Real McCoy : The Life Of An African-American Inventor, The
Elijah McCoy was an African-American inventor who successfully designed the automatic oil cup, which increased productivity on the railroad, and may have inspired the popular phrase, “the real McCoy.”
Economic Concepts
- Productivity
- Patent
Grade Levels
- Intermediate (4-6)
Related Subjects
- U.S. History
- Multicultural Focus
Online Lesson, The Real McCoy: http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/realmccoy.htm
Students read the book and discuss the economics concepts. They learn about patents and increases in productivity, and discuss products or inventions that have caused increases in productivity.
This lesson was originally published in the following curriculum guide. Lesson posted online by permission of the publisher, for classroom use only.
Flowers, B., Meszaros, B., & Suiter, M. C. (1998). Economics and
Children’s Literature (Supplement 2). Coulson E. C. & McCorkle S.
(Eds.). SPEC Publishers, Inc. St. Louis, Missouri.