Name: Hailee Bramel & Michelle Tanner   Date: March 1, 2007  Age/Grade Level: 3^rd

# of Students: 22   # of IEP Students: 1   # of GSSP Students: 0   # of LEP Students:

Subject: Social Studies  Major Content: Economics   Lesson Length: 45 minutes

Unit Title: Chocolate Economics    Lesson # and Title: Lesson #3 –Choices and Tradeoffs  

Context:

1. This is the third lesson to the unit on economics. Throughout the unit the students will learn about economics through hands on simulations dealing with chocolate.
2. As mentioned above, this is the third lesson in the unit. Last time that we met, the students learned about allocation decisions and how to divide up items that are scarce.
3. If there are any students allergic to chocolate then the teacher needs to be aware and advise those students not to eat the chocolate. Have a back up bag of candy (i.e. Skittles) for those students. If the IEP student is having trouble with the activity a peer will be on hand to help as well as the teacher.

Objectives:

1. The students will understand that choices are influenced by individual values, tastes, and habits through a hands on simulation.
2. The students will understand how opportunity costs affect people because of their choices through class discussion.

Connections:

• Academic Expectations
  • 2.18 – Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living
• Core Content
  • SS-EP-3.1.1 – Students will define basic economic terms related to scarcity (e.g., opportunity costs, wants and needs, limited productive resources-natural, human, capital) and explain that scarcity requires people to make economic choices and incur opportunity costs

DOK 2

Assessment Plan:

Resources, Media, Technology

1. Materials and Equipment

o       Coloring Sheet with 2 pictures front and back for each student

o       Crayons

o       Scissors

o       Poster to tape choices

o       Tape

o       Paper with the words, scarcity, allocation decision, opportunity cost, pro, and con

o       Chocolate

o       Chocolate Economics – M&M Publishing Company

o       The Kentucky Adventurer – T. Campbell 

Procedures:

Opening

• Review

o       “Today I will be continuing with our Chocolate Economics unit that we have been working on for the past 2 weeks.  

o       Ask the students if they remember what we have discussed so far in our unit. The students should say scarcity and allocation decision. Have them define it. (Scarcity – Wants are limited, but supply is limited; Allocation decision – How divide something up so that everyone gets an equal amount)

• Motivation

o       Tell the students that today they will be making choices that could affect them.

o       Explain to the students that they will be working individually to make a choice about a particular food item, and that their choice could result in a consequence.

Strategies and Activities

• Hold up the signs that say scarcity, allocation decision, pro, and con. Have the students tell you what the words are and what they mean.
• Instruct the students to get out their crayons (make sure the students use either crayons or colored pencils – markers will bleed through the paper too much)
• Hand each student a worksheet to color. Give the students time to color both sides.
• After all students have finished coloring both pictures instruct the students to make a choice and decide which picture they want to display in the hall – the ice cream cone or the slice of pizza. Then have the students cut out the picture that they choose.
• After all the students have their pictures cut out, explain to them that they have just done a trade off called opportunity cost. (show sign) This is when you have to make a choice between something and the consequence is that you loose the other item that you did not choose.
• Explain to them, that this happens a lot when you have to choose between two items that are the same but different in price.
  • The following are examples to use:

1. It is impossible to do homework and take a nap at the same time. So when we are taking our nap we have an opportunity cost in terms of the homework that still has to be completed.
2. When we spend money on a vacation the opportunity cost might be that less money is spent on new clothes or toys.
3. Money cannot be saved if it is spent, so the opportunity cost is that it cannot be saved or invested.

• Stress to the students that every choice we make has an opportunity cost associated with it.
• Have some of the students that want to share identify his or her choice and the opportunity cost that was associated with that decision.
• Take up the student’s picture that they choose. Tape each picture onto a piece of poster board. This will display scarcity. See which item will be scarce in their classroom.

Modifications

• If the IEP student needs assistance, the teacher or a peer will be available.

Formative Assessment

• Coloring two pictures and deciding which one they want to be displayed in the hall way.
• Class discussion on opportunity costs

Closing

• Ask the students what opportunity costs mean
• Ask the students if every decision that we make has an opportunity cost associated with it
• Even though this lesson did not deal directly with chocolate, provide candy to go along with the theme and the student’s hard work. Hand out that chocolate to the students
• Tell the students that the next time that we meet, Ms. Michelle will be talking to them about the decision tree

Summative Assessment

• There is not a summative assessment for this lesson.

Lesson Extension/Follow Up

Return to Professional Page