Saving the Day Costs Benefits : simplebooklet.com

Lynne F. Stover 1 Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal Author Karyn Parsons, Illustrator R. Gregory Christie Little, Brown and Company, 2021 To Stay or to Go: Cost-Benefit Analysis by Lynne Stover BOOK SYNOPSIS: This picture book biography recounts the story of Garrett Augustus Morgan [1877-1963] who became a successful inventor and entrepreneur. Growing up in a large African American farming family, his parents recognized that his intellectual abilities needed to be addressed. He is sent to the city where he studies, works, and hones his skills. Taking advantage of his opportunities, he becomes a prominent business man and skilled inventor, producing the traffic signal, a gas mask, and the zigzag switch for the sewing machine. INTRODUCTION: In this lesson students learn that a Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Model is a valuable tool. When using it for future decisions it allows them to consider less obvious factors that may be important to the outcome. When used in consideration to past decisions it helps them understand why an action was taken and to evaluate whether this was the best decision that could have been made. GRADE LEVEL: 2-4 TIME REQUIRED: 25-30 minutes. MATERIALS: • Book- Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons • Visual 1 - Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Model • Visual 2- Cost-Benefit Decision-Making Grid -To Go or to Stay • Projection Devise • Assessment • Optional - Extension Activity • Writing Tools

Page 2

Lynne F. Stover 2 OBJECTIVES: • The student will be introduced to the economic concepts of alternative, benefit, choice, cost, opportunity cost and scarcity. • The student will participate in a teacher directed cost/benefit analysis activity. • The students will discuss the choice made by other people. ECONOMIC CONCEPTS • Benefit- A benefit is what satisfies your wants. A benefit is the positive effect of a decision. • Cost- A cost is what you give up when you decide to do something. A cost is the negative effect of a decision. • Alternative - One of two or more possible choices or courses of action in a given situation. • Choice - takes place whenever someone makes a personal decision to use limited resources. • Cost/benefit analysis – takes place whenever the cost is weighed in regards to the benefit received • Opportunity cost – that which is given up when a choice is made. When deciding how to spend a resource it is one’s second-best alternative; the alternative given up. • Scarcity – the condition of limited resources. Because resources are limited, people must make choices. VIRGINIA HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS OF LEARNING -2023 Skills K-3 The student will apply history and social science skills to content by g. using economic decision-making models to make informed economic decisions Skills VS The student will apply history and social science skills to content by g. using economic decision-making models to make informed economic decisions and to explain the incentive and consequences of a specific choice. CE.11 The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze how economic decisions are made in the marketplace and in daily life by b. explaining the importance of innovation and productivity including the freedom to choose occupations, the role of technology and the development of human capital. CE.14 The student will apply history and social science skills to explain career opportunities and understand the fundamentals of personal finance by a. identifying the talents, interests, and aspirations that can influence career choice; b. identifying the attitudes and behaviors that strengthen the individual work ethic and promote career success; c. identifying human capital, abilities, intellectual and physical skills, work habits, and education and the changing supply of and demand for them in the economy.

Page 3

Lynne F. Stover 3 PROCEDURE: 1. Collect and prepare materials prior to class. 2. Show the students the cover of the book, Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons. Ask them if they have ever heard of this inventor and businessman. Tell them they will be learning about him and his live saving inventions. 3. Read the book to the students. A seven-minute read aloud is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHAEPpdM8dg 4. Tell the students that today’s lesson will be about decision-making. Explain that many choices were made in this story. For example, his parents had to make a choice to either keep Garrett on the farm with his family or send him to the city to learn skills. It would be in their best interest to find out what the costs and benefits are before making a final decision. 5. Display Visual 1 and read the contents to the students, reviewing the terms cost, benefit and alternative. 6. Explain that all decisions have costs and benefits and that Garrett’s parents considered both the positive and negative things when making the decision to send him to the city. Did they make the right choice? If they had completed a cost-benefit decision grid before sending him to the city, would they have made the same decision? 7. Display Visual 2. Solicit suggestions from the students concerning the costs and benefits of making and selling lemonade and record them on the Cost-Benefit Decision Grid visual. Accept all reasonable suggestions. 8. Display Visual 2, Cost-Benefit Decision-Making Grid -To Go or to Stay. Solicit suggestions from the students concerning the costs and benefits of keeping Garrett on the farm or sending him to the city, and record them on the Cost-Benefit Decision Grid visual. Accept all reasonable suggestions. NOTE: Possible student replies can be found at the end of this lesson. 9. Ask the students to use the information they have suggested on the Cost-Benefit Decision Grid to help Garrett’s parents to determine what decision they would make concerning the future of their son. 10. Fill out the information on the bottom of the grid. Define opportunity cost as the next best choice that is given up when you make a decision. Explain that the opportunity cost of making the decision to send Garret to the city or keeping him on the farm will be the choice that was not made.

