Fourth Grade Economics Unit Plan

Jordan Wargo

SST 309 Section 05

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Table of Contents

Overview, Rationale, Introduction 3Lesson One: Some Assembly Required

KUD 4 Lesson………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...........................................5Lesson Two: One for the Market

KUD 7 Lesson …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………....................8Lesson Three: ‘Round and ‘Round goes the Economy

KUD 10 Lesson…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......................................11Lesson Four:

KUD 13 Lesson…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......................................14Vocabulary Lesson ....………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…16Attachments…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....................23

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OverviewMichigan Grade-Level Content Expectation standards 4-E1.0.5 through 4-E1.0.8 are the emphasis of this unit plan. This unit

will develop fourth graders’ knowledge about economic concepts such as competition, circular flow, ownership, and specialization. Students will understand that by using specialized jobs, companies will be more productive in less time. Students will also come to understand that higher prices result from buyers competing for goods and lower prices result from sellers competing in a market for buyers. Students will understand that money helps to regulate and ease the exchanges of goods and services, and will be able to depict the circular flow model graphically. Students will understand that some things are better to be publically owned instead of privately owned. Students will also increase their ability to use relevant vocabulary in discussions of economic concepts through conceptual vocabulary instruction.

RationaleThis unit plan was composed to meet four of the fourth grade standards for economic education according to the Michigan

Grade-Level Content Expectations. This unit emphasizes the driving processes behind a market economy system, and highlights the increased productivity related to labor specialization. The lessons found in here stress the importance of student involvement and engagement. The material is made both relatable and interesting for fourth grade students so that they may make personal connections to the topics covered in class. There will be a variety of strategies used to differentiate the lesson for all students’ learning preferences.

IntroductionThis unit emphasizes student understanding of economic concepts through simulation and group work. There will be two

interactive simulations as well as literacy integration through class read aloud and discussion. There will be written responses and constructed projects to demonstrate student learning. Throughout the lessons, there will also be formative checks for understanding to assist in the progress of the class learning.

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Lesson One: Some Assembly RequiredGLCE (coding and wording); Verb(s) underlined; type of learning: Knowledge, Skill, Reasoning, Product

4-E1.0.5 Explain how specialization and division of labor increase productivity (e.g. assembly) (H)

Explain: Skill and performance

Knowledge (K) Understand (U) DO:Demonstration of Learning (DOL)

Vocabulary I Can

Labor is the work that is done in order to produce goods and services for a company. Productivity is the time in which it takes to create goods by the labor force.Specialization in the work force means that you become an expert in only one aspect of the production system.Assembly lines combine labor and specialization to get the highest productivity possible. This is a process that allows companies to train employees on one aspect of production as a product is passed from station to station for completion.Division of Labor is the production process in which a worker or group of workers is assigned a specialized task in order to increase efficiency.

Students will understand that by using specialized jobs, companies will be more productive in less time.

Students will respond to questions about the assembly line activity. Some example questions are: Which group made more of the product; the group working individually or the one where everyone worked together?Did you have a special job? If yes, what was it? If not, would you have preferred to focus on one aspect of production or did you like making the whole thing?

Assembly lineLaborSpecializationProductivityDivision of labor

I can tell that special jobs on an assembly line make production go faster.

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Lessons: How will you take them where they need to go? (Step-by-Step plan)Instructional strategies/Social constructs: How will they work?

(AND what will YOU do?)

Resources needed: What materials and resources will they need?

(Page #s read, graphic organizers, books, posters, realia, etc…)

Lessons:Anticipatory Set:

The students will watch the “chocolate scene” from an episode of I Love Lucy.The class will be participating in an assembly line activity creatingModeling:

The teacher will guide the students step-by step through creating a paper car from the template

The class will be split in half, one half will be doing the activity independently, the other half will be working as a small group

Guided Practice: One-half of the class will do this section. Each student will be given a specific

job and they will all work together to put together as many paper cars as possible following the previous directions of the teacher.

Emphasis will be placed on neatness, swiftness, and accuracy when completing each car.

