2025 REAL Conference Session Descriptions

Presenter: Becky Bloomfield
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Audience: K-12

AGFC is excited to share two exciting opportunities for educators and students. AGFC’s Generation Conservation initiative aims to provide an inclusive learning environment for teachers and K-12 students in Arkansas to engage and compete in AGFC programming and offerings at the upcoming summit.

Additionally, our School of Conservation Leadership Designation increases conservation education, outdoor learning, and outdoor recreation opportunities, increases awareness of conservation careers, and inspires the next generation of conservation professionals.

Presenter: Bliss Smith
Arkansas Business Publishing Group
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

This session will explore how Arkansas Next serves as a practical tool for helping students navigate their post-graduation options, from college and career planning to essential life skills. We’ll walk through ways educators and counselors can use the publication to spark conversations, boost engagement, and better prepare students for what comes next.

Presenter: Kayla Gomance
Arkansas State Parks
Audience: K-12

Join Arkansas State Parks to discover the value and variety of our state park system. From scenic landscapes to educational and recreational experiences, discover how our parks contribute to the quality of life in Arkansas.

We'll share how state parks support the state’s economy through tourism, outdoor recreation, partnerships, and ongoing investments in infrastructure and trail development. Whether you're new to the parks or a longtime visitor, this session will offer insights into the vital role they play across the state.

Audience: K-12

Presenter: Jennifer Taunton
Master Economics Teacher, Springdale
Audience: 3-5

Using the book, Call of the Klondike, students are given a firsthand look at what it took to survive the Klondike Gold Rush both physically and economically. Participants will have the opportunity to experience STEM and economics lessons based on the book and leave with links to these resources.

Presenter: Linley Hittenrauch
Arkansas Secretary of State's Office
Audience: K-12

Come discover the classroom presentation program from the Arkansas Secretary of State Education Team! We offer a variety of exciting topics for K-12 educators in traditional school settings, homeschool co-ops, libraries, or museums.

Topics are not limited to social studies: art, music, literacy, and even science teachers can also find a presentation topic relevant to your classroom. Our presenter will share an overview of each presentation and how they can be a valuable resource for your students.

Presenter: Dr. Tina Moore
Arkansas Department of Higher Education
Audience: 9-12

Presenter: Jeannette Bennett
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Audience: K-12

Presenter: Penny Toombs
A-State Heritage Sites
Audience: K-12

Join this session to learn about all the educational programs available for the following Heritage Sites: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home in Dyess; Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza, Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott; and Lakeport Plantation in Lake Village.

Programs range from kindergarten to high school in all subject areas. Anyone interested in cross-curricular lessons and enrichment opportunities are encouraged to attend.

Presenter: Jennifer Wiggins
Master Economics Teacher, Springdale
Audience: K-2, 3-5

Discover how to make economics relevant, engaging, and accessible for students across grade levels using Economics Arkansas’ Inspire lesson series. In this interactive one-hour session, participants will explore ready-to-use, standards-based lessons that connect economic concepts to real-world decision-making and literature. Whether you're new to economic education or looking to refresh your approach, this session will provide practical strategies, classroom-ready resources, and cross-curricular integration ideas that bring economic thinking to life for learners. Leave inspired and equipped with tools to empower your students to think critically and make informed choices!

Presenter: Stephen O'Connell
University of Central Arkansas
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

From global migration and trade flows to local zoning and building regulations, the impact of spatial processes is all around us. Knowing how to access and analyze spatial data is a vital skill across many modern industries. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are powerful platforms that can organize and visualize spatial information and facilitate complex understanding of current events and issues. This session will explore some of the tools available for both teachers and students.

Presenter: Cassie Harris
Master Economics Teacher, Lakeside Hot Springs
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Discover how to make economics relevant, engaging, and accessible for students across grade levels using Economics Arkansas’ Inspire lesson series. In this interactive one-hour session, participants will explore ready-to-use, standards-based lessons that connect economic concepts to real-world decision-making and literature.

Whether you're new to economic education or looking to refresh your approach, this session will provide practical strategies, classroom-ready resources, and cross-curricular integration ideas that bring economic thinking to life for learners. Leave inspired and equipped with tools to empower your students to think critically and make informed choices!

Presenter: Tracy Floyd
Master Economics Teacher, Mena
Audience: K-2

Come learn how to get your students excited about economics while getting their hands dirty! This session will share ideas of how to start and maintain a school garden and use it to teach key economics concepts to young students using books, garden themed activities, and, of course, a shared garden.