Page 4

Lynne F. Stover 4 11. Distribute the activity sheet and writing tools. Instruct students to complete a Cost-Benefit Decision Grid based on another situation from the story. (Students may work in pairs or small groups.) Decision Examples: Should colors be used as signals for the traffic light? [Alternatives: Use Colors/Don’t Use Colors] Should sounds be used for the traffic signal? [Alternatives: Use Sounds/Don’t Use Sounds] 12. Allow students to share their completed Cost-Benefit Decision Grids including their final decision with the class. 13. Conclude the lesson by reminding the students that all choices have costs and benefits. Often, we will make better decisions if we stop and think about our costs and benefits, before we choose what to do. ASSESSMENT: Distribute the provided assessment and writing tools to the students. Read the directions. If time allows read the definitions also. When the students have completed the assessment, check for understanding, encouraging discussion. Possible answers: 1. Garrett Morgan benefited from going to the city and getting an education. TRUE - He received an education and became an inventor and business person. 2. It did not cost anything for Garrett’s parents to send him to the city away from his family. FALSE – His family missed him, it cost them the joy of having him there on the farm. 3. When you are young and in school, you never have to make a choice. Many students may answer UNSURE to this statement, feeling that decisions are made for them. Point out that they likely get to chose what they wear to school, eat for lunch and have for friends. 4. The opportunity cost of sending Garrett away to get an education in the city was that he was no longer on the farm with his family. TRUE- There were other reasons, but this is likely the second-best alternative. 5. The Morgan family had very little money. Because of this scarcity they had to make some difficult choices. TRUE- The Mogan family was large and they worked hard on their farm. However, they made little money. EXTENSION ACTIVITIES: Garrett Morgan had an interesting life. His engineering skills and problem-solving abilities lead him to invent many things. Challenge the students to research his life and create a list of all of his inventions. • An entrepreneur is a person who comes up with an idea for a good or service and who organizes the human, natural, and capital resources to produce that good or service. Ask the students if they think Garrett Morgan would be considered an entrepreneur. • For discussion: What might have been different if Garrett Morgan had decided to use sounds instead of lights in his traffic signal invention?

Page 5

Lynne F. Stover 5 Visual 1- Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Model A Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Gird is a tool used for deciding whether or not an action should be taken by comparing its costs and benefits. COST A cost is what you give up when you decide to do something. Costs are the effort, loss, or sacrifice necessary to achieve or obtain something. ALTERNATIVE An alternative is one of two or more possible choices or courses of action in a given situation. BENEFIT A benefit is what satisfies your wants. A benefit is the positive effect of a decision. Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Grid

Page 6

Lynne F. Stover 6 Visual 2- Saving the Day Cost-Benefit Decision-Making Grid To Go or to Stay Directions: What should young Garrett’s parents do? Should they keep him with his brothers and sisters on the farm, or send him to the city to get an education and learn new skills? Help them decide by filling in this chart with some of the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (costs) of their two possible alternatives (choices). Alternatives Choices Alternative 1 Keep Garret on the farm. Alternative 2 Send Garret to the city. Benefits Advantages or Good Points Costs Disadvantages or Bad Points If you were Garrett’s parents. what would you do? Keep him on the farm _____ Send him away to the city _____ Why did you make this decision? ______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ What was your opportunity cost? ______________________________