Independent practice: The other half of the class will each work independently to make as many

cars as possible following the previous directions of the teacher. Emphasis will be placed on neatness, swiftness, and accuracy when

completing each car.Checking for Understanding: The class will come back together and discuss the assembly line activity

The total number of accurate cars (followed the instructions and were constructed well) for both the groups will be recorded. (i.e. The students working together made X cars, while the independent students made Y cars in the same amount of time.)

The teacher will ask the students to speculate on why one group made more cars than the other did.

They will also talk about their experiences working independently or as a group.

Resources needed: I Love Lucy Episode Clip Paper Car Template (Attachment

A)

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As a class, the students will compile a double bubble thinking map comparing and contrasting the two groups of students.

Instructional strategies/Social constructs: Technology Cooperative activity; Collaborative work Group work Double Bubble Thinking Map

5. Assessment ideas: a. Students will submits a written response to questions about the assembly line activity. Some example questions are: (1) Which group made more of the product; the group working

individually or the one where everyone worked together? (2) Did you have a special job? If yes, what was it? If not, would you have preferred to focus on one aspect of production or did you like making the whole thing?

b. How will you grade it? Students will be graded on grammatical improvement (in relation to their reading and writing

developmental continuum) and on completeness. Students must respond to each of the questions in some way.

Resource Attachments: Attachment A

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Lesson 2: One for the MarketGLCE (coding and wording); Verb(s) underlined; type of learning: Knowledge, Skill, Reasoning, Product

4- E1.0.6 Explain how competition among buyers results in higher prices and competition among sellers results in lower prices (e.g. supply, demand)

Explain: Skill and performance

Knowledge (K) Understand (U) DO:Demonstration of Learning (DOL)

Vocabulary I Can

Supply is the number of goods available for a market.Demand is the number of sellers that are in the market for the available goods and services at a particular price.Competition in an economic market is when there are a limited number of goods and services, and a limited number of customers trying to purchase particular goods at a particular price. This is referred to as supply and demand.The price of something is the amount of money, or its equivalent, for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale.

Students will understand that higher prices result from buyers competing for goods and lower prices result from sellers competing in a market for buyers.

Students will write 3-5 sentences reviewing the market day. The prompt will ask them to focus on how the number of other students interested in buying their treats influenced their prices, or how the price of the goods influenced their decision to buy that product.

SupplyDemandCompetitionPrice

I can tell how competition between customers and businesses affects the prices of the goods.

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Lessons: How will you take them where they need to go? (Step-by-Step plan)Instructional strategies/Social constructs: How will they work?

(AND what will YOU do?)

Resources needed: What materials and resources will they need?

(Page #s read, graphic organizers, books, posters, realia, etc…)

Lessons:Anticipatory Set:

The teacher will read Lemons and Lemonade to the class in a whole group read aloud.

At the conclusion of the story, students will fill out an exit slip (See Check For Understanding Below).

Modeling: This can be done as a whole class on a SmartBoard or individually as a webquest with teacher guidance.

Students will go on www.consumer.ftc.gov under the “You Are Here” interactive activity.

From the “You Are Here” mall entrance beginning screen, students will enter the food court and click on the “Pizza, Pizza, or Pizza?” activity.

Under the guidance of the two avatars, students will complete the interactive competition activity.

Guided Practice: Students will get into groups of 3 or 4 and play the board game “For Sale” to

demonstrate competition among buyers.Independent practice: There will be a class Market day.

Students will create one treat (e.g. cookies, brownies, chocolate pretzels, etc.) to class.

For those students who are unable to produce treats at home, the they will provide the teacher with a recipe and the teacher will make the treats for the students.

The students will then package their treats and create an 8X11 advertisement for their goods.

These advertisements should be made to entice other students to purchase the goods. The advertisement should include: name of product, price (under $1.00), brief description of the product, and anything else the students think is important.

On Market day, students will bring their treats and $1.00 in coins. Students

Resources needed: “Pizza, Pizza, or Pizza?” Lemons and Lemonade “For Sale” card game

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will then be given the opportunity to trade competitively in class. There will be two goals: to make the most money by selling your goods to others, and to buy the most goods with the $1.00 that you start with.

