Econ-o-mania
by,
Sheri Seaman and Christine Medvetz
Introduction
| Task | Process | Resources
| Evaluation | Conclusion
| Glossary | Teacher
Info
Introduction
Econ-o-mania
by,
Sheri Seaman and Christine Medvetz
Introduction
| Task | Process | Resources
| Evaluation | Conclusion
| Glossary | Teacher
Info
Introduction
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Welcome to the wild world of Econ-o-mania! I am your
guide, Econ O. Mist. Please call me Econ for short. I will
lead you through Econ-o-mania. Econ-o-mania is where you will wander
through wants and needs, grasp goods and services, create consumers and
producers, and recognize resources. What might you ask are all of
these interesting things? Well, follow me on this jazzy journey through
Econ-o-mania!
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The Task
| You will learn about economics by visiting the places in Econ-o-mania. Your final mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become the Vice-President of Production in the land of Econ-o-mania. In order to receive this promotion, your group will be responsible for creating a good or service. You will be given a list of available materials, and several options for presenting your final product. Your final presentation can be a KidPix slide show, a poster created on the computer or paper, a written proposal, or a finished product using the materials found in your box. If you are successful, your group will be promoted to the Vice-Presidency and receive a prestigious award! If you are ready to go, click on Econ. |  |
The Process
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Wandering Through Wants and Needs Day 2 Goods and Services Corral Day 3 Production and Consumption- The Lemonade Stand Day 4 Rockin' Resources Restaurant Day 5 The Final Challenge |
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Yippee!
You have just arrived at the Mall of Econ-o-mania. At this mall you
can find anything your heart desires. Before you go in, you need
to understand
Wants and Needs.
Needs
are
things people must have in order to live. For example, food
and water are things I need to survive.
Wants
are things people would like to have. For example, I wish I had a
swimming pool in my backyard.
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Howdy Partner! I'm happy to say you've arrived at the Goods and Services Corral. Before you leave the corral, you need to know the following. A Good is something people want that you can hold or touch. Some examples are an apple, a rug, or a hairbrush. A Service is something people do for other people. Some examples are a barber cuts hair, teacher educates students, or police officer protects people.
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Take me to the Goods
and Services Worksheet
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Welcome to the Lemon Market. Before
you grab your shopping cart, let me explain this special market.
At the Lemon Market, we have Consumers and
Producers.
You are going to be the Producer of
a lemonade stand. A Producer
is someone who makes a good or provides a service for another person (go
to the glossary for definitions). For example,
a baker bakes cakes for others to enjoy. YUM! As a Consumer,
you will buy the baker's cake. A Consumer
is a person who uses the goods and services to satisfy their wants and
needs.
You are the owner of a lemonade
stand. Many of you may have sold lemonade in front of your house.
Now you have the option of selling lemonade on the WWW. At your stand,
you have the option of advertising to try to attract more consumers to
your stand. You also have a rent to pay every day. The rent
is $0.75 per day. So, everyday you aren't selling lemonade, you are
losing money.
Some key terms to understand
are Profit
and
Loss.
Profit
is money that you gain by selling a good or a service. Here's an
example. On Monday, you spend $1.00 making your lemonade and paying
rent. At the end of the day, you add up your money and you have $3.00.
Your profit is $2.00. Way to
go! However, if you add up your Monday money and discover you only
have $0.50, then you suffered a loss.
Bummer!
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Welcome to the Rockin' Resources Restaurant.
I sure hope you are hungry! Today you will be visiting The Fenwick
Crab House Restaurant to check out some of their shrimp, fish and chef's
specials. Before you go, there are three things you should understand.
They are human resources, capital resources and natural resources.
Human
Resources are
the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce
a good or service. Some examples are: actors, students, teachers,
doctors, lawyers, or tollbooth attendant.
Natural
Resources are gifts from nature. Examples
are: land, timber (trees), minerals, light from the sun, water, or eggs
from a chicken. IF SOMETHING IS MADE WITH THE HELP OF A MACHINE,
IT IS NOT A NATURAL RESOURCE.
