Name:   Brandi Hamlyn                                     Date: 06.21.05                                                  Age/Grade Level:  7^th grade

Subject: Social Studies                                      # of students:  30                                             # of IEP students: 13

Major Content:  Economics                             Unit Title:  Supply and Demand

ACTIONS: Students will learn the concepts of supply and demand through a variety of techniques that will activate their prior knowledge and will apply the learned material to real-life concepts.

Goals and Objectives:

            Provide students with knowledge of monetary value that they can take with them when faced with the decision of if a product is worth the price set forth.  Students will examine what happens when demand exceeds supply and vice versa through bidding on objects and writing their response as a journal entry to the given situation.  Students will also define orally and in writing the terms supply and demand.  Students will identify what happens when supply exceeds demand and they will give examples of instances where demand exceeds supply and the results.  Finally, students will explain how supply and demand affect their choices in professions and products that are produced. 

Connections:

            Kentucky Learner Goals:

            GOAL ONE: Students will learn how to use basic math and communication skills in order to attempt to buy an item they would like to purchase.  The will be able to recognize the definition of supply and demand. 

            GOAL TWO: Their math, science, and vocational skills will be enhanced with this lesson due to analyzing the effects of trends in the economy.  Students will provide examples of the relationships between supply and demand through group interaction. 

            GOAL FIVE: Students will focus on the ability to think and solve problems they will encounter in life.  The will comprehend the value of money and how to utilize their money when the price of a product is deemed appropriate. 

Context:

This unit will be taught during a unit on Canada.  This unit will focus on the lifestyle, economy, and government of Canadians. 

Resources:

·        prize for each student in class

·        pencils

·        three index cards per student

·        Internet

·        PowerPoint

·        two plastic baggies

·        yellow strips of paper

·        green strips of paper

·        brown paper bags

Procedures:

            DAY 1:

·        Two plastic baggies will be passed around the room to each student.  One baggie will contain yellow strips of paper and the second will contain green strips.  Students will select will be asked to select an amount of paper from each baggie without knowing what the strips of paper represent.  After all students obtain their paper slips the price amount of each of the colors will be written on the board.  Yellow = .30 and green = .50.  The students will add up their amounts to get a grand total.  Two objects will then be pulled from a brown bag (chocolate bar and a free homework pass).  It will be understood that this is an auction and whoever wins these objects will also automatically receive an A for this lesson. 

·        This bidding will continue on new items pulled from another brown bag (chocolate bar, free homework pass, three points extra credit, and two points added to a test grade).  The bidding will continue on these items until a winner is selected.

·        The terms supply and demand will be discussed within small groups and then discussed as a class.  Students are to write their discussions in their writing journals for social studies. 

·        Exiting question: students are to summarize today’s lesson by proposing and answering a question using one of the power assessment verbs. 

DAY 2:

·        Students will review the concepts and vocabulary terms from yesterday.

·        Students will answer a question written on the board in their writing journals: “What do you think will be the most popular holiday gift for people your age?  What is the approximate price of this product?” 

·        Students will then get into discussion groups to share their thoughts with one another.

·        Ask students to think of three items at their desk and to secretly set a price for each one of them on an index card.

·        Students are then to go “shopping” by observing the prices each other have set for the items they are trying to sell. 

·        This activity will lead into classroom discussions regarding:

o       “Now that you know how other merchants priced their items how will it affect your pricing of the same items?”

o       “Were there some items that would be in high demand because of their low supply?  How might that affect pricing?”

DAY 3:

·        In groups, students will complete an interactive supply and demand lesson via the Internet.  

·        Students will be using the computer this day to complete a research project on supply and demand. 

·        The students will be in small groups (two-three people) and conduct research on supply and demand examples.  Ideas include: other countries and their experiences of supply and demand, prices of objects from one year ago and the current price, etc. 

DAY 4:

·        Students will conclude their researching at the beginning of class. 

·        Within their groups, students are to generate a creative method (PowerPoint) of displaying the information they located.

·        The rest of this day will consist of the groups learning how to use PowerPoint and creating their presentation for the completion of assignment. 

DAY 5:

·        The groups will continue working on their presentation in a creative fashion (PowerPoint)

DAY 6:

·        If needed, groups will finish completing their presentation

·        Groups will present their presentations to class

·        Closing activity will occur of supply and demand by completing an open response question

Student Assessment:

Student progress will be monitored in this lesson through summative and formative assessment.  At the end of the first day, students are to complete an exiting question that will demonstrate their ability to apply the information learned and turn it into a question to ask someone else.  The students will also be assessed throughout the week’s lesson by checking for student comprehension and accuracy of locating information for the mini-presentation.  Students will also be assessed on their interactions with one another during the “shopping” activity and during the research of a topic.  Students will also be assessed on their prior knowledge of supply and demand through their answers and notes written in their writing journals.  A rubric is attached in regards to the open response question the students will complete at the end of the week. Students will also be assessed on their involvement and understanding of how to create a PowerPoint presentation.  A rubric is also attached for their presentation. 

Refinement:

            This section will be prepared after the lesson and the post-observation conference.

Impact:

This section will be prepared after the lesson and the post-observation conference.

Follow Up:

            Students will continue to learn economics by studying other areas of the field. 

OPEN RESPONSE QUESTION:

In the US economy, people demand goods and/or services, businesses supply them and the balance of supply and demand determines the price.  Choose one scenario from the following and explain how and why supply, demand, and price would be affected.

·        Michael Jordan had agreed to approve a new brand of tennis shoe.  Because of this endorsement, the shoes become very popular and stores are having difficulty keeping the shoes in stock.

·        On her national talk show, Oprah Winfrey speaks negatively about the cattle industry by saying that she will never eat beef for the fear of mad cow disease. 

·        The government decides not to stop people from downloading music from the internet.  The record industry voices its concern about the future of CD sales.