Draft Jan 2013

Unit 4 Overview – Third Grade – Economics and Financial Literacy

3.E.1 Understand how the location of regions affects activity in a market economy.

  • 3.E.1.1 Explain how location impacts supply and demand.
  • 3.E.1.2 Explain how locations of regions and natural resources influence economic development (industries developed around natural resources, rivers and coastal towns).

3.E.2 Understand entrepreneurship in a market economy.

  • 3.E.2.1 Explain why people become entrepreneurs.
  • 3.E.2.2 Give examples of entrepreneurship in various regions of our state.

Working understandings:

  1. Definition of a market economy, supply and demand, entrepreneur
  2. Human wants and needs differ depending on where you live.
  3. Examples of entrepreneurs in our community, state, region

Essential Questions:

  1. How might location impact supply and demand in a market economy?
  2. How might natural resources influence economic growth in an area?
  3. Why might a person want or not want to be an entrepreneur?

Essential Vocabulary: goods, services, consumers, producers, productive resources, natural resources, human resources, capital resources, entrepreneur, scarcity, opportunity cost, Trade-offs, money, price, specialization, interdependence, productivity, profit, role of government, international trade.

Assessment:

Assessment should be done throughout the unit, as you see student understanding of concepts through class discussion. Short quizzes can be given at any appropriate time within the unit, based on the essential questions of the lesson. Several quizzes are embedded within the unit, but these can be altered at teacher discretion. By the end of the unit, students should be able to answer all of the essential questions listed above. The goal is student understanding of concepts rather than memorization of facts.

Essential Question / Lesson / Teacher Preparation / Assessment
Week 1 / Begin the unit explaining that students will be learning and deepening their understanding of economics in our world.
Using the vocabulary word list (without the definitions), based on their current understandings of the words have students discuss in small groups (3-4) their understandings and how they would categorize the words they do understand. See if the small group could create at least one category for the words they know.
For example; resources, things we buy, things we use, money.
Students will think of even more.
Small group share out after discussion. / Prepare word list for overhead, or document camera or manipulative word sort for use by small group. / Monitor student conversation to determine initial understandings.
Baseline observations of student understanding of vocabulary and background with words.
How might location impact supply and demand in a market economy? / Trouble is Brewing in Boston
Shared reading of “Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak” by Kay Winters
OR
One of the other resources provided in handouts.
Complete process and questions. / Optimal book choice shared reading viewed through document camera. / “Colonial Voices” Economic Concepts Anagrams and Definitions
See handout with link and

Economic Spotter - Trade in Colonial History
Time Machine activity. / Explore website of Time Machine activity.
/ Paragraph –ELA Common Core informational writing on exchange and specialization.
Economic Spotter – Money in Revolutionary Times
Continued Time Machine activity.
Week 2 / How might natural resources influence economic growth in an area? / Continue growing student understanding through selected video clips. Clips are from Econedlink.
Video Clip – Trade, Exchange, and Interdependence -
Video Clip – Productive Resources
Video Clip – Demand / View clips prior to sharing with students.
Use the essential question to have conversations about the clips that students view. / “Think Note” observations made during viewing or from small group conversations.
Bills and Coins
If All Bills Could Talk
Money Phrases
Week 3 & 4 / Why might a person want or not want to be an entrepreneur? / Literature Connections
“Arthur’s Pet Business” by Marc Brown

Arthur’s Pet Business Income Interview. / Locate “Arthur’s Pet Business” or similar book with young entrepreneur.
Spotlighting Entrepreneurs – Sweet Success of M. Hershey / 5 text-based questions
Entrepreneurs – How to Get Your Ideas Out There
Entrepreneurs video
How might location impact supply and demand in a market economy? / How Competition Works
Begin discussions around this question. “Why is competition important to a market economy?” / Shared reading through document camera or student’s each have a copy.
Why Competition Works
Competing for Customers
Playing By the Rules
Antitrust Laws
Additional Literature Connections:
“Stone Fox” by John Reynolds Gardiner
Stone Fox – Decisions, Decisions
Stone Fox – Taxes and You
Stone Fox – Economics Test /
Pancakes, Pancakes
Where Did That Pencil Come From?
Follow and Ice Cream Cone Around the World
Magic Words
The Importance of Economics and Entrepreneurship
Bookmark – Bookmarks By the Numbers
Bookmark Company
Bookmark Resource Price List – Teacher Use
Graphing Market Survey Results
Bookmark – Computing Unit Costs of Production
Computing Bookmark Profits
Product Cost Computation Sheet
Decision Grid
Jobs Worksheet
Location, Location, Location