Capital
Resources are the goods such as the building, equipment,
machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured and constructed things
used over and over again in the production of goods and services.
Examples are: trucks, factory, machinery, or forklift.
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Wow! That's a lot to understand. Let's see
if Econ can make these ideas a little easier!
Click here for the Rockin' Resources Worksheet Click here to go to The Rockin Resources Restaurant. |
I'm glad you chose to get some help before going any further. Here's what we're going to do. Let's pretend that your class is going to take a field trip to a local restaurant like McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's. When we get to the restaurant, we are going to observe what goes on behind the counter and see how the hamburgers are made and the resources that were used. Here is what we would learn...
Human
Resources are
the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce
a good or service. Examples of human resources used in a restaurant
include: chef, measurers, pourers, stirrers, mixers, turners, servers,
and cleaners.
Natural
Resources are gifts from nature. Examples of natural
resources used by a restaurant chef include: eggs, milk,
Capital
Resources are the goods such as the building, equipment,
machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured and constructed things
used over and over again in the production of goods and services.
Examples of capital resources used by a restaurant chef include: spoons,
measuring spoons, measuring cups, oven, and cookie trays.
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You will learn about economics by visiting the places in Econ-o-mania. Your final mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become the Vice-President of Production in the land of Econ-o-mania. In order to receive this promotion, your group will be responsible for creating a good or service. You will be given a list of available materials, and several options for presenting your final product. Your final presentation can be a KidPix slide show, a poster created on the computer or paper, a written proposal, or a finished product using the materials found in your box. If you are successful, your group will be promoted to the Vice-Presidency and receive a prestigious award!
1. Open up the box of materials to see what goodies you
and your team have to work with.
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Rice Krispies
pot 9x12 pan various molds plastic utensils cooking spray |
tubes of icing
burner or hot plate food coloring marshmallows wax paper |
chocolate bits
spoon margarine measuring cups plates |
When you have finished your final challenge, go to
the conclusion.
Below is a list of books for each of the following topics.
Click on the link to take you where you need to go.
Wants and Needs
Resources
Goods and Services
Production
and Consumption
Interdependence
Opportunity Costs
Scarcity
Computer Resources:
Giftpaks is a unique
site featuring gourmet foods, sports collectibles, jewelry, and clothing
for all occasions.
The Mall of America
is the largest fully enclosed retail and entertainment complex in America.
Books to read:
African Adventure: A family moved from Illinois
to Africa to help raise food to feed starving people illustrating how economic
growth is a universal concern, especially to developing nations.
Capital investment and technological development increase productivity,
economic growth, and people's level of living.
Buffalo Hunt: The role of the buffalo in the Plains Indian life, including its spiritual significance and its many uses for food, clothing, shelter, and tools.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: A young man discovers that if you give a mouse a cookie, the mouse will probably then request a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, a mirror, and more. The sequence of events provides many examples of goods and an opportunity to discuss needs and wants.
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon: Provides insight into the planning necessary for wagon travel west to Oregon in the 1840s and the kind of life experienced on a wagon train.
King Midas and the Golden Touch: In this retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale, a king who wished for the golden touch is faced with the consequences of his wish being granted. He discovers some thins are move valuable than gold.
Make Four Million Dollar$ by Next Thurs$day: Jason Nozzle wants to be a millionaire. He discovers a book and thinks the instructions will make him rich.
Make Way for Ducklings: Mr. and Mrs. Mallard decide to move their eight ducklings to the Boston Public Garden. The trip becomes a challenge for Michael, the policeman, who oversees the adventure.
My Mother Lost Her Job Today: Six-year-old Barbara Anne's mother loses her job and Barbara Anne is fearful that nothing will ever be the same. Her mother reassures her that things will be OK.
The Berenstein Bears: Get the Gimmes: Brother and Sister Bear make a fuss when shopping at the supermarket. They learn that they can't have everything they want. Gramps suggests a plan for the cubs to decide on one treat before they go to the store.
