How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Ohio Standards
Connection:
Economics
Benchmark A
Explain the opportunity
costs involved in the
allocation of scarce
productive resources.
Indicator 1
Identify the productive
resources needed to
produce a good or service
and suggest opportunity
costs for the resources
involved.
Lesson Summary:
Do you like making and eating candy? Your students will
enjoy learning about productive resources and eating what
they have produced! Students will review the terms goods,
services, and opportunity cost, and be introduced to the
concept of productive resources through several activities.
After participating in these activities, students will create a
poster that demonstrates their understanding of productive
resources and opportunity costs. This lesson will actively
engage students in learning the concepts indicated by
providing for various learning styles and abilities. There
are elements of individual, pair, and small group work
embedded in this lesson.
Estimated Duration: Four hours and 45 minutes
Commentary:
This lesson helps students understand the relationship
between goods, services and the productive resources used
to produce them. It also introduces the concept that each of
the resources could have been used to produce other goods
or services. This knowledge leads to the idea that choices
are made everyday about how to use resources. The
following is a comment from a teacher participating in the
piloting of this lesson, “The students mastered the concepts
of goods and services and opportunity cost by doing these
hands-on activities.”
Productive resources include:
• Capital goods – a productive resource consisting of
human-made materials needed to produce goods and
services; capital goods include buildings, machinery,
equipment and tools.
• Human resources – a productive resource consisting of
the talents and skills of human beings that contribute to
the production of goods and services.
• Natural resources – a productive resource supplied by
nature (e.g., ores, trees, arable land).
These terms are consistent with the Voluntary National
Content Standards for Economics.
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Pre-Assessment:
• Before you use this pre-assessment, collect pictures of goods and services from magazines,
newspapers, photographs or online sources (three per student). Glue them onto construction
paper and laminate them to us e year after year.
• Randomly give each student three pictures of goods or services. Have students tack the
pictures on a classroom bulletin board that you have divided in half with the label “goods” on
one side and the label “services” on the other side. As students place their pictures on the
bulletin board, make a note of those students who hesitate to place a good or service, and of
those students who erroneously place a good or service. Also, if a good or service is
misplaced, record where the student placed it.
• When all students have placed their pictures on the bulletin board, discuss their choices.
Have students explain their reasons for placing the goods and services where they did.
• Provide students with the following definition for productive resources: Productive resources
are the resources used to make goods and services (i.e., natural resources, human resources,
capital goods).
Scoring Guidelines:
Use the resource and service lists, the students’ explanations plus the information from the class
discussion, and your own judgment to determine the level of knowledge of your students and to
differentiate and guide your instruction.
Post-Assessment:
• Have students create a poster on construction paper (or use larger roll paper like butcher
paper or bulletin board paper to provided a larger work area).
• Have the students use magazines, sale flyers, newspapers and other resources (computers,
drawings) to find pictures of one good and one service.
• Have students glue or draw one picture onto each side of their posters. Have students identify
below their pictures three productive resources used in the production of each good and
service. For each productive resource, have students identify three alternative choices.
• Have students identify the opportunity cost in some manner.
• Tell students they may organize their posters in a different manner or use computers, as long
as all the required information is present.
• Review post-assessment example on Attachment C, Alternative Uses for Productive
Resources, that shows one good (books) and three possible productive resources (trees, ink,
and glue). For the first productive resource, three possible alternative goods are identified
(gift-wrap, computer paper or newspaper). The newspaper is identified as the opportunity
cost. Answers may vary. It also shows one service (health care), three productive resources
for that doctor (nurses, stethoscope and computers), and three possible alternative services
that a nurse could do if he/she were not working for that doctor (emergency room nurse,
teacher, stay-at-home parent). Ask your students which of these three alternatives is the
opportunity cost and why (answers will vary depending upon each student’s reason for
choosing that alternative).
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
•
Discuss with your students the essential components of a top-quality poster. Create a
checklist with the criteria agreed upon by the class (be sure the criteria consists mostly of
social studies content). Give students a copy of these criteria prior to starting their postassessment assignment as it will be used as the basis for a grading rubric. See sample
criterion in Attachment A.
