Economics Standard One - Grades 6-8

Sample Activities

Groups of students might be told that they have been stranded on an island. Each group would be given a specified amount of land, labor, and capital resources, a list of what is needed to survive, and how much of each resource is needed to meet the group's wants. Not all groups, however, would receive the same resources. Students would then be faced with making choices concerning the use of their limited resources to meet the groups wants. After the initial round, groups would be allowed to trade with each other and revise their decisions [Microeconomics].

Working in teams, students could be asked to imagine that they were Europeans living in the 17th or 18th centuries. They would study the economic resources of the various American colonies in order to gather information to create a promotional campaign to convince their neighbors to leave for a particular colony [Microeconomics].

This activity would connect with History Standard Four.

Parent Partnership Project: Students might use school lunch menus and go shopping with their parents to determine how much it would cost to duplicate these same lunches at the individual level. This information might be presented on a comparative chart [Microeconomics].

to Economics Standard One.