izzit: Educational Treasure Found by Ed Tooley

FREE! That word caught my attention as I perused my list of e-mails. Teachers receive numerous educational advertisements over the internet daily. Most products are unattainable because of the cost. At the school where I teach, there happened to be a “freeze” on all purchases because of budget issues. But this advertisement said, “Free.” We could afford free.

I was suspicious and skeptical. But the name izzit also had a curious ring to it. I had to know what it was all about.

I am so thankful that I made the effort some years ago to investigate this free offer. I have been able to show a number of izzit.org videos over the years. The response is always positive. The videos are short in length, but deep in substance. The content  makes students and teachers think, discuss, analyze and pursue educational issues that are meaningful and weighty.

In graduate school, educators are taught, or should I say ingrained with, an effective thinking strategy called Bloom’s Taxonomy. The purpose of this strategy is to help teachers lead students into higher-level thinking activities. The taxonomy has six levels. The lowest level begins with basic knowledge, and then each level proceeds to higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis and evaluation. The izzit.org products track with this method very well. 

The videos make students think about serious and important subject matter, like property rights, markets and entrepreneurship. As an educator, I search high and low for materials and activities that are both interesting and substantive. The products izzit.org creates hit the mark on both counts. They're student-friendly, which captures their attention. The subject matter encompasses a topic that make students analyze and defend their positions, rather than just recalling information by rote. The videos come with supplemental materials that will put a smile on any teacher’s face. (We save so much valuable time.)

         

I have used the izzit.org products mainly with my seventh grade social studies classes. It amazes me to observe, first-hand, the quality of ideas and solutions that come from these young people, as they confronted such important issues.

            

Allow me to share a quick story: Not long after I received my first izzit.org DVD, I shared my enthusiasm of the quality of the product with the economics teacher. She showed her senior economics class the DVD I recommended, and a magical moment occurred. After viewing the DVD, a senior economics student went out of her way to inform me just how much she enjoyed the video. She went on and on about how much her class enjoyed both the content, and the quality of the program.

            

One more story:  At a teachers’ conference, I was a seminar

speaker. I had the opportunity to share the izzit.org products with those in attendance. After a few minutes of sharing, a fellow teacher commented about the cost of the products. "What is it?” she asked.

I replied, “How did you know the name of the company?” I also explained the mind-blowing concept of FREE resources for educators.


Are you looking for great resources to use with your students? Well…look no further…this izzit!

Books from Other Countries by Wendy Buchanan

As a teacher, I am constantly looking for resources that will enhance the quality of educational opportunities for my classroom, while continually emphasizing the importance of my students’ responsibilities to their school community and families.  I try to encourage a “market,” if you will, among the people who help our students grow to be productive citizens – the parents and teachers who, together, educate our children. 

As a result, each year, I divide my class into groups where students must live as a fictitious family. They have to budget, balance a checkbook, invest in the stock market and learn about assigned countries of origin. They ended up learning about famous inventors from different countries, all the while developing valuable life skills.

After attending a Winning Ideas Weekend in San Francisco with my husband, a former izzit.org Teacher of the Year, I participated in izzit’s Win-Win Trading Game and knew instantly that I could use this activity in my own 4^th grade classroom.  I finally understood some of what my husband had been talking about all these years. At first, I struggled with the economic concepts with which my husband wished to “enlighten” me. I resisted the idea of these concepts being taught at a grammar school level. But that all changed.

It was apparent that a key concept such as free trade and the benefits of a free-market competitive society, indeed, had a place in the elementary classroom! I was ecstatic about the possibility of exposing the winning ideas of freedom into the minds of these youngsters. The question of how this would happen lingered.

It wasn’t until two years later that the idea came to me… Each year our school receives donated books. So how could we distribute these books most effectively? We decided to use izzit’s Win-Win: A Trading Game. I viewed my free copy of the Win-Win Trading Game DVD to brush up on how it should be played. And it occurred to me that our “fictitious families” from all over the world would be the perfect situation to bring the concept of free trade to the fourth grade classroom. 

Students were asked to sit with their “family” in a “country-of-origin.” Each was given a book in a sealed paper bag. Students could either keep their book or trade with the other members of their family; suddenly they had a choice.  A discussion followed regarding their limited choices within their countries. Before the students understood where this lesson was going, they insisted on trading with “other countries.”

Trading was now permitted with the other countries, and students quickly began to search for those particular books that were of interest to them. They understood, firsthand, how the simple act of being able to trade freely with the class led to a major increase in their satisfaction.

Discussion turned to global trade and the clothing everyone was wearing that morning.  Clothing tags were identified, and the origin of the clothing was mapped out on individual student maps and on the large classroom map of the world. Students became aware of the global connection associated with their clothing, and witnessed a real life example of just how free trade makes more people satisfied. In the end, my students realized the much larger picture: our freedom to choose what we trade and with whom we trade makes for a better world.

