Land, Labor, Capital
Skill Set: Economics
TOPIC OR UNIT OF STUDY
Importance of Economic Principles in Today’s Society
CONTENT STANDARD(S) AND OBJECTIVE(S)
Students will
 classify the resources of land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship as factors of production used to
satisfy wants and needs.
 demonstrate how scarcity affects the availability of economic goods and services.
 report the benefits of competition.
 determine the opportunity costs involved in making choices.
 construct the stages of the business cycle.
 compare elasticity and inelasticity of demand.
 illustrate the concept of price on a supply and demand curve.
 recognize market equilibrium price.
INTRODUCTION
Students will collaboratively research and apply factors of production to local businesses, construct stages
of the business cycle, and present findings to classmates via posters or similar visual products. In groups,
they will also research the benefits and effects of competition as it applies to technological items currently
(or previously) popular with young adults, such as the VCR, Game Boy, and/or iPhone and will also filter in
how scarcity affects availability of such items. In a similar vein, they will demonstrate how scarcity affects
the cost of gasoline. This is also a time when high school students must consider opportunity costs when
making decisions about when and what to study, taking part-time jobs, purchasing a car, and attending the
DECA and/or FBLA Career Development Conferences. Playing the Would You Rather? game and discussing
choice vs. money vs. time elements will give students the opportunity to reflect on how such decisions
could affect their lives. Students will graph demand curves for specific elastic and inelastic products and
equilibrium price. They can prepare and sell an actual product such as brownies for a week (with school’s
permission), lowering prices each day, track sales, and plot the results (factors that affected supply and
demand) on appropriate graphs. Another option would be to play Lemonade Stand online and discuss
factors affecting supply and demand.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How does scarcity of the factors of production affect supply and demand, economic goods and services,
and competition?
INTEGRATION OF ACADEMICS, TECHNOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
To complete this project, students will utilize oral, written, and multimedia communications that target
academic, technical, and professional/entrepreneurship skills. They will:
1. Collaborate with peers ;
2. Use listening, research, writing, critical thinking/analyzing, and presentation skills to create end
products (charts; graphs of supply/demand curve with equilibrium price plotted);
3. Recognize relevant terminology; factors of production; effects of scarcity, completion, and
opportunity costs on products and decision making; and stages of business cycle and roles of
consumer, business, and government;
4. Illustrate graphically a supply and demand curve for a product depicting elasticity and inelasticity
of price and the equilibrium price.
5. Create appropriate visual and/or media products to present findings.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING PROCESS
Today, most high school students depend on their iPhones or similar product to communicate with
their friends, family, employer, and others. In this unit, students will use knowledge gained from local
business representatives, online research, and hands-on activities to better understand why such
technology or product such as gasoline costs a certain price one day but something else the next day, the
next week, or the next month. They’ll investigate the concepts of competition, scarcity, production factors,
opportunity costs, the business cycle, supply and demand, elasticity and inelasticity of demand, and
equilibrium price and how all affect costs of products and services. Relating these factors to costs of items
they or their friends often purchase (designer jeans, Apple iPhone, gasoline, game Boy, graduation cap and
gown, and less common insulin for diabetic) will help keep students focused. Those mathematically
inclined can assist classmates in graphing supply and demand curves that plot equilibrium price and
elasticity and elasticity of the price. Applying critical thinking, analyzing, and application skills and creating
different visual and/or media products showing findings will keep students actively involved in the process
from beginning to end.
TASK(S)
 Become familiar with economic terminology.
 Classify the resources of land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship as factors of production used to
satisfy wants and needs – research online or interview local business representative regarding how
they use factors of production.
 Demonstrate how scarcity affects the availability of economic goods and services.
 Report the benefits of competition.
 Determine the opportunity costs involved in making choices – utilize Would You Rather? Game.
 Construct the stages of the business cycle.