Books to read:
A Chair for My Mother: When all their possessions
are burned in a fire, a little girl together with her mother and grandmother
save to buy a special chair.
A New Coat for Anna: During World War II, Anna’s mother decides to trade a few valuables for the resources needed to produce a new coat for her daughter. Anna visits the sheep that provide wool, meets the woman who spins yearn, helps her mother dye yarn, takes the yarn to the weaver, and goes to the tailor who makes the new coat.
A Peddler’s Dream: Solomon Joseph Azar leaves his native Lebanon to find his fortune in the United States. He travels the countryside on foot to sell his wares. His industry and determination turn his dream into a reality and he becomes the owner of a large store.
Along Came the Model T!: A biography of Henry Ford, the developer of the first light-weight, inexpensive automobile. Includes a description of the Model T and tells how its invention changes the world. Also describes how the development of the assembly line increased productivity.
Banana’s From Manolo to Margie: Follow a crop of bananas from a plantation in Honduras to the breakfast table of a child in the United States. The bananas are handles by many specialized workers and carried on different forms of transportation.
Beetles Lightly Toasted: Ten- year old Andy lives on an Iowa farm. He and his cousin Jack are determined to win their school's contest on “conservation.” They devise hilarious ways to save resources- including eating insects and cooking hamburgers on a car engine.
Buffalo Hunt: The role of the buffalo in the Plains Indian life, including its spiritual significance and its many uses for food, clothing, shelter, and tools.
Great-Grandma Tells of Threshing Day: A young
girl and her brother team about shared work and responsibility on threshing
day in the early 1900s.
Hammers, Nails, Planks, and Paint: Illustrations
and simple text explain the process of building a house.
How a Book is Made: Animals explain the steps of producing a book starting with the writing of the manuscript and the drawing of pictures. Explains all the technical processes leading to printed and bound copies.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World: The illustrated story of a girl who gathers the ingredients for an apple pie from locations all over the world. Trace the route of the baker as she uses resources and different types of transportation to produce her pie.
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon: Provides insight into the planning necessary for wagon travel west to Oregon in the 1840s and the kind of life experienced on a wagon train.
Little Nino's Pizzeria: Tony likes to help his father Nino at their small family restaurant, but everything changes when someone offers the opportunity expand the pizzeria. They make more money, but they are miserable. Tony and his father reopen their pizzeria.
Make Way for Ducklings: Mr. and Mrs. Mallard decide to move their eight ducklings to the Boston Public Garden. The trip becomes a challenge for Michael, the policeman, who oversees the adventure.
Music, Music for Everyone: Rosa learns to play the accordion, then she and her friends form the Oak Street Band. The money she earns playing at a neighborhood party is used to help her mother with expenses while her grandmother is sick.
On the Way Home: A Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri in 1984: Laura Ingalls Wilder's diary of her 1894 trip from Dakota Territory to Missouri. Laura, her husband, and her seven-year-old daughter move from their drought-stricken farm to the Ozarks. She describes the towns, rivers, people and events that happen along the way.
Paddle-to-the-Sea: A young boy carves the figure of an Indian in a canoe and sets him off on a journey through the Great Lakes and down the Saint Lawrence River. Winds, currents and human hands help him as he journeys to the Atlantic. Along the way he observes a sawmill, fishermen, the Coast Guard busy docks, the factories of Detroit and peaceful farms.
Shoes for Everyone: A Story about Jan Matzeliger: The biography of a man who, despite hardships and prejudice, invented a shoe-lasting machine that revolutionized the shoe industry in the late nineteenth century. Jan Matzeliger's invention that increased output and lowered the price of shoes.
The Berenstein Bears and Mama's New Job: Each member of the Bear family has a job - they depend on each other. When Mama decides to go into business, the rest of the family learns about time scarcity and all the goods and services Mama Bear provided for them before she went back to work.
The Berenstein Bears and Too Much TV: The Bears give up other activities when they choose to watch TV. Useful in introducing opportunity costs and the scarcity of time.
