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Economics-5th grade
Date: 11/10/04-11/12/04
Lesson 4: Prices (supply and demand)
Objective:
TSWBAT explain how prices are determined and what can affect them. TSWBAT use
a(n) (Excel) chart to interpret data
Michigan Benchmark:
SS.IV.1.1: Explain why people must face scarcity when making economic decisions.
SS.IV.2.1: Distinguish between natural resources, human capital, and capital
equipment in the production of a good or service.
SS.IV.4.1: Explain how prices are determined in a market economy and how they
serve as a means of allocating resources.
Tech.2.LE.1: Interpret, analyze, and evaluate information with the assistance of
technology.
NETS:
Prior to completion of Grade 5 students will:
1. Use keyboards and other common input and output devices (including adaptive
devices when necessary) efficiently and effectively. (1)
2. Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal
productivity, remediate skill deficits, and facilitate learning throughout the
curriculum. (3)
3. Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos,
educational software) for problem solving, self-directed learning, and extended
learning activities. (5, 6)
Materials:
All classes: Sale flyers, pencils, cookies, chart for overhead and for students,
price questions packet
My class: computers with internet connection, Excel, lemonade sales chart
Anticipatory Set:
Come up with definitions for scarcity, consumer, and producer. Why do stores
have sales?
Modeling Activity:
I will hold up the cookie. Who would buy this if it cost 10 cents? Count how
many and enter number into chart. Who would buy it if it cost 15 cents? 25
cents? 50 cents? $1? What happens to the number of people willing to buy as the
price goes up? If I charged 10 cents a cookie, it costs me 15 cents to make a
cookie. Would it make sense for me to charge 10 cents? Why? What would my profit
be per cookie if I charge 15 cents? 25 cents? 50 cents? Together we will make a
supply and demand graph. For the supply column I will give the students the
numbers. At $0.10, I will supply 5 cookies, at $0.15-10, $0.25-20, $0.50-25,
$1.00-30. Then we will discuss the graph and how businesses would decide what
price to charge.
Guided Practice:
Students will finish answering questions independently.
Independent Practice:
Students will play the online lemonade game for 10 days. As they play they are
to keep track of the information on the printed chart. When done for 10 days,
students will then input the data into an Excel spreadsheet. If there's time, we
will create a graph using the program. (http://www.ae4rv.com/games/lemonade.htm)
Closure:
What did you learn about price today?
Assessment:
I will collect their class work.
Reflection:
Tough lesson in some aspects. They loved the cookies I passed out at the end.
The modeling activity went well, and they were very into it. Profit was the
tough part, though it appeared many did grasp it by the end of the lesson.
Looking at their questions, some still had a hard time thinking about what price
a customer wants to pay compared to what price the business wants to charge, and
why. My class of course took the longest, and had to complete the questions the
next day because we ran out of time. I pointed out to all the classes that what
we were doing was what businesses really do, that they really do make these
supply and demand graphs, and that I did them many times in my economic classes
at college. I also asked them if they ever thought that they would be using math
in social studies and most said no!
My class loved playing the lemonade stand game. Many of them lost money, and a
handful of students went bankrupt! Keeping track of the numbers was the hardest
for them, since they had decimal places. There wasn't enough time in the lab, so
we will be going to the lab during recess to finish up. Everyone but a few got
to start their spreadsheet, and they thought it was so cool that they only had
to type in a few of their numbers and then the rest was calculated for them
since I had entered in formulas into the cells already. A few got to the graph,
and they loved it. One student completely finished, and I'm going to ask her if
she would like to become my assistant when we're in the computer lab, because
she really knows computers and works fast.
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