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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Comparing Economic Systems

For Teachers 10th Standards
How do people make decisions in a world where wants are unlimited but resources are not? How do individuals and governments utilize scarce resources (human, natural, and capital) in different economic systems? Introduce your learners to...
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Worksheet
Federal Reserve Bank

Choices Are Everywhere: Why Can’t We Just Have It All?

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Here is a resource covering a range of terms and concepts regarding scarcity, opportunity cost, and government debt in economics. 
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Activity
Sharp School

Real Life Economics 101

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Your learners will take key economic concepts, such as identifying needs versus wants and the four factors of production, and design a video to explain their topic choice to the class. Rather than have one person in charge of dispensing...
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Lesson Plan
Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education

Popcorn Economics

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Scarcity of resources is a fundamental economics concepts that kids need to understand. You'll use a large bag of popcorn to demonstrate this concept. Have the class come up row-by-row to fill their snack bags with popcorn. By the last...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rachel's Life is in a Hole

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Econ in a Bag

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Here is a nice idea, have your young entrepeneurs form their own companies. Each company is given a paper bad to locate and place resources in that they can use to create products their businesses sell on Sale Day. They identify and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chapter 2: The Economizing Problem

For Teachers 10th - 12th
It doesn't take a lecture on economics to convince teenagers that one's wants often exceed one's means, but this presentation will hopefully help them to understand the discrepancy. Using an example of pizza and robot arms, the slides...
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PPT
Curated OER

Chapter 1: The Nature and Method of Economics

For Teachers 10th - 12th
If the extent of your class' economic knowledge is the five-dollar bill they spent on lunch, then this presentation will be a good introduction to economics. From the basics of policy economics versus theoretical economics, to the...
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PPT
Curated OER

Values, Wants, and Needs

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Build a basic understanding of four fundamental economic principles. Defined here are the concepts of value, scarcity, want, and need. All of these terms are very important to understand when discussing economic choices or cost/benefit...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make a Choice

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils investigate the Underground Railroad to determine the choices that people made. To help, to stay, to do nothing, to break the law to enforce the law, to feed runaways are some of the choices that made a difference. This difference...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scarcity of Water Throughout the World

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students identify the various forms of fresh water on the earth. They observe a demonstration aand read articles that show them the importance of water conservation. They write a journal about their opinion regarding paying for water.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Location of Resources in Early Civilizations

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders define scarcity and opportunity costs.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Economics Study Guide

For Students 11th - 12th
Use this resource as a basic review of economic principles. There are six questions relating to the factors of production, opportunity costs, wants and needs, tangibles and intangibles, and more.
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PPT
Curated OER

Hurricane causes Scarcity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Assign this PowerPoint to your students to give them a place to explain how a hurricane can cause "scarcity" in a community or area. The directions instruct students how to save their slide. Tip: Instead of completing this on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sharing is Caring

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars sharpen their problem solving skills. In this service learning lesson, students work collaboratively to solve a problem involving scarcity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown's Economy

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars identify items made in Jamestown and draw conclusions about their economy. In this Jamestown economy lesson, students use the internet to complete a worksheet which required them to look at photographs of goods made in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Economics during the Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students synthesize the concepts of scarcity, supply, and demand, pertaining to the Civil War time period. For this economics lesson, students gain understanding of economic terms through read-alouds, Venn diagrams, (comparing lifestyles...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooking in A Closet: Supply and Demand on a Submarine

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students define choice, cost, supply, demand, and scarcity. They apply the terms in an economic sense to a historical event. Finally, students read an excerpt from the oral history interview with a submarine veteran conducted by the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Distribution of Goods

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students study the concept of scarcity and that it requires people to make choices when trying to satisfy their unlimited wants. Groups are given bags of items and must distribute the items in the bag in a way that is acceptable to...
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Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Tapped Dry: How Do You Solve a Water Shortage?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners, after evaluating different allocation methods for water, determine the costs and benefits of each method.
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Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

A Perfect Pet

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students read the story "The Perfect Pet". They examine how scarcity is a problem in society when people can not have everything they want which forces them to make (economic) choices.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mitten

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners read the book, The Mitten and make a list of animals that moved into the mitten. In this literature lesson, students discuss why we like to have nice, warm places to live, and what happens when there isn't enough space for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Popcorn Economics

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars examine the concept of scarcity. In this economics lesson, students define scarcity and take part in an activity that illustrates the concept as it relates to goods and services.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Do You Think Like an Economist?

For Students 9th - 12th
How can you tell if your students think like economists? Test their knowledge with this worksheet, which provides ten opportunities for your students to exercise critical thinking in the subject of economics. Each question could...