Economics Standard Three - Grades 4-5

Sample Activities

Groups of students might be given bags of art supplies and recycled items. Groups would have to use the items to produce a product that someone would want. Groups must decide what to produce, how they will produce it, and who will get the final product. Students would explain that these basic economic questions must be answered due to scarcity-there are not resources enough to produce enough for everyone. Then the teacher might prepare boxes labeled WHAT, HOW, and FOR WHOM. Students would cut out pictures showing "what" decisions, "how" decisions, and "for whom" decisions. Working in pairs, students would place their pictures in the correct boxes and explain their decisions [Economic systems].

After reading Authur's Funny Money by Lillian Hoban, students could discuss how Authur answer the three basic economic questions-what, how, and for whom? After reading Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall, the students could decide how the farmer figured out his answers to these questions. Using a Venn diagram, the students could determine what was similar or different about how Arthur and the farmer answered these questions [Economic systems].

Students might discuss the importance of special classroom jobs, and how each student who performs a specific job is a specialist producing a service the class needs. Students might write the name of a specialist on a card and tape these names to themselves. They would stand in a circle and each would in turn explain how he or she relies on another worker in the circle. As this is done, a ball of yarn is passed between the students, eventually building up a large interconnecting web. Students could discuss how they depend on one another and demonstrate this by tugging on the yarn. To demonstrate what would happen if one or more student workers did not do their jobs, the teacher could cut a piece of the yarn connecting two workers [Economic systems; international trade]

After generating a list of specialists upon whom they depend at school, at home, or in the community, students could use art supplies to draw these and glue the illustrations to tongue depressors. Students would then take turns playing "Guess the Specialist," by holding the puppets behind their backs and giving clues until other students guess that specialist's role. When a student guesses the specialist, he or she then explains how the school, home, or community depends on this specialist to complete her job, and tells what would happen if she did not do her job. The student who correctly guesses the specialist then goes to the front of the room to give clues to other students [Economic systems; international trade]

to Economics Standard Three.