a
clearer picture (see figure 1-A).
Vocabulary List
Alternatives – a chance to choose between two or more things only one of which
may be chosen; one of the things between which a choice is to be made.
Choice - that which is chosen; the act of choosing: selection; the power of choosing:
options.
Choice set – listing all the alternatives within a decision.
Decisions – judgment; the act or result of deciding.
Discount Rate – the interest rate used to compute the present value of future
dollars. A discount rate suggests that you prefer to have things now rather than wait for
them.
Decision Tree – a way to diagram decision choices with options emerging at
different "branches" (see figure 1-A).
Discrimination – when a group of people have different opportunities because of
personal characteristics that have nothing to do with their abilities.
Economics – the study of choice under conditions of scarcity.
Exchange – the act of trading with others to obtain what we desire.
Give – to grant or yield to another; to put into the possession or keeping of
another.
Goods (public) – something we all take advantage of; non-excludable.
Incentives – something that makes a person try or work hard or harder.
Opportunity Cost – the value of the best alternative sacrificed when taking an
action. When making a decision that one thing that is given up.
Risk Analysis – to determine whether taking an opportunity is worthwhile or not
given the probability of each possible outcome.
Risk Aversion – to choose a certain outcome rather than a risky one that,
statistically on average will be the same value as the certain one.
Sacrifice – a giving up of something especially for the sake of someone else.
Scarcity – a situation in which the amount of something available is insufficient
to satisfy everyone’s desire for it.
Signaling – a way to send a subtle or implicit message in order to gain a response
or create an impression.
Substitute – a good that can be used in place of some other good and that fulfills
more or less the same purpose.
Sunk Cost – a cost that was incurred in the past and does not change in response
to a present decision.
Take – to get possession of (as of buying or capturing).
Trade-Offs – giving up some of one thing in order to gain some of another thing
Utility – pleasure or satisfaction obtained from consuming goods and services.
Lesson Plan 1: Watch the movie Stand and Deliver to get a better understanding on
how decisions play a role in our everyday life.
Objective: Students will apply problem solving approaches to investigate decision
making skills. Organizational skills will be emphasized.
Purpose: The students will have an active part in creating decision trees (see figure
1-A) for the characters in the movie. Recalling information/decisions that were important
factors for each character. List how that specific character evolved throughout the
movie{C 1b, 1), 2), 3), 6)}.
Introduction: Students will learn how to make decision trees (see figure 1-A) and the
definitions of opportunity costs and trade-offs. The teacher will give several examples on
the chalkboard, written and orally, before watching the movie.
Instruction: Students will be divided into groups and given a specific character. They
will trace the decisions that were made in order to achieve the specific outcome (pass the
National Advanced Placement Calculus Exam). Then they will discuss amongst each other what
trade-offs that character had to sacrifice. What was his/her opportunity cost? Why
couldn’t he/she have both? Make a decision tree for that character{B 1 a., b., B 2
2), 3), 6)}.
Evaluation: The teacher will keep a log of daily participation points for each student
and each student will turn in a journal that contains the definition trade-offs and
opportunity costs and their group work described above. The journal entries will have
daily entries in narrative form{D 1., a 2)}.
Materials Needed: paper binders with three hole brads and pockets, loose leaf notebook
paper, pencils, pens, and video of Stand and Deliver by Warner Bros.
Lesson Plan 2: Read the novel The Bottle In The Kitchen
Objective: Students will compare, categorize, classify, and sequence ideas and
information on economic status as described in the novel.
Purpose: To show students the diversity of two families of different economic status
and how they both have the same problem of alcoholism in their families. Show how both
families cope with the problem. Regardless of race, money, or gender you may still become
an alcoholic.
Introduction: Students will learn the definition of signaling, discrimination, choice
set and alternatives, and how to successfully apply those terms to everyday life and in
the writing process.{C1 b 1), 2), 3), 6); D1}
Instruction: Students will make a chart and list Mandy’s life and Tad’s life.
They will then write a five paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the two lives.
Students must remember to sequence the ideas/events in correct order.
Evaluation: The teacher will keep a log of daily participation/behavior points for each
student and each student will turn in a journal that contains the definitions of the terms
we discussed above. Then students will be responsible for their chart and a rough draft
and final copy of their essay. The essay will be done on a computer in our computer lab
{D1 2); D2 a}.
Materials Needed: paper binders with three hole brads and pockets, loose leaf notebook
paper, pencils, pens, computers and a class set of The Bottle In The Kitchen
novels.
Lesson Plan 3: Watch the Movie Rudy and see how risk taking was advantageous
for him.
Objective: Students will identify cause and effect relationships that were shown
throughout the movie.
Purpose: The students will get a better understanding of cause and effect; if I
chose to do this then this will happen, or if I chose to do this then this will happen).
This will illustrate how decisions are important even if we may not think so - especially
when our emotions are high {C1., b 5) 6) 9)}.
Introduction: Students will define and discuss risk analysis, risk aversion, sacrifice,
and sunk cost. Various community members (police officer, veterinarian, bank teller,
business owner) will come to our class and tell the students what risks are necessary on a
daily basis, or what risks were needed to get to the point where they are now {A1., a1),
A1. b c d }.