 Compare elasticity and inelasticity of demand--prepare and sell actual product such as brownies (
or WVDE/school approved product) for a week, lowering prices each day, track sales, and plot
results graphically OR play Lemonade Stand online and discuss factors that affect supply and
demand.
 Illustrate the concept of price on a supply and demand curve.
 Recognize market equilibrium price.
RESOURCES
“1.1 What is the economic problem?” Web. 24 July 2011.
http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Secondary/BusinessAndEconomics/1416/OCRGCSEEconomics/Samples/Samplechapters/GCSEOCREconomicsChapter1.pdf.
Buffa, Chris, Editor in chief. “PlayStation Vita Release Will Result in 3DS Price Drop.” Web. 2011. Modojo.
24 July 2011. http://useconomy.about.com/od/tradepolicy/tp/How-Jobs-Outsourcing-Affects-USEconomy.htm.
Chyung, Jin. “New Rules for Setting Standards in Today’s Hi-Tech market: Lessons Learned from the VHS –
Betamax War.” Web. 24 July 2011. http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/f96/Projects/jchyung/.
“Factors of Production.” 2000-2011. AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia. AmosWEBLLC. 24 July 2011.
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=factors+of+production or
http://www.AmosWEB.com.
Farese, Lois S., G. Kimbrell, and C. A. Woloszyk, Ph.D. Marketing Essentials: The DECA Connection.
Columbus, OH: Glencoe, 2006. Print. (See Chapter 3 Political and Economic Analysis, pp. 50-71.)
Herman, R. Paul. “Why Is Business Blind to the Potential Profits from Sustainability?” Huffpost Business.
Web. 2011. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. 24 July 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-paulherman/post_2140_b_881528.html. (Interesting comments about labor factor)
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit2/chapter3/. (Chapter 3 Home Site
Listing Activities)
http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit2/chapter3/chapter_summaries.html. (Chapter 3
Summaries)
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078612578/287023/ch03_student_study_organizers.pdf.
(Chapter3 Study Organizers: What Is an Economy? and Understanding the Economy (Economic
Measurements)
http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit2/chapter3/figures_online_action.html. (Chapter 3
Figures Online Action)
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit2/chapter4/. (Chapter 4)
http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit2/chapter4/chapter_summaries.html. (Chapter 4
Summaries)
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit8/chapter25/. (Chapter 25 Home
Site)
http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0078612578/student_view0/unit8/chapter25/chapter_summaries.html. (Chapter 25
Summaries)
http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21/All-PurposeRubrics.html .
http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21/PBLRubrics.html.
“Inside the Vault – Oil. Demand and Supply – It’s What Economics Is About! Lesson Plan.” Web. 2005. 24
July 2011.
http://www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources/assets/lesson_plans/05ITV_OilPrices.pdf. (Use
ideas from this plan!)
Iraki, XN. “Is it time for the fifth factor of production?” Standard Group. Web. 2011. 24 July 2011.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000037503&cid=497&.
Local business representative – use of factors of production
Romer, Christina D. “Business Cycles.” Liberty Fund, Inc. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, The. Library of
Economics and Liberty. Web. 2008. Econlib.org. 24 July 2011.
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BusinessCycles.html.
Schrock, Kathleen. “Poster Rubric.” Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators. Web. 1995-2011. Discovery
Education. 23 July 2011. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html.
School personnel: business and marketing teachers
“Supply and Demand.”
http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/072JGALINDO/supplyanddemand/models_and_curves.html
; http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/072JGALINDO/supplyanddemand/one_man_s_story.html;
http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/072JGALINDO/supplyanddemand/quantity_supplied_and_d
emanded.html.
“Supply and Demand Curves: Understanding Price and Quantity in the Marketplace.” Mind Tools Ltd. Web
1996-2011. Mindtools.com. 24 July 2011.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_69.htm.
U. S. Department of State. “A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market.” Web. 2011. About.com. 24 July
2011. http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/mixed_economy.htm.
