Head Full of Notions, A
This book examines the life and imagination of the well-known inventor and entrepreneur, Robert Fulton. From the time he was a child he enjoyed tinkering with machinery and producing new things. He was good at coming up with new ideas and improving the concepts developed by others. He experienced the personal and financial success that came with his best-known mechanical advancement—the steamboat.
Economic Concepts
- Inventors
- Entrepreneurs
- Producers
- Consumers
- Risk
- Profit
- Productivity
- Increasing Productivity
Grade Levels
- Intermediate (4-6)
Related Subjects
- U.S. History
- Entrepreneurship
Teacher Tips for Using this Book
Description of Lesson 13, Apprenticeship: Investment in Human Capital
From Adventures in Economic and U.S. History, Volume 1
Students weigh the costs and benefits of being an apprentice, as well as the costs and benefits of taking on an apprentice. They come to understand that learning a new skill is investing in one’s own human capital. They compare the way people acquire skills today and how they did so in colonial times. (In this book students have read about Robert Fulton, who also ran away from his apprentice position.)
Description of Lesson 7, Inventors: Dreaming Up New Ideas
From Adventures in Economic and U.S. History, Volume 2
Students read and discuss this historical book, and then differentiate between inventors and entrepreneurs, describe the incentives that motivate them, and explore the important contributions they make to society’s standard of living.