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About this lesson
 grade level: 3-5, 6-8
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curriculum standards:
1 7 8 14
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author: Mickey Ebert
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posted on: March 15, 2002
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EconomicsMinute

NOT your Grandma's Lemonade Stand

Key Economic Concepts:

Description:

After a review of elementary economic concepts, students will apply their understanding by playing an online computer game, Lemonade Stand. This game has the students competing against themselves and others to earn the biggest profit in 25 days time (approximately 15 minutes computer time). "Daily" economic advice helps students find out where they fail in understanding the demand and supply sides of economics. Fun!

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

  • Identify what they gain and what they give up when they make choices.
  • Identify people as consumers and/or producers.
  • Predict how prices change when the number of buyers in a market
    changes.
  • Identify the risk of being an entrepreneur.

Introduction:

Are your students able to apply economic concepts in the real world? In this lesson the students will be able to test that ability in a cyber-world where they can decide to sell lemonade in a host of different cities, in all kinds of weather, and with a cyber-economist giving them daily advice. Before they slip into the cyber-world, however, they need to brush up on all those concepts they have been learning.

Resources:

stand
  • Grandma's Lemonade Stand: Click on the link below  to review those basic elementary concepts on what it would take to open a lemonade stand. This old-fashioned picture painted by Norman Rockwell will serve as a reminder of what Grandma's lemonade stand might have been like and the concepts it teaches.
    www.rockwellsite.com/files/bw/59_full.jpg [1]
  • Lemonade Stand Cyber Version: The students should click on the link to see what the concepts look like in a cyber version. The concepts are listed and explained.
    www.ae4rv.com/games/lemonade.htm [2]
lemon
lemonade

Process:

stand Click on www.rockwellsite.com/files/bw/59_full.jpg [1]
This old-fashioned picture painted by Norman Rockwell will serve as a reminder of what Grandma's lemonade stand might have been like and the concepts it teaches.

The students are asked to answer questions about the Norman Rockwell picture in this online interactive activity.

The students need to click on: www.ae4rv.com/games/lemonade.htm [2] and discuss the possible decisions they must make in order to play the game. What city should they sell in? Clicking the cities allow the students to see the data needed for making a decision. How many cups to buy, how much to charge, how much to spend for advertising - these are all the normal decisions made by entrepreneurs every day!

Note:

A lemonade stand has the potential for teaching most economic standards! It is hard to limit just what the students need to know in order to apply the concepts. Prior knowledge of these concepts will influence how "deep" the teacher needs to go with the students. It should be noted that the even though the lesson deals with mostly the demand side of the lemonade stand, the game handles both the demand and the supply side.

Conclusion:

Entrepreneurs deal with choices, scarcity issues, and non-price determinants in demand every day. Would you be willing to become an entrepreneur?

Assessment Activity:

After the students play the game, a reflection time would be advisable.

  1. In what circumstances did they succeed?
  2. When did they fail? How was the profit figured?
  3. What would they do differently?
  4. Did they listen to the expert advice?
  5. How did the buyers affect the price they charged?
  6. How did their pricing affect the numbers of buyers?
  7. What choices had to be made?
  8. What did they gain by those choices and what did they give up?
  9. What are the risks taken by the entrepreneurs?

Have the students play the game again and change selling locations. Have them charge more (or less) than they did the first time. Have them change just one thing and see what a difference it makes. Possibilities are endless!

Links Used:

1. ^ ^ "www.rockwellsite.com/files/bw/59_full.jpg" - (www.rockwellsite.com)
2. ^ ^ "www.ae4rv.com/games/lemonade.htm" - (www.ae4rv.com)

Teacher Reviews

June 11, 2004
The lemonade activity was wonderful. I am only exploring today, but I plan to using your lessons in the fall. I believe my students will enjoy the activities.
- Celeste  Blythewood, SC

December 27, 2004
This is an outstanding activity that is truly cross-curricular. My class and I loved it!
- Anwar  Rowesville, SC

October 30, 2007
This lesson was great for my 8th grade Social Studies classes. I used it for a Pre-AP class and a "regular" class. In both, students responded positively and understood supply anddemand. They worked well together as a whole class and encouraged each other in raising/lowering prices and number of cups made. I really enjoyed watching them work together and seeing their eyes light up when they "got it"!!
- Beth Chatman  Nettleton Jr. High School

September 30, 2008
My kids loved it! They even said can we do it again.
- Tammy  Mckinney, TX

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