-
8/12/2019 Play Dough Project Lesson
1/3
Introduction to Economics Play-Dough Project
Goals & Objectives
Students will create their own products using play-dough to
represent a scarce
resource.
Students will create a 30 second commercial and a business plan
for their product.
Students will present their product, commercial, and business
plan to the class.
California State Content Standards
12.1.1 Examine the causal relationship between scarcity and the
need for choices
Common Core Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.10 Write routinely over extended
time frames (time for reflection
and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day
or two) for a range of discipline-
specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple
sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, as well as in words)
in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the
development, organization, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior
Knowledge) Time: 5 min.
I will do a brief review of the concepts we went over on the
previous day and will connect
them with the main activity we will be doing today. I will
explain that we cannot have
everything that we want because society does not have the
resources to produce
everything people want. The problem of dealing with scarcity
involves making choices.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development) Time: 5 min.
The vocabulary terms will be written into PowerPoint slides
which will be projected on the
screen so all students can see them. I will also verbally
explain their definitions and use
some examples to help students more clearly understand the
concepts. The students willwrite the vocabulary terms and
formal/simplified definitions and examples in their notes.
Terms include: competition, scarcity, demographic, and
availability of resources.
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) Time: 5 10 min.
Day 1: In order to reinforce the concepts learned in the
previous lesson, the students will
do a play-dough project. I will project the instructions for the
project on the overheard
screen and I will verbally explain and elaborate on the
instructions. The students will get
into groups of 3 or 4 and will receive a certain amount of
play-dough (not all students will
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/11-12/10/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/11-12/7/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/11-12/4/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/11-12/4/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/11-12/7/http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/11-12/10/
-
8/12/2019 Play Dough Project Lesson
2/3
receive equal amounts, in order to demonstrate the effects of
scarcity and differences in the
availability of resources) and they will create an original
product with their play-dough.
They must name their product and set a price for it, and they
must also create a 30 second
commercial and a business plan for their product. In their
business plans, the studentsmust create a clear mission statement
of why their product is needed. They must also
include the following: what their product is, what idea they
improved upon to create their
product, what they see happening to their product in the future,
potential consumer
problems or issues with producing/selling their product, what
market demographic they
are targeting with their product, what tools/resources they
would need to produce their
product, and what potential competition they would face.
Day 2: I will tell the students to get back into their groups in
order to finish creating their
products and writing their commercials and business plans. I
will announce when it is time
for them to present what theyve created to the class.
Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities)
Time: 30 - 35 min.
Day 1: Students will form groups of 3 or 4 and will brainstorm,
discuss, and record ideas for
their potential products. They will begin to create their
business plans and commercial,
and will begin to create their product using the play-dough.
Students will also begin to
prepare for presenting their creations the following day.
Day 2: The students will finish creating their play-dough
products and finalize their
commercials and business plans. When instructed, the groups will
begin presenting their
creations to the entire class. Each group member will be
expected to contribute to the
presentation by saying something.
Lesson Closure Time: 2 3 min.
Day 1: I will remind students that they will be presenting
tomorrow and begin assigning
the order the groups will present in.
Day 2: At the end of the presentations, the whole class will
vote by applause as to which
group created the best product. The winning group will receive
extra credit.
Assessments (Formative & Summative)
Day 1: I will be roaming around the room and will check each
groups progress on their
project and will answer any questions as needed. This will serve
as an informal progress
monitoring assessment.
Day 2: The presentations, physical play-dough product, and the
written commercials and
business plans will be graded and will serve as a formal
summative assessment for this
lesson and as a formal progress monitoring assessment for the
unit as a whole.
-
8/12/2019 Play Dough Project Lesson
3/3
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and
Students with Special Needs
I will strategically place these students in heterogeneous
groups so they can fully benefit
from group learning and participation. The project instructions
will be projected on the
overhead screen at all times so these students have a constant
visual reference of what theyneed to complete. If needed, these
students will be able to present their products,
commercials, and business plans to me in a one-on-one
setting.
Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)
Ch. 1 Sect. 1 of Prentice Hall Economics: Principles in Action,
PowerPoint notes, play-dough.
