Market Structures
Goals & Objectives
Goals:
Students will understand market structures and how sellers within the market compete
both perfectly and imperfectly. Students will understand the relationship between
different market structures and how they compare and contrast with one another.
Objectives:
Students will be able to accurately identify the four types of market structures: perfect
competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Students will be able to
list the characteristics and give an example of each type of market structure.
California State Content Standard
12.2 - Students analyze the elements of America’s market economy in a global setting.
12.2.7 – Analyze how domestic and international competition in a market economy
affects goods and services produced and the quality, quantity, and price of those
products.
Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set)
 Objectives and Content Standards will be written on the white board to inform
students of what they will learn during the lesson.
 After students share their daily announcements for activities and sports they
participate in, they will share their “Connections to Economics.” In “Connections to
Economics,” students gain participation points by discussing something in their own
experiences that can be connected to an economic concept studied in class.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development)
 Market
 Perfect Competition
 Equilibrium
 Monopolistic Competition
 Product Differentiation
 Nonprice Competition
 Oligopoly
 Collusion
 Price Fixing
 Cartels
 Monopoly
 Natural Monopoly
 Geographic Monopoly
 Technological Monopoly
 Government Monopoly
Content Delivery (Lecture, Inquiry, Reading, Discussion and Debate, DBQ, Concept
Formation, Simulation, Problem-Based Learning)
Lecture on Market Structures:
 The student teacher, Mrs. Toxqui, will give a formal lecture on Market Structures
using the following SlideRocket Presentation:
http://portal.sliderocket.com/CDASO/Toxqui_Market_Structures
 The student teacher will describe perfect competition and the types markets
operating with imperfect competition, including monopolistic competition,
oligopoly, and monopoly.
 The student teacher will use real-life examples of the different market structures
and will use students’ examples to help students connect the material to their
outside lives.
 The teacher will play a Jack-in-the-Box commercial that uses nonprice competition
to differentiate itself from its fast food rival, Burger King.
 Throughout the presentation, the student teacher will ask students the following
questions:
o On Slide 1: What is a market? Can you give examples of markets?
o On Slide 4: In perfect competition, how do you think price is determined?
Following a correct answer (where supply meets demand), the student
teacher will show students the bullet point that says price is set by supply
and demand and will access their prior knowledge by showing a supply and
demand graph on the slide.
o Before Slide 5: In perfect competition, all of the products are the same. If
products are different, what are some ways businesses can compete with one
another?
o On Slide 6: What are examples of monopolistic competition?
o On Slide 7: Can you think of examples of advertising campaigns or
commercials that illustrate this type of competition?
o On Slide 8: What are examples of oligopolies?
o On Slide 9: Why is collusion considered negative? Who do you think gets hurt
as a result of collusions and price fixing?
o On Slide 10: Who has played the game monopoly? What was the purpose of
the game?
Lecture on Types of Monopolies:
 The teacher, Mr. Lejano, will take over the lesson and will give a presentation on the
types of monopolies, including natural monopoly, geographic monopoly,
technological monopoly, and government monopoly.
Student Engagement & Critical Thinking (Student Activities)
 During the beginning of class, students will share their real-life connections to
concepts learned in Economics.
 Students will take notes during the lectures on Market Structures and the Types of
Monopolies.
 Students will provide examples of monopolistic competition and oligopolies.

Students will respond to the questions posed by the student teacher during the
SlideRocket Presentation on Market Structures.
Demonstrated Learning (Formative & Summative Assessments)
 Students’ prior knowledge is assessed in “Connections to Economics.” Students will
have to understand Economic concepts well enough to apply them to a real-life
situation.
 Throughout the lesson, the student teacher will use informal assessments to check
for students’ understanding by asking them to provide their own examples of each
type of market structure. This will help students demonstrate that they understand
the definition of each market structure well enough to identify businesses that
embody characteristics of a particular market structure.
Lesson Closure
After the teacher finishes his lecture on the types of monopolies, he will ask students to
spend the remaining time in class engaged in sustained silent reading (SSR).
Accommodations for English Learners, Struggling Readers and Students with
Special Needs
 Vocabulary Study: English learners and struggling readers will benefit from
developing their academic content language through learning the vocabulary
presented in the lesson.
 Review of Prior Knowledge: Accessing prior knowledge through “Connections to
Economics” and when discussing how prices are determined in perfect competition
will benefit all students, particularly struggling readers and students with special
needs. This review serves as a scaffolding technique and will allow the student
teacher to build on students’ prior knowledge.
 Real-Life Examples: Real-life examples of perfect competition, monopolistic
competition, oligopolies, and monopolies will give students with any learning
challenges a way to connect the information presented in class to their outside lives.
It will help make complex ideas more understandable and relatable.
 Images: Images are used throughout the SlideRocket presentation to provide a
visual example of each market structure. This will help English Learners and
Struggling Readers connect the content to a relevant image. The presentation also
uses minimal text, which will allow students to listen to the student teacher and look
at the images rather than having to read too much text.
 Commercial: English Learners, Struggling Readers, and Students with Special Needs
will all benefit from seeing the commercial, which is a visual and entertaining
example of nonprice competition through advertising.
What Came Before…
Last week, students learned about the types of businesses, such as sole proprietorships,
partnerships, and corporations. They also learned about stocks, which will provide the
background information needed for the upcoming stock project.
What Came After…
On Wednesday, students participate in the “Compete or Collude” simulation, which will
help illustrate how collusion works and how oligopolies compete.