Learning Links
Black Market / Capitalism / Deficit / Inflation / Money / Stock Market / Banks / Credit / Automation / Imports / Cost of Living / Socialism / Utopia / Fiscal Policy / IRS / Advertising
Related Concepts
Interdependence / Goods & Services / Comparative Economics / Wants & Needs / Consumption & Production / Personal Finance / Decision Making / Trade & Migration / Opportunity Costs / Scarcity / Supply & Demand / Markets
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Recognize and apply fundamental economic concepts (e.g., wants and needs, supply and demand, scarcity).
• Understand the importance of planning and maintaining accurate records of budgeting and other financial activity.
• Recognize and apply fundamental marketing strategies (e.g., survey, cost analysis, product development).
• Explore interdependent relationships among personal, local, state, national, and international economies.
• Develop informed decisions based on a variety of economic considerations.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Analyze the effects of economic factors (e.g., supply and demand, wants and needs) on decision making.
• Examine ways cultural heritage influences economic decisions.
• Analyze relationships among economic factors (e.g., political structure, natural resources, population, technology) and the interdependence of nations.
• Predict consequences of personal or group economic choices (e.g., spending versus saving, economic development versus environmental preservation).
High School Demonstrators
• Explain how economic systems reflect real-life situations (e.g., trade deficits, employment).
• Analyze the interdependence of personal, national, and global economic issues and concerns.
• Analyze, demonstrate, and defend real-life economic decisions.
Sample Teaching/Assessment Strategies
Collaborative Process: Cooperative Learning / Community-Based Instruction: Field Studies, Service Learning / Continuous Progress Assessment: Portfolio Development, Self-assessment, Performance Events/Exhibitions / Graphic Organizers: Graphic Representations, Time Line, Venn Diagram / Problem Solving: Inquiry, Creative Problem Solving, Future Problem Solving, Debate, Formulating Models, Interviews, Oral History, Research, Simulation / Technology/Tools: Computers, Interactive Video, Telecommunications / Whole Language Approach / Writing Process
These sample strategies offer ideas and are not meant to limit teacher resourcefulness. More strategies are found in the resource section.
Ideas for Incorporating Community Resources
• Invite local marketing agency employees to be resources, presenters, or mentors for students engaging in marketing projects.
• Contact Junior Achievement or the Kentucky Council for Economic Education for ideas and resources on economic education.
• Identify employers in your area and study their impact on the local economy.
• Ask a representative from the local chamber of commerce to discuss the changes in the local economy over the last 50 years and make predictions concerning changes in the next 50 years.
Core Concept - Structure and Function of Economic Systems
Sample Elementary Activities
• Form a business that involves producing goods (e.g., brownies, books) or a service (e.g., raking leaves). Apply fundamental economic concepts and determine the success of the project. PE
• Analyze and chart techniques that advertisers use to sell toys (e.g., Saturday morning cartoons, animated movie characters). Prepare a consumer awareness presentation. PE, P
• Create a graphic organizer that illustrates the impact of automation on the world of work. Present and describe the organizer to a panel of students. PE, P
• Participate in a "barter-day" where you trade items with other students. Discuss the convenience of money. PE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Create an advertising slogan which would convince children to purchase your favorite new toy. PE, P
Science
• Analyze reasons why the cost of a new invention decreases over time. P
Mathematics
• Purchase activities for a car trip (e.g., books, games, puzzles) with a $10 budget. PE
Arts and Humanities
• Create a play about a homeless child's wants and needs. PE
Practical Living
• Determine which daily-use items are wants and which are needs. Use drawings and pictures from magazines to create a chart that shows your findings. Present the chart to your class. PE, P
Vocational Education
• Do a comparative study of your wants and needs. Determine the salary range needed to satisfy your wants and needs. P
Sample Middle School Activities
• Evaluate economic decisions with a cost-benefit analysis. Select a product for purchase and consider both the costs (what is given up) and the benefits (what is gained). Chart the findings and present. PE, OE
• Evaluate the relationship among supply, demand, and costs of a seasonal product (e.g., tomatoes, August-November; Christmas Trees, Thanksgiving-Christmas Day). Compare costs biweekly at various sites and create a chart to display findings. PE, OE, P
• Prepare a '"mock" budget for a family in the community. Present the budget and include a rationale for the decisions and major financial problems which may be faced by the family. PE
• Create a business that will generate income from recycled products. PE, P
• Design a marketing strategy for a product important to middle school students. Analyze the effectiveness of the strategy. PE, OE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Write a jingle which could be used to advertise a product designed for adolescents. PE, P
Science
• Research the cost of obtaining animals for a zoo. Compare/contrast the prices of various animals. Relate to supply and demand. OE, P
Mathematics
• Investigate what factors determine the value of a baseball card. Find the price of the most expensive baseball cards. OE, P
Arts and Humanities
• Research the rising prices for works of art in recent years. Relate the prices to the concept of supply and demand. OE, P
Practical Living
• Explain to a class of elementary school students how supply and demand influences the cost of items in a grocery store. PE
Vocational Education
• Investigate the historical and present-day connections between supply and demand and the availability (and salary ranges) of jobs. Predict what job opportunities might be available in the future. OE, P
Sample High School Activities
• Investigate how the state lottery functions. Use a computer to develop a cost-benefit analysis for the state. Write a position paper which considers whether or not the state should have a lottery. P
• Develop a list of goods and services that are scarce in the community. Discuss possible causes for the scarcity and suggest ways that the community can deal with the problem. Present your findings to the local planning commission. PE
• Solve an economic problem using the techniques of two different economic systems. Present a possible solution and predict long-term implications of that solution to a panel of teachers and local business leaders. PE
Applications Across the Curriculum
Variations on a theme: Interdependence
Language Arts
• View the movie Blue Planet. Compare and contrast the production to other portrayals of planet Earth. OE, P
Science
• Research Greenpeace to learn about an interdependent ecological effort. Draw conclusions on how this effort impacts the world economy. OE, P
Mathematics
• Create a time line showing major events dealing with economic interdependence. Extend the time line to make predictions about the future. PE
Arts and Humanities
• Research the amount of money that has been provided by the federal government to support the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Investigate governmental support for the arts in Great Britain, France, and Germany. Debate the importance of government support for the arts using information collected. PE, OE, P
Practical Living
• Research various items used each day. Determine their country of origin and draw conclusions about economic interdependence. OE, P
Vocational Education
• Analyze and present findings on how the North American Free Trade Agreement affects economic interdependence. OE, P