Instruction: We will discuss the significance of risk taking especially for Rudy
in the movie. We will then do a Life Map ( a life map is a time line of specific facts
that happened at a certain time in life, but are represented as a road not a time line.
For example, at age twenty-two, when Rudy’s best friend, died he left his hometown to
go to Notre Dame; you could draw a picture of Rudy with his duffel bag) of Rudy’s
venture into adulthood together as a class. We will then visually see how taking
"this" risk put him at a different place on the map. It will then show because
of this, this took place (cause & effect). Each student will need to do his own Life
Map. Being creative and not just listing the facts will be emphasized.
Evaluation: The teacher will keep a log of daily participation points for each
student and each student will turn in a journal that contains the definitions of risk
analysis, risk aversion, sacrifice and sunk cost. The journal entries will have daily
entries in narrative form. A Life Map will be turned in on a sheet of paper construction
{D 1., a2)}.
Material Needed: paper binders with three hole brads and pockets, loose leaf
notebook paper, pencils, pens, markers, glue, magazines, construction paper, and the video
of Rudy by Tri Star Productions.
Lesson Plan 4: Read the novel The Other Side of the Sun.
Objective: Students will predict reasonable outcomes with each chapter that we
read.
Purpose: Students will have an active part in role playing specific scenes in
the book and decisions the characters come upon {B 2, 2) 3) 5)}.
Introduction: Behavior rules will be set. Examples include no running, yelling, foul
language. Define choice sets.
Instruction: Students will be divided into groups and given specific scenes from
the book which they must act out. Students will be responsible for who will do what, when
and where. The students will then create their own anti-drug skit with their group members
and present it in front of the class.
Evaluation: The teacher will keep a log of daily participation points for each student
and each student will turn in a journal that contains the definition of choice sets. Also,
they will write a reflection on each presentation. A written script will be turned in with
their journal entries {D1., a2)}.
Material Needed: paper binders with three hole brads and pockets, loose leaf
notebook paper, pencils, pens.
Lesson Plan 5: Weekly Circle Meetings
Objective: Students will examine the role of social studies in various cultures
and societies represented in our class.
Purpose: To establish a feeling of a safe environment in our classroom.
The students will openly share thoughts, ideas, and feelings to one another. We will be
able to share our own cultures/backgrounds with each other. {A1., a2) 4), 1.b., 1.c.,
1.d., B 1. B., 2. 2)}
Introduction: Set rules together as a class so they take ownership. For example:
No talking when someone else is talking, no rude comments, be polite, etc. Define and
discuss scarcity.
Instruction: As a class we will sit in a circle in our desks/chairs or we can go
outside and sit in a circle on the grass. We will then share recent decisions that we
made. Were they rational or irrational decisions? Were these decisions made because of
peer pressure or home influences? How can we make better choices next time?
Evaluation: The teacher will keep a log of weekly participation points for each
student and each student will turn in a journal that contains a reflection from our circle
meetings and the definition of scarcity or what other term we might have learned that
week. A list of the rules will be photocopied and put in their journals {D1., a2)}.
Materials Needed: paper binders with three hole brads and pockets, loose leaf
notebook paper, pencil/pens and a list of the rules displayed in the classroom.
Student Reading List
Seuss, Dr. Hunches in Bunches. New York: Random House, Inc., 1982.
Fiction book; a little boy has a difficult time
making decisions even though there is a vocal bunch of "Hunches" to help him.
Nesbitt, Barbara. The Bottle in the Kitchen. Ballwin, Missouri: The Kids In
Between, Inc., 1988.
Fiction book; Mandy, who is sixteen, and her
younger sister Linny, share the misfortune of living with parents that are alcoholics.
Like many children of
alcoholics, the two sister’s world is filled with fear and deprivation. They learn
coping skills and almost become strong, until a tragedy
occurs which leaves Mandy
feeling isolated and alone. Economic status is shown in this book as well as signaling.
Included is a packet to teach
inference and implied meaning. The assignments direct the students back to the pages and
paragraphs where inference and implied meanings are
used. The worksheets provide the
opportunity for students to analyze, understand, and write implied meanings.
Nesbitt, Barbara. The Other Side of the Sun. Ballwin, Missouri: The Kids
In Between, Inc., 1988.
Fiction book; Maurice is a fifteen year old,
juvenile delinquent who continually finds himself in trouble. He doesn’t go to school
that often which leads him to a
detention center, which is like a group home. His mentors notice that he cannot read or
write and Maurice refuses to admit that he
needs help. He becomes successful
at the detention center once he learns to trust, but once he leaves the center he falls
victim to the streets and to selling
drugs. The pull of drug money and poor decisions that Maurice continues to make influence
him and lead him deeper and deeper into
trouble. Included is a packet that
concentrates on correcting poor grammar used by the characters. Poverty, inner-city
problems, drugs, and decision-making
processes are some of the topics covered in the open-ended questions.