The Days of the Cave People: A young cave dweller hunts and fishes with the men of his tribe and observes how tools are made.
Books to read:
A New Coat for Anna: During World War II, Anna’s
mother decides to trade a few valuables for the resources needed to produce
a new coat for her daughter. Anna visits the sheep that provide wool,
meets the woman who spins yearn, helps her mother dye yarn, takes the yarn
to the weaver, and goes to the tailor who makes the new coat.
Abuela’s Weave: A young Guatemalan girl and her grandmother grow closer as they weave tapestries and clothing then travel to the market to sell their goods. Mass-produced items are also on sale, but people are willing to pay a higher price for the scarce hand-made item.
General Store: Illustrations offer an opportunity to compare the general store with the modern-day supermarket.
Good Lemonade: A young boy tries all types of gimmicks to sell his bad tasting lemonade. He finally decides that the best way to do it is to have a good product.
Hammers, Nails, Planks, and Paint: Illustrations and simple text explain the process of building a house.
How a Book is Made: Animals explain the steps of producing a book starting with the writing of the manuscript and the drawing of pictures. Explains all the technical processes leading to printed and bound copies.
I Want to be a Police Officer: Ramon's uncle explains to Ramon and friends how people become police officers. He also describes the various jobs officers are required to do.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: A young man discovers that if you give a mouse a cookie, the mouse will probably then request a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, a mirror, and more. The sequence of events provides many examples of goods and an opportunity to discuss needs and wants.
Make Four Million Dollar$ by Next Thurs$day: Jason Nozzle wants to be a millionaire. He discovers a book and thinks the instructions will make him rich.
Make Way for Ducklings: Mr. and Mrs. Mallard decide to move their eight ducklings to the Boston Public Garden. The trip becomes a challenge for Michael, the policeman, who oversees the adventure.
Market: Travel to six bustling outdoor markets of the world, where traders buy and sell regional products.
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day: Miss Viola Swamp, a substitute teacher, appears at Horace B. Smedley School to shape up the football team and help them win at least one game. This book describes many workers (specialists) that work at the school and provides illustrations of many durable and nondurable goods needed to run a school.
No Peas for Nellie: Nellie does not like peas so she thinks of substitutes - items she can eat instead.
On the Other Side of the River: Villagers on two sides of a river do not like each other very much but their attitudes change when the bridge connecting the villages is destroyed and they realize how much they depend on one another for goods and services.
Ox Cart Man: The ox cart man and his family grow crops on their land and trade their crops for other goods.
School Days: Follow a class through a day at school jam-packed with activities. Offers opportunities to identify specialists at school and to discuss the goods and services each produces. There are many examples of durable and nondurable goods that must be purchased to run a school.
Something for Sara: Sara learns how to make change and to manage her money as she visits a Laundromat and store. Her mother helps her to understand saving, spending and sharing. Some Spanish terms are used in the text.
Stores: The economic activities of 40 different stores found in a typical community including an ice cream store, kennel, and bank.
Strega Nona Meets Her Match: Strega Nona uses old-fashioned potions and magic to help villagers cure headaches and remove warts. When her friend comes to visit and sets up a competing shop using more modem methods, Strega Nona loses customers.
The Berenstein Bears and Mama's New Job: Each member of the Bear family has a job - they depend on each other. When Mama decides to go into business, the rest of the family learns about time scarcity and all the goods and services Mama Bear provided for them before she went back to work.
New Road!: A step-by-step description and illustrations of how a road is built with a look at the people involved in planning and construction, kinds of equipment used, and how roads have changed
Paddle-to-the-Sea: A young boy carves the figure of an Indian in a canoe and sets him off on a journey through the Great Lakes and down the Saint Lawrence River. Winds, currents and human hands help him as he journeys to the Atlantic. Along the way he observes a sawmill, fishermen, the Coast Guard busy docks, the factories of Detroit and peaceful farms.