Presenter: Dr. Kristin Mann
University of Arkansas - Little Rock
Audience: K-12

How can we teach geography, economics, history and civics with a McDonald's Happy Meal and other products that students buy? This hands-on session will provide practice using objects as hooks to teach social studies content and research skills.

Presenter: Jamie Garmon
Master Economics Teacher, Pulaski County Special
Audience: K-2, 3-5

Presenters: Casey Rockwell
University of Arkansas - Little Rock
Audience: 9-12

In Law & Order: Econ Unit, educators step into the roles of lawmakers, business owners, and consumers to experience how laws shape economic choices. Through fun, hands-on activities using current issues like social media regulation and minimum wage laws, participants will debate, vote, and reflect on real-world economic outcomes. This professional development session equips educators with engaging tools to bring the courtroom and marketplace into their classrooms—making economics and civics come alive for grades 9–12.

Presenter: Joel Miller
Foundation for Economic Education
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Discover how Monday Morning Economist turns pop culture and current events into free, classroom-ready lessons. This session introduces weekly resources from the Foundation for Economic Education that bring relevance and critical thinking to your econ instruction through simulations, discussions, and real-world connections.

Presenter: Alundra Dickson
Master Economics Teacher, Little Rock
Audience: 9-12

Traditional economics assumes rational decision-making, but human behavior often defies logic. This session explores the psychological processes that shape economic choices. Through engaging examples and interactive discussions, we’ll examine why people overspend, struggle with saving, and make irrational financial decisions. You’ll leave this session with a deeper understanding of behavioral economics—and how to make smarter decisions in a world of cognitive biases.

Presenter: Jay Drake, James Rouse
Arkansas Securities Department
Audience: K-12

A description of the Non-Bank Financial Products the department regulates, and the department's role in regulation. Offer a more detailed focus on money service businesses like Venmo or PayPal, with a focus on explaining the differences between their services versus an actual bank. A description of the various types of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, and how they work. What to do when something goes wrong.

Presenter: Nakesha Cunningham
Master Economics Teacher, Pulaski County Special
Audience: K-2

Presenter: Andrea Lewis
First Security Bank
Audience: K-2, 3-5

Presenter: Kathleen Pate
Clinton Presidential Library and Museum
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Let's explore the impact of presidential priorities and policies, on the federal budget and the economy overall.

Presenter: Jennifer Park
Arkansas School for Math, Science and the Arts
Audience: 3-5, 6-8

Get ready to rock your classroom with this high-energy, hands-on workshop that turns ordinary stones into extraordinary lessons in entrepreneurship! Using the charming picture books Rocks for Sale by Jennifer Buchet and How to Sell a Rock by Beth Ferry, we’ll explore how to introduce students in grades 3–8 to the fundamentals of starting and marketing a business.

Participants will engage in a mock “rock market,” brainstorm product ideas, create simple business plans, and practice persuasive sales pitches—all with a playful twist. You’ll leave with ready-to-use classroom activities that build creativity, critical thinking, and financial literacy, plus tips on how to connect language arts, math, and economics in one engaging unit. Perfect for teachers who want to spark student imagination and teach real-world skills—with a little humor and a lot of grit!

Presenter: Amy Mileham
Master Economics Teacher, Springdale
Audience: 3-5, 6-8

Are you ready to empower your students with the entrepreneurial mindset and help them build their own businesses? Have you always wanted to hold a class or school market, but didn't know where to start? Do you want to have students who think outside the box, problem solve, and persevere? This may be the session for you!

Learn ways to infuse your core curriculum (literacy and STEM) with entrepreneurship, and give your students the confidence to become entrepreneurs. Lessons and resources will be provided and of course, door prizes!

Presenter: Joel Miller
Foundation for Economic Education
Audience: 6-8

Bring economic concepts to life with a hands-on simulation that explores the impact of trade and tariffs on markets, resource allocation, and opportunity cost. In this session, participants will engage in a classroom-ready activity set in the fictional country of Econovia, making production and trade decisions under free trade and tariff scenarios.

Attendees will leave with ready-to-use materials, scoring guides, and debrief questions that help students connect real-world trade policies to core economic principles.