Checking for Understanding: Students will complete an exit slip following the reading of Lemons and Lemonade

Students will respond to one of the following questions on a slip of paper and give it to the teacher to read over. These questions will help the teacher know what she needs to work on with the class throughout the rest of the lesson.

One thing I didn’t understand…? One concept I would like to learn more about is…. One new idea that I heard about today is…

Instructional strategies/Social constructs: Technology Cooperative activity; Collaborative work Independent Simulation Competitive activities

Assessment ideas: a. Students will write 3-5 sentences reviewing the market day activity in class. The prompt will ask them to focus on how the number of other students interested in buying their

treats influenced their prices, or how the price of the goods influenced their decision to buy that product.

b. How will you grade it? Students will be graded on grammatical improvement (in relation to their reading and writing

developmental continuum) and on completeness. Students must respond to each of the questions in some way.

No Resource Attachments for Lesson Above

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Lesson Three: All Around the Economy BushGLCE (coding and wording); Verb(s) underlined; type of learning: Knowledge, Skill, Reasoning, Product

4- E1.0.7 Describe the exchange of goods and services and the role of money (circular flow model)

Describe: Skill and performance

Knowledge (K) Understand (U) DO:Demonstration of Learning (DOL)

Vocabulary I Can

Goods are the items available for trade or purchase in a market.A service is a commodity in which there is no exchange of an object, but rather a task that one person performs for another in return for another service, good, or money.Markets are places where economic interactions occur. These may be monetary exchanges, or just an exchange of goods or services.Labor is the work that is done in order to produce goods and services for a company.Economic capital is the wealth, whether in money or property, owned or employed in business.

Students will understand that money helps to regulate and ease the exchanges of goods and services.

Students will create a poster representing the circular flow model of the economy. This poster will include pictures of goods and services along with clarifying words or sentences.

GoodsServicesMarketsLaborCapitalCircular flow model

I can tell how goods and services are exchanged in our society.

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The circular flow model is an economic model that shows how money moves through the economy.

Lessons: How will you take them where they need to go? (Step-by-Step plan)Instructional strategies/Social constructs: How will they work?

(AND what will YOU do?)

Resources needed: What materials and resources will they need?

(Page #s read, graphic organizers, books, posters, realia, etc…)

Lessons:Anticipatory Set:

The teacher will read The Go Around Dollar to students. The students will be asked to name a few ways that the dollar was earned, or spent.

Modeling: The teacher will lead the class through an informational PowerPoint in

which they will label a diagram of the circular flow model.Guided Practice:

Students will be placed in small groups of 4 or 5. Each group will be given a graphic representation of the circular flow model (Attachment C) and as a group, they will be asked to label it correctly.

Independent practice: Students will construct a standing cube foldable. This foldable will depict the

economic circular flow model; each of the students’ foldables need to have an example of a good or service as moves through the economy.

Checking for Understanding: Students will participate in a 1-2-3 review following the PowerPoint

Students will be asked to put 1, 2, or 3 fingers against their shoulder as a self-assessment. 1- the student feels like they understand the concept well 2- the student feels the mostly understand the concept, but need more

work with it 3- the student feels they are still struggling with some concepts

Instructional strategies/Social constructs:

Resources needed: The Go Around Dollar by Barbara

Johnston Adams Circular Flow Model of

Economics PowerPoint (Attachment B)

Graphic fill in the blank of the Circular flow model (Attachment C)

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Foldables Think-Pair-Share Group work Independent

Assessment ideas: a. Students will create a poster representing the circular flow model of the economy. This poster will include pictures of goods and services along with clarifying words or sentences.

b. How will you grade it? The poster will be graded on completeness and accuracy. Students must represent each of the four

aspects of the circular flow model in some way. They must also have correct and accurate information.