Instructional Tip:
You may wish to enlist the help of your school’s art teacher. You can tie this element into
marketing and how creativity is used to sell goods and services. This element also provides an
opportunity for integrating this assignment with art and having the art teacher teach layout and
design.
Scoring Guidelines:
Use the post-assessment to determine your students’ understanding of productive resources and
opportunity costs. Use a rubric to grade the final projects. For a suggested rubric that mirrors the
criteria listed, see Attachment D.
Instructional Procedures:
Day One
1. Have students do the pre-assessment activity.
2. Use the pre-assessments to guide your instruction. (Some students will need activities to
review the basic concepts of goods and services; others will be reminded of the definitions
through the pre-assessment activity, and others will need activities to enrich their
understanding.)
3. Review opportunity cost with the following activity:
• Choose one of the goods from the bulletin board activity in the pre-assessment.
• Have students work in pairs.
• Ask each pair to list the resources used to make that good. On the same piece of paper,
ask them to then list three alternative goods that could be made with the same resources if
the good selected from the bulletin board could not be made. Have students circle the
alternative good that they feel would be the best alternative to the original good and
briefly explain their choice in writing on the bottom of their paper. For example, books
are made with paper, a printer (the person), and a printing press. Alternative goods that
could be made with the paper include a newspaper or magazine. One student may feel
that making a newspaper would be a better use of that resource. Another student may feel
magazine would be better to make. (These two students have chosen different
opportunity costs for the paper used to make a book.)
• Have each pair sha re with another pair (a group of four) and discuss their ideas. Ask one
person in the group of four to report their results to the class. In the discussion, remind
students that the alternative choice they selected is the opportunity cost for the original
good. (Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is
made.)
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Instructional Tip:
Defining opportunity cost is a third- grade indicator for this benchmark. Also, in the discussion,
introduce the term productive resources.
4. Have students work through several examples of goods and services and the productive
resources needed for those goods and services. Have students share examples of all three
types of productive resources. Provide students with a simplified definition for productive
resources (productive resources are the resources used to make goods and services, i.e.,
natural resources, human resources, capital goods).
5. Have students make buckeye candy. In groups of three to four students, help students make
buckeye candy using your favorite recipe. Have each group list on Attachment E the
productive resources needed to make buckeye candy. Remind the students to be sure to
include equipment (capital goods) and labor as productive resources.
Instructional Note:
Be aware that you may not be able to make this type of candy if any of your students have nut
(peanut, in particular) allergies. You may wish to enlist the help of parent volunteers to facilitate
this activity.
6. After making buckeye candy, have students complete the chart in Attachment E, Buckeye
Candy – Productive Resources and have students answer the questions below the chart for
homework.
Day Two
7. Discuss students’ responses to each question on the productive resource chart.
8. Using the information from your pre-assessment, create a poster similar to the one students
will be expected to complete for the post-assessment. Use Attachment C, Alternative Uses
for Productive Resources, as a guide. You may choose to have students create a practice
poster as a small group worksheet activity. Use the Alternative Uses for Productive
Resources – Small Group Practice, Attachment B.
9. Periodically check student progress. Adjust assignments accordingly.
Instructional Note:
You may also choose to do a practice poster with a service rather than a good, as it is more
difficult for some students to identify productive resources for a service. Creating a practice
poster with your class will enable students to understand and complete the post-assessment more
easily.
Day Three
10. Have students complete the post-assessment assignment.
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Differentiated Instructional Support:
Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs, to help all learners either meet the intent
of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the specified
indicator(s).
• You may need to provide some students with a partially completed chart similar to the
buckeye candy chart found in Attachment E, Buckeye Candy – Productive Resources.
Include the productive resources on the chart before giving it to those students. Have students
identify an opportunity cost for each productive resource the teacher has listed.
• Have students work in pairs to create the post-assessment poster. Provide guidance in the
selection of the goods and services these students explore. It is easier to find information
about certain goods and services. You may also choose to provide these students with
specific Web sites and other resources that will give them the information needed to
successfully complete the poster. Students should be able to identify one or two productive
resources and suggest one or two opportunity costs for each resource.