“Understanding Demand Curves. Tutorial 1 – Elastic and Inelastic Demand.” Web. Dogsbody.psych. 24 July
2011. http://dogsbody.psych.mun.ca/~bmckim/2800/demand/demtut.html. (Simple explanation
with examples)
Valentine, Gregory P. “Economics and Entrepreneurship – Making It Happen.” 2006. Web. 24 July 2011.
http://www.usi.edu/business/econed/acte-conf-paper.doc.
“Would You Rather?” 24 July 2011. http://www.zobmondo.com/ or
http://www.zobmondo.com/play/game.
Zeitler, Gerd. “Factors of Production: Efficient Economic Allocation of Labor, Natural Resources and
Capital.” Web. 2009. Google. 24 July 2011. http://knol.google.com/k/gerd-zeitler/factors-ofproduction/2otpq9c0cx6bo/79#.
Materials: Computer lab and software; Internet; Glencoe study organizers and other interactive materials;
Would You Rather? Game; poster board and art supplies; graph paper and/or graphing calculators; rubrics.
TECHNOLOGY USE
Computer lab, Internet, Glencoe interactive activities, graphing calculators
EVALUATION
1. Glencoe online interactive activities, including quiz and Concentration (relevant terminology)
2. Business cycle chart or poster
3. Product (such as VCR, iPhone) Report -benefits/effects of competition – findings presented via
visual aid
4. Chart or graph reflecting how scarcity affects cost of gasoline
5. Discussion – opportunity costs
6. Sales Project (i.e., brownies or WVDE/school-approved produce): Results of week’s sale with
variable prices; results graphically plotted (supply and demand, elasticity and inelasticity,
equilibrium price)
7. General Rubric (below) with respective hyperlinks to individual rubrics (adjust points as necessary)
TIMELINE
This project will take at least three weeks.
CONCLUSION
Using knowledge gleaned from local business representatives, online research, and during hands-on
activities and other student projects (individual and collaborative), students will have a better
understanding of the business cycle, the factors of production used to satisfy wants and needs, and the
effects of competition and scarcity on availability and costs of products and services. Students will realize
opportunity costs affect the decisions they make—their lives! Creating graphs related to products of
interest to young adults will help the students understand the concepts of supply and demand, elasticity
and inelasticity, and price equilibrium. Overall, they will realize economic principles are important in
today’s society and in the future.
Importance of Economic Principles
Components
(See previous PBL rubric hyperlinks.)
Glencoe online activities/terminology: quiz,
organizer, and Concentration game
Local business’s use of factors of production chart and/or poster:
o Land
o Labor
o Capital
o Entrepreneurship
o Presentation – discussion
Findings – how scarcity affects cost of gasoline
(graph, chart, or other visual display of findings)
Online product research: competition’s effect on
product (VCR, DVD player, Game Boy, etc.)
o Findings
o Presentation
o Modern Marvels episode/s discussion
Opportunity costs – discussion (money/choices –
what students give up)
Would You Rather? Game participation
Stages of business cycle (chart, PowerPoint,
brochure, or other tool) – w/ actions of
consumers, businesses, and government (75 pts):
o Expansion
o Recession
o Trough
o Recovery
o Stage today (back us view with facts,
statistics, etc.)
o Presentation followed by discussion
Product analysis (120 points)
o Name of product
o Whether price is elastic or inelastic justify
o Demand curve graph for elastic price
o Demand curve graph for inelastic price
o Equilibrium price
o Presentation: compare, contrast, and
discuss resulting graph
o Class discussion
Product sale
o Product approved
o Schedule of workers
o Weekly sales documentation – prices
lowered each day
o Effect of price on demand
o Presentation of results
(see previous rubric hyperlinks)
Points
Possible
25
10
10
10
10
10
25
25
25
25
20
20
10
10
10
10
15
25
10
10
20
20
20
20
20
10
10
20
10
20
400
Points
Earned
Comments