The Big Green Pocketbook: A young girl and her mother make a bus trip to town. They visit shops and businesses including a stop for ice cream at the soda shop. Along the way, the little girl puts treasures into her big green pocketbook.
Computer Resources:
Go to the Crayola
website to learn the steps in how crayons and markers are produced.
Books to read:
A New Coat for Anna: During World War II, Anna’s
mother decides to trade a few valuables for the resources needed to produce
a new coat for her daughter. Anna visits the sheep that provide wool,
meets the woman who spins yearn, helps her mother dye yarn, takes the yarn
to the weaver, and goes to the tailor who makes the new coat.
Abuela’s Weave: A young Guatemalan girl and her grandmother grow closer as they weave tapestries and clothing then travel to the market to sell their goods. Mass-produced items are also on sale, but people are willing to pay a higher price for the scarce hand-made item.
Buffalo Hunt: The role of the buffalo in the Plains Indian life, including its spiritual significance and its many uses for food, clothing, shelter, and tools.
General Store: Illustrations offer an opportunity to compare the general store with the modern-day supermarket.
Hammers, Nails, Planks, and Paint: Illustrations and simple text explain the process of building a house.
How a Book is Made: Animals explain the steps of producing a book starting with the writing of the manuscript and the drawing of pictures. Explains all the technical processes leading to printed and bound copies.
How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to visit the Statue of Liberty: A chronicle of the funny fund-raising schemes of an industrious group of second graders. The students have a chance to learn about business expenses and profits as they try to raise money for the class trip.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World: The illustrated story of a girl who gathers the ingredients for an apple pie from locations all over the world. Trace the route of the baker as she uses resources and different types of transportation to produce her pie.
I Want to be a Police Officer: Ramon's uncle explains to Ramon and friends how people become police officers. He also describes the various jobs officers are required to do.
I Want to be a Police Officer: Ramon's uncle explains to Ramon and friends how people become police officers. He also describes the various jobs officers are required to do.
New Road!: A step-by-step description and illustrations of how a road is built with a look at the people involved in planning and construction, kinds of equipment used, and how roads have changed
Night Markets; Bringing Food to a City: Text and photographs detail how wholesale markets supply produce, meat, dairy products, flowers and bakery goods during the night.
Oil Spills: An introduction to oil, transporting it and disposing of it. Discusses spills, their effects, and methods of cleaning up and prevention.
Paddle-to-the-Sea: A young boy carves the figure of an Indian in a canoe and sets him off on a journey through the Great Lakes and down the Saint Lawrence River. Winds, currents and human hands help him as he journeys to the Atlantic. Along the way he observes a sawmill, fishermen, the Coast Guard busy docks, the factories of Detroit and peaceful farms.
Shoes for Everyone: A Story about Jan Matzeliger: The biography of a man who, despite hardships and prejudice, invented a shoe-lasting machine that revolutionized the shoe industry in the late nineteenth century. Jan Matzeliger's invention that increased output and lowered the price of shoes.
Stores: The economic activities of 40 different stores found in a typical community including an ice cream store, kennel, and bank.
The Berenstein Bears and Mama's New Job: Each member of the Bear family has a job - they depend on each other. When Mama decides to go into business, the rest of the family learns about time scarcity and all the goods and services Mama Bear provided for them before she went back to work.
The Big Green Pocketbook: A young girl and her mother make a bus trip to town. They visit shops and businesses including a stop for ice cream at the soda shop. Along the way, the little girl puts treasures into her big green pocketbook.
The Days of the Cave People: A young cave dweller hunts and fishes with the men of his tribe and observes how tools are made.
The Goat and The Rug: Glenmae goes through the production process of making a rug using her goat Geraldine's wool.
Book to read:
Dragon's Decide: The story of the
Dragon family who need a larger castle buy can't afford a new one—- useful
in introducing the concepts of specialization and interdependence.
Books to read:
The Berenstein Bears and Too Much TV: The
Bears give up other activities when they choose to watch TV. Useful
in introducing opportunity costs and the scarcity of time.