Teacher Reading List
Artman, John H. Ancient Greece, Independent Learning Unit. Parsippany, NJ: Good
Apple, 1991.
Background information regarding Ancient
Greece. Student activity workbook to be used in the classroom. A unit based activity
workbook on Ancient Greece.
Dr. Freeman, Arthur and Rose De Wolf. The 10 Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make
and How to Avoid Them. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.,1992.
How your emotions interfere with the
decision-making process and techniques on how to clearly chose the "best"
choice; cognitive therapy;
conduct of life.
Greene, Lawrence J. The Life-Smart Kid; Teaching Your Child to Use Good Judgment in
Every Situation. Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub., 1995.
Shows how children make decisions; how we
judge children.
Miller, Roger LeRoy, Daniel K. Benjamin and Douglas C. North. The Economics of
Public Issues. Eleventh Edition. Reading, Massachusetts:
Addison-Wesley, 1999.
Focuses on the core of economic science.
Definitions are clearly defined with a glossary at the end of the book and at the end of
each chapter there are some
discussion questions.
Rubin, Theodore Isaac. Overcoming Indecisiveness: The Eight Stages of
Effective Decision Making. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1985.
Focuses on how to make the right choice
for "you", Rubin shows the different personality types and how decisions are
make because of how you act.
Keyes, Ralph. Chancing It: Why We Take Risks. Boston: Little Brown, 1985.
Focuses on the psychology of risk-taking and fear.
Bibliography
Berry, Jo Wilt. Making Up Your Own Mind. Waco, Texas: Educational Products
Division, 1979.
Suggests six steps for making decisions and six
steps for solving problems and includes practice situations.
Bruce, Becker. Decisions: Getting What You Want. New York: Grosset & Dunlap,
1978.
How to find success in the decisions that you
make.
Dixit, Avinash K. and Barry J. Nalebuff. Thinking Strategically, The Competitive
Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life. New York: W. W. Norton and
Company, 1991.
Focuses on case studies taken from
business, sports, and movies, politics, and gambling and outlines the basics of good
strategy making.
"Economics." The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book
Inc., 1999.
Basic outline/definition of economics.
Feinberg, Mortimer Ph.D. and John J. Tarrant. Why Smart People Do Dumb Things.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
How to avoid continuous mistakes. Use your IQ
for you advantage not against you.
Hall, Robert E. and Marc Lieberman. Microeconomics Principles and Applications.
Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing, 1998.
Focuses on basic economic theory
through the use of graphs and numerical examples.
Riley, Susan. How to Generate Values in Young Children. Newport Beach, CA:
Persea Books, 1979.
Focuses on social values; socialization.
Resources/ Video Tapes/ Films/
Rudy. Produced by Robert N. Fried. Videocassette Columbia Tri Star Pictures. 1994.
A true story about a young boy who had the desire to
go to Notre Dame and play football for the legendary coach Ava Parseghian. He was
constantly being put down for his
goal by comments like, "you’re not good enough, not smart enough, not big
enough." He comes from a
blue-collar family who thinks working is better than education. Rudy had the will and
nothing got in the way of his dream.
Stand and Deliver. Produced by: Tom Musca. Videocassette. Warner Bros. 1998.
A true story about a man, Jaime Escalante,
who is a math teacher at a high school. He refuses to write-off his inner city students as
losers. He gives hope to eighteen students who were struggling with fractions and long
division, who then become math whizzes. With desire and determination the students
concentrate on taking the National Advanced Placement Calculus Exam as various decisions
are made along the way.
Trade Offs: Unit 1 Decision-Making. Media Basics. Bonnie Meszaros. Agency for
Instructional Television. 1979.
A three part filmstrip unit on choices, making
decisions, and give and take. Comes with lesson objectives, synopsis, before viewing and
after viewing discussion questions and activity sheets.
Albuquerque Public School Districts Scope and Sequence: Language Arts
Listening
Learners develop active listening strategies:
listen for specific and implied information
follow directions
ask relevant questions
sequence facts
restate/paraphrase
predict, confirm, and integrate
listen to a variety of sources including conversations, drama, music, poems, stories, and
other media
participate in purposeful communication with peers and adults
demonstrate appropriate audience behavior
Speaking
Learners communicate orally for a variety of purposes and audiences:
summarize events, stories, ideas and information
speak appropriately in social situations
Learners demonstrate speaking skills:
informal/formal group discussions
role-playing
impromptu responses
Reading
Learners read and gather information from a variety of printed material, literature and
own written language:
Comprehension
recall and apply detail and information
list events from a selection in sequence
summarize, make generalizations, and draw conclusions
make inferences
recognize cause and effect
predict outcomes
make judgments and evaluate what is read
recognize fact and opinion
compare and contrast information
Writing
Learners write to convey information and to express individual ideas and understandings:
write in a variety of forms: paragraphs, reports, journals, diaries, stories, letters,
poems, dialogue, and essays
Learners use technology as a tool for writing:
a. use the computer as a word processor to write, draft, revise, edit, check spelling,
format, and access information
Figure 1-A Decision Tree