Resource Attachments: Attachment B, Attachment C

Lesson Four: The Classroom Crayons

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GLCE (coding and wording); Verb(s) underlined; type of learning: Knowledge, Skill, Reasoning, Product

4-E1.0.8 Explain why public goods (e.g. national monuments, interstate highways, public libraries, public parks) are not privately owned. (H)

Explain: Skill and performance

Knowledge (K) Understand (U) DO:Demonstration of Learning (DOL)

Vocabulary I Can

Public goods are services that are for the benefit of, and available to, all members of the public. These things are owned by the public to make the use of them as easy as possible. For example, if roads were privately owned, then travel would be more difficult. Places like monuments are open to the public because they are important for the community to be able to access as needed or desired. If a library is publically owned, then it has more opportunity for procuring resources and materials for the citizens to use. These are just some examples of why certain goods and services are publically owned rather than privately owned.Examples of public goods include: I-75, Yellowstone National Park, Washington Memorial, Statute of Liberty, CMPL, Allendale

Students will understand that some things are better to be publically owned instead of privately owned.

Students will write one short paragraph explaining why some goods and services are owned by the government and not by citizens.

Public goods I can tell why the government owns some goods and services.

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Public Library, Waldenburg park, the national defense system, and law enforcement.

Lessons: How will you take them where they need to go? (Step-by-Step plan)Instructional strategies/Social constructs: How will they work?

(AND what will YOU do?)

Resources needed: What materials and resources will they need?

(Page #s read, graphic organizers, books, posters, realia, etc…)

Lessons:Anticipatory Set:

The teacher will read the book “Make way for Ducklings” Students will write down the services that they find in the book and label

them “Public” or “Private.”Modeling:

The teacher will lead the students in a brainstorm of goods and services in their community. These should be a mix of publically and privately owned businesses E.g. the school, the public library, Target, a local church, a home, etc

Guided Practice: The teacher will pull out the classroom supplies (e.g. the crayons, scissors,

pencils etc). The class will label these crayons “public” goods. Students may be asked to get out their own supplies to represent “private” goods.

The class will then generate a list of benefits and for having these “public goods” in the classroom. Benefits could include: easier access for everyone in the class, more

variety in styles, cheaper than buying your own, etc.Independent practice:

From the student-generated list, each student will pull two businesses, one privately owned, and one owned by the public.

The students will then create a double bubble compare and contrast of the two businesses.

The students will look for characteristics of the publically owned goods and attempt to highlight benefits for having this owned by the government rather than by a private citizen.

Resources needed: Make Way for Ducklings by

Robert McCloskey

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Checking for Understanding: The students are formulating individual double bubble maps outlining reasons why public goods are not privately owned.

Instructional strategies/Social constructs: Double Bubble Thinking Map Independent

Assessment ideas: a. Students will write one short paragraph explaining why some goods and services are owned by the government and not by citizens.

b. How will you grade it? Students will be graded on grammatical improvement (in relation to their reading and writing

developmental continuum) and on completeness. Students must respond to each of the questions in some way.

No Resource Attachments for the lesson above

Vocabulary Lessons: How will you take them where they need to go? (Step-by-Step plan)Instructional strategies/Social constructs: How will they work?

Resources needed: What materials and resources will they need?

(Page #s read, graphic organizers, books,

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(AND what will YOU do?) posters, realia, etc…)Lessons:Step 1Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.

The teacher will lead a class discussion on the tier two and three vocabulary words for that lesson.

Resources needed: Vocabulary Script: Attachment D

Step 2Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words

Students will use the concepts discussed in step 1 to create their own meanings and definitions of the vocabulary words. They can also record examples from step 1 near the definition. They will record these new definitions and examples in their Personal Unit Vocabulary Journal

Personal Vocabulary Journal: Attachment E

Step 3Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the term.

Also in their Vocabulary journal, students will draw a visual representation of the vocabulary word(s).

Personal Vocabulary Journal: Attachment E

Step 4Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks.

Students will continue to review and build their understanding of the vocabulary through activities done in the lessons such as the double bubble thinking maps, their written responses and feedback, and through simulations of concepts. Students may continue updating their vocabulary journals as they refine their knowledge.

Step 5Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.

