EconEdLink

Trade to the Tailor

By reading the book "A New Coat for Anna" students will learn about resources, scarcity, costs, trade/bartering, and decision making through a young girl, Anna, whose mother wanted to buy her a coat but did not have the money.

Scarcity and Resources

This is a basic lesson of scarcity and resources that can be used for elementary students or students with special needs. Scarcity - is a condition that exists because human wants exceed the capacity of available resources to satisfy those wants; also a situation in which a resource has more than one valuable use. Students often get confused with the term resources. The basic kinds of resources used to produce goods and services: land or national resources, human resources (including labor and entrepreneurship), and capital. The following exercise gives the students a kinesthetic approach to the concepts of scarcity and resources. It is a musical chairs approach to learning these economic principles.

Toys for Me: A Lesson on Choice

Students encounter the concept of scarcity in their daily tasks but have little comprehension as to its meaning or how to deal with the concept of scarcity. Scarcity is really about knowing that often life is 'This OR That' not 'This AND That'. This lesson plan for students in grades K-2 and 3-5 introduces the concept of scarcity by illustrating how time is finite and how life involves a series of choices. Specifically, this lesson teaches students about scarcity and choice: Scarcity means we all have to make choices and all choices involve "costs." Not only do you have to make a choice every minute of the day because of scarcity, but, when making a choice, you have to give up something. This cost is called oppportunity cost. Opportunity cost is defined as the value of the next best thing you would have chosen. It is not the value of all things you could have chosen. Choice gives us 'benefits' and choice gives us 'costs'. Not only do you have to make a choice every minute of the day, because of scarcity, but also, when making a choice, you have to give up something of value (opportunity cost). To be asked to make a choice between 'this toy OR that toy' is difficult for students who want every toy. A goal in life for each of us is to look at our wants, determine our opportunities, and try and make the best choices by weighing the benefits and costs.

Financial Fitness for Life: K-2 - Teacher Guide

This publication contains 16 stories that complement the K-2 Student Storybook. Specific to grades K-2 are a variety of activities, including making coins out of salt dough or cookie dough; a song that teaches students about opportunity cost and decisions; and a game in which students learn the importance of savings.

18 out of 18 lessons from this publication relate to this EconEdLink lesson.

Playful Economics

Designed primarily for elementary and middle school students, each of the 15 lessons in this guide introduces an economics concept through activities with modeling clay.

17 out of 17 lessons from this publication relate to this EconEdLink lesson.

Financial Fitness for Life: K-2 - Student Storybook

This publication contains 16 stories that complement the K-2 Teacher Resource Manual. Specific to grades K-2 are a variety of activities, including making coins out of salt dough or cookie dough; a song that teaches students about opportunity cost and decisions; and a game in which students learn the importance of savings.

17 out of 17 lessons from this publication relate to this EconEdLink lesson.