Page 7

Page 8

Lynne F. Stover 8 Possible Responses- Saving the Day Cost-Benefit Decision-Making Grid To Go or to Stay Alternatives Choices Alternative 1 Keep Garrett on the farm. Alternative 2 Send Garrett to the city. Benefits Advantages or Good Points The family could stay together. Maybe Garrett could get stronger and learn to help with more farm work. Garrett could help his brothers and sisters with their schooling. Garrettt might be able to invent things to make farming easier. Garett could get and education and learn new skills. Garett was of little help on the farm. Maybe he would do better in the city. If Garett invented new things he might be able to help others. If Garrett invented new things he might be able to make money. Costs Disadvantages or Bad Points Garrett would not get an education if he stayed on the farm. Garrett might get hurt or cause others to get hurt because of his phyical weaknesses. It cost money to feed Garret. Garrett will never be a farmer. Garrett might not be able to take care of himself in the city. We would miss him. He might not be able to find work and make money. He could miss his family and get homesick.

Page 9

Lynne F. Stover 9 Assessment- Saving the Day Directions: If the statement is true, circle the green traffic light, if it is false circle the red traffic light, if you are unsure, circle the yellow traffic light. The difintions on the box below will help you with your responces. False Unsure True 1. Garrett Morgan benefited from going to the city and getting an education. 2. It did not cost anything for Garrett’s parents to send him to the city away from his family. 3. When you are young and in school, you never have to make a choice. 4. The opportunity cost of sending Garrett away to get an education in the city was that he was no longer on the farm with his family. 5. The Morgan family had very little money. Because of this scarcity they had to make some difficult choices. • Benefit- A benefit is what satisfies your wants. A benefit is the positive effect of a decision. • Cost- A cost is what you give up when you decide to do something. • A cost is the negative effect of a decision. • Choice - takes place whenever someone makes a personal decision to use limited resources. • Opportunity cost – that which is given up when a choice is made. When deciding how to spend a resource it is one’s second-best alternative; the alternative given up. • Scarcity – the condition of limited resources. Because resources are limited, people must make choice

Page 10

Lynne F. Stover 10 Discussion Questions Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan's Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons Book Introduction: Hold up paperclip for the students to see and ask the following questions: • “What job can this simple tool do?” [A paperclip keeps loose papers together.] • “What problem does it solve?” [It helps keep papers organized and desks neat.] • Where do you think the idea for the paperclip come from? [An inventor thought of the idea of paperclip. In fact, most of the things we use every day were invented or designed by a person trying to solve a problem.] Show What the students a picture of a traffic signal and ask: • What is this? [It is a traffic signal.] • Where can a traffic signal be found? [Traffic signals are located on roads.] • do traffic signals do? [They regulate traffic so that drivers know when it’s their turn to proceed on a road.] • What are the colors on a traffic signal and what do they stand for? [Red means stop. Yellow means caution. Green means go.] Explain that the story you are going to read is about the perceptive and clever man who invented the lifesaving traffic signal. Discussion Questions: 1. Scarcity means not having enough of something we want. What was scarce for Garrett Morgan’s family when he was growing up?? [His parents’ house was small and he had five siblings. Space was scarce. His family had to spend most of their time working on their farm. There was little room for mistakes. Time was scarce. They worked hard but had little money. Money was scarce.]

Page 11

Lynne F. Stover 11 2. Human resources are the efforts directed toward producing goods and services. Garrett was a human resource with many skills and abilities. What are some of the skills that made him a valuable human resource. [He had many ideas for how to make things work better. He could build things.] 3. Garett’s brothers and sisters were also human resources. What skills and talents did they have? [Ruth could fish. Will was a baker. Lucille was knowledgeable about the stars. Frank was a mechanic. Minnie was a singer.] 4. Garett was smart and inventive. Why do you think his parents sent him to the city to be tutored? [They wanted him to invest in his human capital or invest in himself. Therefore, becoming more knowledgeable, skilled, and valuable human resource.] 5. What was the motivation for Garett to invent new things. [He saw that improvements on existing machines would help others and that new inventions could save lives.] 6. Garett had a lot of the personality traits or qualities that inventors and entrepreneurs need to have. What are some of those traits? [He is willing to take a risk. He was persistent; he didn’t give up. He invested time in getting an education so he had the necessary skills. He believed in his ideas and in himself.] 7. How do traffic lights help people? [They signal to drivers when to go and when to stop.] Is a traffic signal an example of a public good or a private good? [It is an example of a public good because it benefits many people at one time.]