THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

The Economy of America Supply & Demand by OMisha Allison

I.

Lesson Plan Overview and Description

1. Expected duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
2. Social Sciences: History and Economics
3. Concepts (Big Ideas): The purpose of this lesson is to a) explore the differences of the
economy of America in the past versus present day America, focusing on: 1) the then
and now of supply and demand, 2) the laws of supply and demand, 3) the relationship
between supply and demand, and 4) the equilibrium of supply and demand.
4. Vocabulary
Demand How much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers.
Equilibrium The price/quantity pair where the quantity demanded is equal to the
quantity supplied.
Supply Represents how much the market can offer.
5. Skills: Reading, analyzing graphs, critical listening, decipher word problems, group
work, and public speaking.
6. Broad Goals of Lesson: Understand and graphically represent supply and demand.

II.

Content Outline
A. Supply and Demand What is it?
i. Define the laws of supply and demand
Supply: Represents how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied
refers to the amount of a certain good producers are willing to supply when
receiving a certain price.
Demand: How much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers.
The quantity demanded is the amount of a product people are willing to buy at
a certain price; the relationship between price and quantity demanded is
known as the demand relationship.
B. The Law of Demand
i. What is the law of demand?

If all other factors remain equal, the higher the price of a good, the less
people will demand the good.

The law of demand demonstrates a downward slope

C. The Law of Supply

i. What is the law of supply?
The law of supply demonstrates the quantities that will be sold at a
certain price. The higher the price; the higher the quantity supplied.
The law of supply demonstrates an upward slope.
D. The Relationship Between Supply and Demand
i. Supply and demand have an inverse relationship

THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

If the price increases for a given supply (product) there will be less
demand
o People are faced with higher prices
When the supply is increased; the demand also increases
o The prices are lowered; more people can afford more
products

E. Equilibrium
i. The state in which market supply and demand balance each other and, as a
result, prices become stable. Generally, when there is too much supply for goods
or services, the price goes down, which results in higher demand. The balancing
effect of supply and demand results in a state of equilibrium.
III.

Standards
PDE SAS Standards PA Civics, History, Geography;
NCSS Thematic Strands and Performance Indicators
1. Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System
Subject Area 2: Mathematics
Standard Area 2.6: Statistics and Data Analysis
Grade Level 2.6.3: GRADE 3
Standard 2.6.3.B: Organize and display data using pictures, tallies,
charts, bar graphs and pictographs.
Subject Area 6: Economics
Standard Area 6.2: Scarcity and Choice
Grade Level 6.2.3: GRADE 3
Standard 6.2.3.A: Identify goods, services, consumers, and producers in
the local community.
Standard 6.2.3.G: Identify characteristics of the local economy.
Standard Area 8.3: United States History
Grade Level 8.3.3: GRADE 3
Standard 8.3.3.B: Identify and describe historical documents, artifacts,
and places critical to United States history.
2. PDE Common Core
N/A
3. National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Thematic Strands and Performance
Indicators
II.
Time, Continuity, & Change
a. Demonstrate an understanding that different people may describe the
same event or situation in diverse ways, citing reasons for the
differences in views.
III.
Production, Distribution, & Consumption
a. Give examples that show how scarcity and choice govern our
economic decisions.
h. Describe the relationship of price to supply and demand.
i. Use economic concepts such as supply, demand, and price to help
explain events in the community and nation.

THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

IV.

Lesson Objectives
A. After lesson, students will be able to understand the relationship between supply and
demand in a whole class setting.
B. After lesson, students will be able to work in groups to strengthen their understanding
of the laws of supply and demand.
C. After lesson, students will be able to report to the class how they solved a group
assigned problem, demonstrating their knowledge of supply and demand.
D. After lesson, each student will take a test of comprehension as an assessment
demonstrating their understanding of the topic of study.
E. After lesson, students will be able to participate in a discussion based on the history of
supply and demand.

V.

Teaching Procedures
1. Introduction/Anticipatory Set
i. Before the lesson begins, I will pass out a blank sheet of paper. Once everyone has
their writing implement and piece of paper, I will say, Make a list of anything that
comes to mind when you hear the word economy. The most expected answers
should be goods, services, money, stock market, jobs, etc. The students will be
prompted to share their answer with their tables and prepare to share their similarities
and differences discussed with the entire class. After this short warm up activity, I
will introduce the topic we will be discussing and say that supply and demand has
everything to do with economy as well as all of their contributed answers.
ii. Distribute the fill in the blank outline of how the lesson will progress and explain
what they should know for the exit ticket at the end of the lesson.
iii. Introduce the lesson by discussing the vocabulary associated with supply and
demand and equilibrium. We will then move into our discussion/lecture.
2. Lesson Input
i. The main component of this lesson will be discussion, lecture, group exploration,
and direct-teaching.
ii. There will be supplemental material provided to the students as they learn what
supply and demand is, the laws in which they abide, the relationship they have in the,
and their contribution to the understanding of the economy market. The students will
be encouraged to use the fill in the blank outline for study purposes (this is just one
example of the supplemental aids that will provided).
iii. Set aside time for students to ask questions, clarify questions and vocabulary, and
solidify their understanding of the topic of study (supply and demand).
3. Guided Practice
i. The class will discuss while participating in a lecture on the topic of supply and
demand along with everything associated with the concept (idea). As students are
placed into groups and prepare for the small group work assignment, I will ask for
clarification on what it is that they are supposed to do. Once the work is started, I will
circulate the classroom, offering my assistance and inquiry, helping students who call
for support.
ii. This is where the use of formative assessment plays a role in the lesson.
4. Independent Practice
N/A

THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

5. Differentiation
Lesson will be differentiated based on the specific learning and behavioral needs of
students in classroom, such as ELL, gifted (above level), and remediation (below
level).
6. Closure
i. Students will participate in a short presentation that will complete two major tasks.
One task is to explain the answer to the problem in which your group members
solved. The second task is to display and explain the components of the visual graph
in which your group created. In addition to explaining the problem worked on, the
group must tell the class one way in which their group worked well together and one
way they can improve for next time there is group work. This way, I am making them
responsible for their own learning.
VI.

Teacher and Student Resources and Evaluation of Resources

A. Student Reading Resources:
This will be used as an extension to the lesson. The students will be required to
take a short article home, read it, and discuss with their parents what they have
read in extension to todays lesson. The follow-up activity will include a short 3sentence reflection of the article read for homework.
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ss5/b/ecosanddl.cfm
B. Teacher Resources for Lesson Design
http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/economics/supplyanddemand1.htm
http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/economic-basics-supply-and-demand
C. Evaluation of Teacher Resources
Resource
Influence
3+ Characteristics
Accessibility Overall Rating
Title or
Significant
suggesting that the
Access for
and
Website
Influence (SI) or
source is a quality
teachers or
Suggestions for
Address
Minor Influence
resource, reliable
others
current, future
(MI) in informing material
use of resource
your thinking,
decisions about
the lesson plan
http://www.i Significant
This website clearly
The website
This website
nvestopedia. Influence
defines the terms
can be
has solid
com/universi
associated with supply accessed by
information that
ty/economics
and demand.
any one, but can be used and
/economics3.
it may be too could support
The website gives
asp
detailed for a future lessons.
clear explanation of
third grade
the relationship
student.
between supply and
demand.
This website also

THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

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ocialstudiesf Influence
orkids.com/a
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mics/supplya
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http://www.s
ophia.org/tut
orials/econo
mic-basicssupply-anddemand

Minor Influence

gives graph images of

the relationship
between supply and
demand.
This website clearly
defines the terms
associated with supply
and demand.
The website gives
clear explanation of
the relationship
between supply and
demand.
This website is child
friendly and is very
easy to maneuver.
This website doesnt
contain a whole lot of
information.
This website is not
considered student
friendly.

The website
can be
accessed by
any one
including
children.

This website
has solid
information that
can be used and
could support
future lessons.

The website
can be
accessed by
any one, but
it doesnt
contain much
information.

This is a
mediocre
website that I
will probably
not use in the
future.

This website does

have some
information on the
idea of supply and
demand.
VII.

Formative/Summative Assessment(s)
A. Formative Assessment
i. Everything listed below will be formatively assessed as the lesson proceeds. It
could also be in checklist form for keeping a running record of who cooperates,
who participates and contributes to their group, who pays attention to the lecture
and discussion, and how doesnt do the following tasks.
Each student will participate in the class discussion/lecture pertaining to what
supply and demand is and how it works in the market.
Each student will work cooperatively to complete the assigned group work.
Each group will equally present their finished products of the required
assignment.

THE ECONOMY OF AMERICA SUPPLY & DFEMAND

Each student will practice their abilities to work together in a group setting and
complete a task.
B. Summative Assessment
i. A concept test at the end of the lesson will be collected at the end (5 multiple
choice questions; exit ticket)
VIII.

Technology/Materials/Equipment
Fill in the blank outline that will include information necessary to know for a
future quiz on the laws of supply and demand, the relationship between supply
and demand, and the equilibrium process associated with supply and demand.
Group Problem Worksheet (this sheet will be differentiated and tailored to the
students capabilities in each group).
A big sheet of paper for visually displaying a completed graph.
Markers for illustrating data
Pencil as a writing implement
Access to a TI-84 Calculator

IX.

Reflection on Planning
Since this lesson is on understanding supply and demand and its history, I decided to
do a teacher-directed lesson and differentiate the small group work to demonstrate the
abilities of the students in that particular group. This lesson also fits well with the unit
studied. I will teach the students the many ways that supply and demand are
correlated and because of one the other either increases or decreases. I thought it
would be necessary to integrate mathematics in the lesson, therefore the students will
be graphing the results from the small group problem they will complete on supply
and demand. We would have already learned about how to graph in a previous lesson
therefore, the students should be experts at making a visual representation (the graph)
of the data in which they will be asked to interpret. The information in the textbook
was extremely weak so I had to supplement the text to further my understanding (as
well as my students) of concepts of how well the market/economy was doing back
then versus how well it is doing now. After this lesson, my students should have a
great basic understanding of how the economy operates when it comes to supply and
demand.