Presenter: Sam Sloan
Master Economics Teacher, Pocahontas
Audience: 9-12

Participants will be given a random “basket” of candy and must trade with other participants in order to get a more valuable “basket.” The participants will be split into separate countries, and in order to trade with people from the other country they must pay the “tariff” by playing a game of rock paper scissors and have the customs official sign off on the trade.

Presenter: Dr. Sheri Deaton
University of Arkansas
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Presenters: Dr. Jeni Logan
Southern Arkansas University
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

The Economics of Sleepovers is a lesson plan with several activities for students to practice and apply terminology, employ logic to solve a problem, and use economic decision-making. The activities apply to middle school and high school students.

Presenter: Amy Ricardo
Master Economics Teacher, Bryant
Audience: K-12

In this interactive classroom activity, students become entrepreneurs—creating, advertising, and “selling” products to their peers using limited resources. Designed to teach key microeconomic concepts like profit, opportunity cost, and factors of production, this simulation encourages creativity, critical thinking, and economic reasoning. Adaptable for K–12, it’s a fun and flexible way to bring economics to life. Attendees will leave with materials and tips to run the simulation in their own classrooms.

Presenter: Valarie Harp
Master Economics Teacher, Hackett
Audience: K-2, 3-5

What is sweet, juicy, and thirst quenching? Watermelons! Did you know that the cultivation and consumption of watermelons impacts both local and global economies? This session addresses the economic concepts that can be covered utilizing trade books such as, Watermelon Wishes, Runski Punski and the Watermelon Shoes, Peter Spit a Seed at Sue, Chestnut Cove, and many more. Learn about watermelon related activities as well as fun and engaging STEM projects that can easily be integrated into this watermelon unit. Come prepared to have FUN!

Presenter: Dr. Tom Woodruff
Master Economics Teacher, Rogers
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Participants will relive this television show favorite! Can you guess the price of these products .....2025 Toyota platinum? Season tickets to University of Arkansas 2025 football games? Apple-MacBook Pro 14" screen? Roundtrip airfare to Hawaii? Hahaha! Our products will be much easier .....customer benefits, pricing, branding, and competition are some of the economic terms discussed and each participant will have a neat takeaway gift. Come, enjoy, and have fun!

Presenters: Terra Aquia
Izzit
Audience: 6-8, 9-12

Sylvia Banda knows the secret to success. She took her passion for food and cooking and turned it into one of the strongest food service corporations in the African Republic of Zambia. She started by making fritters to sell to her classmates, then opened her own restaurant after college. On opening day, she realized there was more to running a food business than just cooking—she'd forgotten to have chairs for her customers! She bartered with a neighbor for chairs and eventually became a successful food entrepreneur who established a catering company, a culinary school for restaurant workers, and the processing and distribution of Zambian foods. Through her multiple ventures, she has been able to help other Zambians improve their quality of life. Changes in economic policies made the difference for Sylvia and other Zambians.

What kinds of changes could explain the rise from one of the lowest-ranked countries on the Economic Freedom Index to being equal to Poland and France in just 15 years?

Find out as Sylvia shares her "secret" recipe for success.

Presenter: Terra Aquia
Audience: K-12

Economists love to talk about trade. Why is that? The world is a chaotic place. Canadians want oranges in the middle of winter and have no way to efficiently grow them on their own. Trading is a way to encourage Florida orange grove owners to produce more than they, their family and friends could ever eat to give to people who are then able to do other things. Explore these questions by playing The Trade Game, an easy to learn, fun to play, engaging classroom activity that fits easily into any social studies curriculum and is readily adjusted to classes of all sizes and ages.

Presenter: Lisa Taylor
Master Economics Teacher, Springdale
Audience: K-2, 3-5

Integrating economics into the classroom can be engaging and fun, especially when it aligns with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) concepts.

Presenter: April Blackburn
Master Economics Teacher, Bigelow
Audience: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

Bessie B. Moore Award Winning Unit - Ever wonder how a toy makes it from an idea to the shelf? In this unit, students not only learn about the history of toys, but they also learn the process of designing and marketing a toy. From advertising to catchphrases, take a step back in time to your childhood with this unit of your beloved classic toys!

Presenter: Sara Kunau
Arkansas Secretary of State's Office
Audience: K-12

Crack the case! Get firsthand experience with our traveling briefcases that make learning about civics and government fun. Full of classroom and small group activities, games, books, and tangibles. You will get to discuss, discover, and see how to use these resources in your classroom.

Presenter: Johnny Caststeel
Master Economics Teacher, Mountain Home
Audience: K-12