By placing this video in my hands, izzit.org has given me the necessary tools to not only reach my students this year, but for years to come. I have already lent the DVD to my fellow grade-level teachers. And during our school’s next book giveaway, all 4^th grade students will be participating in the trading game. With the addition of other “countries,” the overall satisfaction of the books donated will undoubtedly increase while promoting the concept of free trade.

By producing one high-quality video targeting a specific concept involving liberty, teachers have the opportunity to educate and enlighten millions of students, allowing them to become productive citizens. Thanks izzit.org!

“The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.”  -Milton Friedman

The Value of Trade by Andrew Jobson

The Value of Trade

Teaching Economics again gave me the chance to use a fun introductory activity I learned long ago from a GCEE (Georgia Council for Economic Education) workshop.  The goal is to show how trade occurs because people feel that they have gained.  In other words, with voluntary exchange, everyone wins.

You start by preparing a small opaque bag of goodies for each student in the class.  I have typically used candy, but you can use other small items depending on the age of the students (nickels, erasers, pencils, stickers, etc.).  The bags should have some variety, reflecting the disparate resources that we all have.  It’s also okay to give some bags more than others for the same reason, although each should have at least enough to engage in some trade.


After warning the students to keep their contents secret for now, distribute the bags and ask each person to rate his or her satisfaction level with the contents on a scale of 1 to 10. The students should write the number down, although they don’t have to announce it.

I don’t remember if I learned the lesson this way, but I started by putting students in groups of three to compare bags and trade if they were interested.  After a few minutes, I expanded their “market” and let them move around the entire class to see what people had and to offer trades.  (Having recently revisited Smith’s Wealth of Nations, I was thinking about his comments on the value of large markets.)

Following the entire class trading market, the students (at least those who engaged in trade) re-evaluated their satisfaction.  Now we compared their initial rating with their revised rating and discussed the changes.  A few items that we addressed:  1) Why did most people’s satisfaction go up? 2) Do you see any trades that you think were bad trades? Why did they happen?  3) What happened when the market expanded?  How does this relate to world trade today? 4) At least one person traded, not because he valued the items he got in trade, but because he valued the friendship of another student more than the contents of his bag.  This was an interesting scenario which led to a discussion of how “self-interest” occasionally means more than simple economic status.

I know this isn’t original, but it’s fun and helpful to the students.  I love and value reading, but anytime we can get them to do something active (especially at my all-boys school), it’s a good day.  I hope you find it useful.  


Note from Susan Gable (izzit.org Director of Educational Curriculum) – The activity Andy describes here is exactly the activity in our educational video Win/Win – A Trading Game. If you’d like to see a classroom demonstration of the activity to get a better understanding of how to do it, watch the video or select it for your izzit.org Free Annual Video DVD. Additional resources are available with it as well.

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America. 

Writing Across the Curriculum by Love Merryman

How do you teach 7th grade students to write a five paragraph essay? You give them something to write about.

When newcomers arrive in St. Marys, a coastal city in South Georgia, their initial reaction often is, "This place is fabulous!" The residents here love their country and are dedicated to life in the United States, largely because Kings Bay Naval Base is located there. At least 40 percent of our students' parents are connected in some way to either King Bay or the naval base in Jacksonville, FL, just thirty miles away. Our students frequently have unique life experiences, having moved here from Spain, Italy, or other U.S. locations such as San Diego, California, Washington, or Hawaii.


Such diverse backgrounds elicited strong, informed opinions when the class began discussing American- made versus internationally-made products. Should we participate in the global economy extensively or just buy American? That was the impetus for excitement when the class viewed Free Trade, a wonderful izzit.org video. Taking the enthusiasm of seventh graders, and applying it to the five-paragraph essay assignment for all students was almost delightful when presented in segments.

First, the students watched the video, identifying important parts about trade and economy. Their discussion included comments about raw materials, transportation of materials, wages of workers, buildings for manufacturing, and tariffs. They noticed how Hong Kong, now part of China, had grown economically because of its free trade policy. They heard from Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman, who discussed myriad factors affecting economic decisions in countries such as Estonia.

After brainstorming, they began the first leg of their assignment:"Write a paragraph about manufacturing a 'Made in the USA' product." The next day students shared their paragraphs and the conversation naturally led to production in a global economy. The second leg was to "Write a paragraph about producing and selling a product in a global economy," and the students had to look at the experience from a different perspective.

When they returned the next day, they were excited to share their writing and compare their results. They did an excellent job articulating their differences. Thirteen-year-olds were discussing their cell phones and the multitude of countries in which the parts may have been made. Next, the real body and writing challenge  began: "Choose a position, either American-made or globally produced and give at least four reasons to support your argument." Then a brave student asked, "What if I can't choose?" I suggested that if he couldn't, he should present at least three reasons for and against each perspective.

The next day again was spent sharing the delightful, informative paragraphs. And the information learned was resonated in the writing of the students: "A global economy could lead to more interdependent societies/countries, thus WORLD PEACE."

Not only had they watched an interesting and informative video, but they also had created the body for their essay and only needed to add an introduction and conclusion. Have you ever seen seventh graders excited about writing across the curriculum? I have, and they had something important to say!

Thank you, izzit.org!