Wisconsin Economic Standard
D.4.2

Scarcity

Identify situations requiring an allocation of limited economic resources and appraise the opportunity cost (for example, spending one's allowance on a movie will mean less money saved for a new video game)

Economic Concepts
Opportunity cost || Resources || Scarcity || Choice

Links to Content Information
Links to Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies
List of Curricular Materials and Learning Activities
National Content Standard & its benchmarks
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Links to Content Information

Making decision (choices) - Includes information for teacher and student activity for grades K-3.

Links to Lesson Plans and other Suggested Teaching Strategies

	Abuela's Weave - Grades 3-4. Economic Concepts: Production, Scarcity, Supply and Demand
	Chocolate Peas or Chocolate Chicken? - Grades 2-3. The students will define opportunity cost of a decision as what has been given up.
	Econopolis - Teaches the following economics topics: History of Money and Trade, Free Enterprise, Goods and Services, Producer vs. Consumer, Opportunity Cost, Supply and Demand, and Problems in Econopolis.
	For Rent - Grades 2-4. Economic Concepts: Production, Opportunity Cost, Decision Making, Scarcity
	Give and Take - Middle School. After reading about a problem, students identify alternative solutions, trade-offs made in choosing each alternative, and the opportunity cost of selecting each option.. Students describe trade-offs and create a graphic.
	If you Give a Mouse a Cookie - Grades 1-3. A little mouse shows up at a young man's house. The young man gives the mouse a cookie and starts a chain of events. Learn about unlimited wants, and goods and services.
	The Leaves in October - In this lesson, students read a story about a family living in a shelter. The daughter, Livvy, and a friend, Belinda, sell tissue roses. They share their profits. Belinda spends her money; Livvy saves her. Students learn about different places to save their money and the advantages and disadvantages of each. They also learn that spending and saving decisions have opportunity costs
	Mama is a Miner - Grades 2-4. Economic Concepts: Production, Resources, Opportunity Cost
	Mr. Popper's Penguins - This lesson addresses the issue of credit, focusing on the importance of wise credit decisions, the risks lenders face, the role of interest or finance charges, and the credit user's responsibility to repay. Students read Mr. Popper's Penguins and discuss the use of credit in the story. They play a game that demonstrates the importance of responsible use of credit
	Off to Interactive Island - Grades K-2. Given a limited number of tokens, students will exchange those tokens for goods in preparation for pioneering in a new land. Students will be asked to identify what they have left behind and give reasons for their choices. They will be asked to identify the costs and benefits and the opportunity costs of their choices.
	Paraffin-alia - Grades 3-5. Looking at crayon production, students will identify productive resources, explain opportunity cost, and determine opportunity cost of using resources in production. A student version of the lesson is available through a link on this page.
	Water, Water, Everywhere - Grades K-2. Children see the many ways we use water.
	You have to give up something! - Grades 2-3. The story The Oxcart Man is used to teach opportunity cost.

List of Curricular Materials and Learning Activities

	*The Real Deal* - To help the country's pre-teens smarten up about shopping, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys General have joined forces in a major national education effort. The centerpiece of the campaign is "The Real Deal," a full-color, 12-page activity book with games, puzzles, cartoons, comics, and other entertaining and educational activities.
	**Master Curriculum Guide in Economics: Teaching Strategies K-2**, from Economics America (search catalogue), available from EconomicsWisconsin . Relevant lessons: Lesson 1: Wants from A to Z! - Students produce an alphabet big book as they learn that economic wants are things people would like to have. Part 3, Lessons 11-15: Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost - Grades K-2. Students learn that they can't have everything they want and that making choices has an opportunity cost.
	Master Curriculum Guide in Economics: Teaching Strategies 3-4, from Economics America (search catalogue), available from EconomicsWisconsin. Relevant lessons: Lesson 1: Everybody Wants Everything - By examining their wants, students identify goods and services that can satisfy their wants. Lesson 3: Wooden Opportunities - Through research and class discussion, students learn that when they choose something, there is always an opportunity cost. Lesson 4: Olympic-Minded Decisions - Students learn to use the PACE model for making decisions.
	Wishes and Rainbows (Acrobat file) - Grades 2-7. Comic book children's story designed to stimulate students' imagination as they explore the economic problem of scarce resources, various methods of allocation, and how societies react to alleviate such problems. A teacher's guide, The Road To Roota, is also available. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 1981, 20 pp.
	A Road to Roota (Acrobat file)- A teachers' guide designed to accompany the comic book Wishes and Rainbows. Provides background information, an analysis of the economic themes in the comic book, discussion questions, a glossary of economic terms, and classroom activities. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 1985 Rev., 6 pp.
	The Community Publishing Company - Grades 3-5. In this series of 33 lessons, students explore their communities, then write reports, form a publishing company, and manufacture and sell their book. Through this involving and motivating program, students learn economic concepts: scarcity, opportunity cost and trade-offs, productivity, economic institutions and incentives, exchange, money, and interdependence, markets and prices, supply and demand. From Economics America (search catalogue), available from EconomicsWisconsin.
	*Econ and Me* - Grades 3-6. An award-winning program of five 15-minute, sequentially arranged video lessons, each focusing on a specific economic concept: scarcity, opportunity cost, consumption, production, and interdependence. Also included are two videotapes with background information for teachers. From Economics America (search catalogue).
	Scarcity and Choice, pp. 9-11 in A framework for teaching basic economic concepts: With scope and sequence guidelines from Economics America (search catalogue), available from EconomicsWisconsin. (Background information for teachers)
	Section C: Scarcity: The Economic Question... - Grades 2-6. Lessons 1-6. In Unit 1 of Eco-Sense: It's Elementary from Business Economic Education Foundation, 123 North Third Street, Suite 504, Minneapolis, MN 55401; (612) 337-5252. Economic Concepts: Scarcity, trade-offs, opportunity costs and productivity.
	*Economics for the Elementary Classroom* by Elaine C. Coulson and Sarapage McCorkle, 1982. St. Louis, MO: SPEC Publishers. The following lessons for grades 2-6: * Henry's Mountain of Wishes - pp. 22-25 * Danny Choose a Pet - pp. 26-30 * Sticky Situations - pp. 31-35 * Student Council Decisions - pp. 36-40 * Choosing a House - pp. 41-51 * Troop Trade-Offs - pp. 52-54 * Be Resourceful - pp. 68-69
	*Virtual Economics: An Interactive Center for Economic Education, Version 2* - Each exhibit includes teaching tips, background information, a list of lessons, and video and audio clips that give additional information about the topic. Available from Economics America (search catalogue). In section Fundamental Economics, see exhibits: Opportunity Cost Scarcity

National Content Standard 1 and its benchmarks

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Professor Mark Schug - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Developed by
Lynn Kirby, Ph.D.
Larry Weiser, Ph.D.

Teaching Wisconsin's K-12 Economics Standards
Topic Index
Grade Level Index
WI Standards: D.4.1, D.4.3, D.4.4, D.4.5, D.4.6, D.4.7