Lesson Plans:
Economics and Entrepreneurship

Subject(s)/Grade(s): Civics and Economics, 10
Related Subjects: Appalachian Studies

Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will review economic terms and concepts.
  2. Students will apply their knowledge of economics to real-life situations.
  3. Students will make connections between economics and the history of the Appalachian region.
  4. Students will learn the history of the Craft Revival era.

Teacher Planning

  • This lesson can be completed in one class period.
  • The teacher will need to familiarize him/herself with the Craft Revival website.
  • The students should understand the basic economic terms and concepts included in this lesson.
  • Students will need to have access to the internet and the ability to print photographs from the Craft Revival website.
Materials/Resources
  • Course text
  • Selection of library books on Appalachian culture and history
  • Computer Lab
  • Printer
  • Internet access to the Craft Revival website

Procedures

Access the Craft Revival website and instruct students to do the following:

1. Read The Story section of the website, your notes, and/or your textbook and answer the following questions:

  • What is entrepreneurship?
  • How is this story an example of entrepreneurship?
  • What caused these people to become entrepreneurs?
  • Define profit motive.
  • What were these people able to do with their profit?
  • How did these people benefit the economy of the region?

2. Read The Southern Highlands section to answer these questions:

  • How did “outsiders” learn about Appalachia?
  • Where specifically is Appalachia?
  • What misconceptions did people have about the region?
  • What happened to the economy of the region as a result of those misconceptions?

3. Choose one of the crafts from The Craft Page.

  • What capital was used to produce the craft?
  • What natural resources?
  • What skills did the craftsperson need?
  • Why would there be a demand for this particular craft?

4. Go to Search the Collection. Find examples of the type of crafts you chose and craftspeople working on them. Study the pictures and then choose one to print.

5. Write a short story that goes with the photograph you printed. Your story will be fiction, but should include the following information:

  • Where is the craftsperson living?
  • Why did he or she choose to create the craft?
  • How was the craft was created?
  • What economic effect did creating the craft have on the craftsperson?

Assessment:

  1. Students will share their stories in small groups or with the class.
  2. Work will be evaluated in some portion for language competency.
  3. Students will receive feedback from peers and teacher regarding how well they’ve expressed understanding of the relationship between the economic and cultural conditions of their craft story.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

  • Civics and Economics Competency Goal 7
  • Civics and Economics Competency Goal 8
  • Civics and Economics Competency Goal 9

Bibliography:

  • Adams, Frazier B. Appalachian Revisited: How People Lived Fifty Years Ago.  Ashland, Kentucky: Economy Printers, 1970.
  • Barker, Garry. The Handcraft Revival in Southern Appalachian, 1930- 1990.  Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991.
  • Becker, Jane Stewart. “Selling Tradition: The Domestication of Southern Appalachian Culture in 1930s America.” Ph.D. diss., Boston University, 1993.
  • Drake, Richard B. A History of Appalachia. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
  • Williams, John Alexander. Appalachia: A History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
  • Horwitz, Elinor Lander. Mountain People, Mountain Crafts. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1974.
  • Stevens, Bernice A. Our Mountain Craftsmen. Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Buckhorn Press, 1969.

-Submitted by Denise Davis, History Department, Franklin High School, Franklin, North Carolina