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Students will be expected to use the vocabulary during in class discussions and when doing activities throughout the lesson. Specific opportunities for using vocabulary would be when creating thinking maps, during think-pair-share activities, in their written responses, and when working in a group.Step 6Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms.

Students may be asked to participate in group Vocabulary Charades throughout the unit. Students will work in groups to act out a vocabulary term for the rest of the class to guess.

Another activity that might be used in class to play with vocabulary terms is to have students play Password with partners. Students will be given a list of words that CANNOT be used to describe a vocabulary word and must then attempt to get their partner to guess the vocabulary word by describing it or providing synonyms.

Vocabulary Charade cards Password Vocabulary cards

Resource Attachments: Attachment D, Attachment E

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Attachment A

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Attachment B

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Attachment C

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Attachment D: Vocabulary Script (step one)

LaborTeacher Talks: Who has ever done chores around the house for your parents? [Wait for student responses] What kind of work do you do most often around the house? [Wait for student responses] Whenever you do work for someone else, you are providing them with labor. Can you think of other examples of labor? [Record student examples on the board]

CapitalTeacher Talks: Please make a list of all the items in your desk and bring it to the carpet. [Wait for students to do so] What are some of the items you own or use in your desk? [Wait for student responses] What you have in your desk is your capital. Everyone has capital, which is what you call resources that you can use to do work. Can you think of other examples of capital in your life? [Record student examples on the board]

Specialization (taught at the same time as productivity)Teacher Talks: Who here plays a sport? [Wait for student responses] Well when I was your age, I played ice hockey. Have any of you ever seen a hockey game? [Wait for student responses] In hockey, each player has a position that they play. Do any of your sports have s positions? [Wait for student responses] When I played hockey, I was a defensemen, that meant that during practices, I had to focus on learning how to play defense really well so that during a game, the other team wouldn’t score on us. This meant that I specialized in defense. I was an expert only in how to play defense, rather than trying to learn all of the different positions. Do you specialize in anything? [Wait for student response]

Productivity (taught at the same time as specialization)Teacher Talks: Sometimes, people specialize in a job too, in order to help the production process move faster. Have any of you wanted to get something done quickly? [Wait for student response] What are some ways that you increased your productivity, or go your work done faster? [Wait for student responses] Those are all really good ways to increase productivity! In a business, sometimes people will use specialization and assembly lines, to help increase productivity.

CompetitionTeacher Talks: Who here has brothers or sisters? Or maybe close cousins? [Wait for student responses] Have you ever fought with your brothers or sisters over a toy, or the last cookie in the cookie jar? I know I did! [Wait for student responses] What you were doing was competing with your siblings for something that both of you wanted. Where are some other areas of competitions? [Record student responses] Right! You also compete at a store to buy a certain good or service at a certain price.

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Attachment E

What I think it means: Definition in my own words:

Picture of what I think it is: Examples:

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Works Cited

Beck, I., McKeown, M., and Kucan, L.(2002) Bringing Words to Life. New York, NY: The Guilford Press

Marzano, R. and Pickering, D. (2005), Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Zike, Dinah (2000) Foldables. New York, NY: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Job Switching [Television series episode]. (1952, September 15). In I Love Lucy.

You Are Here. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2015.

Loewen, N., & Jensen, B. (2004). Lemons and lemonade: A book about supply and demand. Minneapolis, Minn.: Picture Window Books.

For Sale Card Game. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2015.

Make A Paper Car. (2013, April 18). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from http://www.ourboler.com/kids-activities/easy-boys-crafts/make-your-own-paper-car-with-these-easy-steps/

McCloskey, R., & McCloskey, R. (1941). Make way for ducklings. New York: Viking Press.

Adams, B., & Zarins, J. (1992). The go-around dollar. New York: Four Winds Press.

Circular Flow Model. (2010, July 19). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from https://stevenduan.wordpress.com/the-idea-of-economics/circular-flow-model/ (Image for circular flow model)

Why Thinking Maps? - Thinking Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2015, from http://thinkingmaps.com/why-thinking-maps-2/