Books to read:
African Adventure: A family moved from Illinois
to Africa to help raise food to feed starving people illustrating how economic
growth is a universal concern, especially to developing nations.
Capital investment and technological development increase productivity,
economic growth, and people's level of living.
The Doorbell Rang: The humorous story of two children
starting to cat a dozen cookies when the doorbell rings. Each ring of the
bell brings more and more visitors requiring a redistribution of the cookies
introduces the ramifications of scarcity.
Evaluation
The Final Challenge Scoring Tool
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| Self Evaluation | Peer Evaluation | Teacher Evaluation | |
| I brainstormed a list of possible goods or services that could be created using some or all of the materials in the box. | |||
| I chose a final product from the brainstorm list. | |||
| I correctly decided whether my product was a good or service. | |||
| I correctly identified if my product was a want or need. | |||
| I gave my product a creative name. | |||
| I listed the steps I needed to use in order to create my product. | |||
| I identified the resources used as human, natural, and capital. | |||
| I gave my product a reasonable price. | |||
I created a presentation using one of the following:
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| I presented my product to the President of Econ-o-mania |
Conclusion
Congratulations!!!! You are now the new Vice-President of Econ-o-mania. Please print your certificate for successfully completing this webquest. We hope you enjoyed your journey through the land of Econ-o-mania.
More Economic Terms
Capital Resources: are the goods such as
the building, equipment, machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured
and constructed things used over and over again in the production of goods
and services. Examples are: trucks, factory, machinery, or forklift.
Examples of capital resources used to make cookies would
be: spoons, measuring spoons, measuring cups, oven , spoons, cookie
trays.
Consumer: person who uses goods and services
Consumption: when we decide what goods and services we will use to satisfy our wants
Goods: things that you want or need that you can touch
Human Resources: are
the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce
a good or service. Some examples are: actors, students, teachers,
doctors, lawyers, or tollbooth attendant.
Examples of human resources for a cookie maker include:
measurers, pourers, stirrers, mixers, turners, servers, and cleaners
Interdependence: People depend on each other. Our well-being is partly dependent on the behavior of others. We specialize to increase our well-being.
Natural Resources: gifts from nature.
Examples are: land, timber (trees), minerals, light from the sun,
water, or eggs from a chicken. IF SOMETHING IS MADE WITH THE HELP
OF A MACHINE, IT IS NOT A NATURAL RESOURCE.
Examples of natural resources used by a cookie
maker include: eggs and milk
Opportunity Cost: The next best thing you give up to get something. What you give up when you choose one thing over another.
Producer: someone who makes a good or provides a service
Production: Putting resources together to make goods or provide services
Scarcity: Scarcity occurs when people, as individuals and in families, schools, and communities, cannot have everything they want. Scarcity requires choice.
Service Workers: people who do something for you that you want of need
Specialize: people who complete one part of the production process
This webquest was created for
second and third grade students. It is designed to be completed in
cooperative groups or can be completed as a whole class in a one computer
classroom.
The activities that are in the
process section explain many of the basic concepts covered in an economics
unit. They can be used to teach the concepts, or as a review of each
of the concepts. Each of these activities are set up to be completed
on different days. The final project of becoming producers
and creating a good or service may take up to a week depending on how much
time you allow your students to work each day and how much peer reflection
you would like to include. It would be wise to bookmark this webquest
site so your students have easy access to this site.
Preparation:
1. You should print the worksheets located within the webquest and photocopy them for your students.
2. You should gather all of the supplies for the final project in a box for each group in your class. This is not necessary to complete the final project, but will give your students the opportunity to test their steps using hands-on materials.
3. Check out the resource section for additional books on each of the economic topics covered in this webquest.
4. For more information on the production process, go to the Crayola site listed under production and consumption.
5. Print a copy of the following certificate. Give one to each student if they successfully complete the webquest.
We hope you enjoy this webquest and
find it as a tool to help your students learn about economics. If
you have any questions, comments, or additional resources, please e-mail
us.
| E-mail Christine |
 |
E-mail Sheri |
