Title of Lesson: Supply and demand
Subject Area: Economics
Grade Level: 4th grade
Objective:
* Students will be able to list as a group economic goods, economic
bads, items that are scarce in our society and factors that affect
our economy.
* Students will be able to answer questions on the worksheet dealing
with supply and demand with at least 80% accuracy.
Materials Needed:
Vocabulary words, four pieces of paper taped to different corners of
the classroom, four colored pens, and the worksheet.
Procedures:
1. Students will be introduced to some of the basic vocabulary
surrounding supply and demand.
Market- a place or service that allows buyers and sellers to
exchange goods and services
Demand- the quantity of a good or service that consumers are
willing and able to buy at a given price during a specific period of
time
Law of demand- as the price of a good decreases, people buy
more
Supply- the quantity of a good or service that producers are
willing and able to offer at each possible price during a specific
period of time
Law of supply- as the price of a good increases, producers
will offer more
Economic good- an economic good refers to goods and
services
Economic bad- any item for which we would pay to have less
of
Scarcity- there is not enough of that item to satisfy everyone
who wants it
Equilibrium- the point at which the quantity demanded equals
the quantity supplied at a particular price
Surplus- at prices above the equilibrium price the quantity
supplied is greater than the quantity demanded
Shortage- at prices below the equilibrium price the quantity
demanded is greater than the quantity supplied
2. Teacher will discuss with the students what causes prices to
change.
Price may change when demand, supply, or both change. An increase in
demand cause prices to increase. An increase in supply cause prices
to decrease. If demand and supply both increase but the demand change
is larger, price will increase: it will act as if the only change had
been a change in demand. If demand and supply both increase but the
supply change is larger, price will decrease: it will act as if the
only change had been a change in supply. Ex. Suppose the government
allowed a certain amount of imported steel to enter the economy. This
would cut down on supply and result in a higher steel price. Also, if
there was a decrease in potato prices it would suggest an increase in
quantity demanded and a decrease in quantity supplied.
3. Teacher will arrange students into four corners by counting off
1-4. There will be a piece of paper in each corner and each group
will have two-three minutes to list as many answers as they can in
the time allotted. They will rotate clockwise until they have been to
all four corners. Each group will have a different colored pen so it
is easy to see what group wrote down what answers. They must have
answers that are different from the other groups. It might be
necessary to increase the time after rotating a couple of rounds to
four-five minutes because it will be harder to come up with
answers.
4. The first corner will be asked to identify economic goods (food,
bicycles, haircuts.) The second corner will identify economic bads
(air pollution, garbage, disease.) Third corner will identify things
that are scarce (gold, silver, Elmo doll during Christmas of 1996.)
The last corner will list different factors that affect our economy
(jobs available, wages.)
5. After the students have attended the corners then the last group
will look at all the answers and identify the top five responses they
like most. They will select a spokesperson from their group to share
and explain their responses to the class. The teacher will ask
questions to get a better idea of their understanding and then tie
the activity together and summarize it. Teacher will ask questions
such as: What makes it an economic good? Why does this particular
response affect the changing economy? How do you tell if it is an
economic good or bad?
Then teacher will add any additional comments and ask students if
they have questions or comments to make before moving on to the next
activity.
6. The teacher will give the students a worksheet to test their
knowledge and understanding of the material discussed in class.
7. Teacher will give the students enough time to complete worksheet.
Then they will correct their papers and go through the answers as a
class to make sure everyone understands why they are answered in that
manner.
8. Teacher will conclude the lesson in reviewing the vocabulary that
was introduced at the beginning of the lesson and ask the students to
verbally summarize what supply and demand is and how it affects the
consumer.
Evaluation:
Teacher will observe the answers given by the four groups to make
sure their responses match the question asked. I will have the
students grade, then correct their worksheets and I will require that
they receive at least 80%.
Supply and Demand Worksheet
Match each item correctly. Write the letter in the blank.
_____1. Needs (B)
_____2. Wants (E)
_____3. Goods (D)
_____4. Services (A)
_____5. Market (C)
A. Works that are performed for someone.
B. Basic requirements for survival.
C. Location or other mechanism that allows buyers to exchange economic products
D. Means of expressing needs
E. Tangible commodities
6. Which of the following
is not an economic good? (A)
A. Weather
B. Car
C. Sandwich
D. Haircut
7. Which of the following is an economic bad? (B)
A. Candy
B. Pollution
C. Television
D. Magazine
8. Which of the following
is an example of a service? (C)
A. Blow dryer
B. Scissors
C. T.V. repair person
D. Money
9. When supply is greater
than demand than it is called a: (B)
A. Shortage
B. Surplus
C. Variable
D. Balance
10. If the quantity
demanded equals the quantity supplied it is called: (D)
A. Economic Approach
B. Law of Demand
C. Law of Supply
D. Equilibrium