• Have students experiencing difficulty answer the first three questions on the Buckeye Candy
– Productive Resources worksheet and discuss the fourth question with the teacher.
• Create a simple matching game that engages students by matching productive resources to a
good or service. Provide students with pictures of several goods and/or services. Provide
them with pictures of various productive resources. Label any goods, services and productive
resources that might be confusing to identify. Have students match the productive resources
to a specific good or services. Teachers should check student work before these pictures are
glued onto construction paper. Next, ask students to identify another good or service that
could be made with each productive resource (you may also limit this number to one or two
productive resources depending on the student’s ability). Students may draw or find a picture
of this good or service to add to their posters.
• Use a contract and/or checklist to guide students toward completion of their posters.
• Students who need more challenging work might find a candy manufacturer who makes
buckeye candies and find out which productive resources the candy manufacturer uses to
make the candy. Students may also find several candy manufacturers and create a chart to
compare productive resources.
• Have students research the productive resources used in making buckeye candies. They may
identify the countries from where these resources come, the process of making that resource
(from nut to peanut butter, for example), and other interesting facts. Students could create a
brochure detailing their findings.
Extensions:
• Recipe activity: Have students bring in a favorite recipe. Have students work in small groups.
Using one recipe, have students identify the productive resources needed to make that recipe.
Students should choose two of those productive resources and identify an opportunity cost
for each of those resources. Be sure to include equipment and labor.
• Visit a local candy business to learn about the productive resources used in making their
candy.
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Homework Options and Home Connections :
• Have students find recipes at home for the recipe activity in the extensions.
• Have students look at products they have in their homes. Have them discuss productive
resources used in the production of these items with their parents.
• If you don’t have the opportunity to make buckeye candy in class, offer this activity as a
home connection.
Interdisciplinary Connections :
English Language Arts
• Writing Process
Benchmark I: Prepare writing for publication that is legible, follows an appropriate format
and uses techniques such as electronic resources and graphics.
Indicator 16: Prepare for publication (e.g., for display or for sharing with others), writing
that follows a format appropriate to the purpose, using techniques such as electronic
resources and graphics to enhance the final product.
The Arts: Visual Art
• This lesson is easily integrated with art. Ask the art teacher to discuss layout and elements of
design with students.
Materials and Resources:
The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of its
contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does not
endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site’s main page,
therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information required
for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes over time,
therefore the links provided may no longer contain the specific information related to a given
lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with students.
For the teacher:
Overheads of attachments and copies for students, pictures of goods and
services for the pre-assessment, 12” X 18” construction paper or larger
pieces of roll (bulletin board) paper, magazines, sale flyers, newspapers
and other resources for students to use to make their posters, supplies and
ingredients for recipe activities (and extensions).
For the student:
12” X 18” construction paper or larger pieces of roll (bulletin board)
paper, magazines, sale flyers, newspapers and other resources to use to
make their posters, glue and other poster design supplies.
Vocabulary:
• goods
• services
• opportunity cost
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
•
•
•
•
productive resources
capital goods
human resources
natural resources
Technology Connections :
• Use an overhead projector to share examples and charts during class discussions.
• Use the Internet to find candy manufacturers.
Research Connections :
Daniels, H., and M. Bizar,. Methods that Matter: Six Structures for Best Practice Classrooms,
ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 1998.
Authentic experiences help students develop real-world knowledge and skills and give them
the ability to apply their learning in ways that prepare them for their careers and lives beyond
school.
Marzano, R., et al. Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing
Student Achievement, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 2001.
Nonlinguistic representations or imagery mode help students think about and recall
knowledge. This includes creating graphic representations (organizers).
General Tips :
• The post-assessment example on Attachment C is rather complex. Feel free to simplify this
for your students. Please realize that on larger paper, the students’ assessments will not be as
busy or cramped.
• On the post-assessment, it is recommended that students arrange their work prior to gluing.
You may wish to have students sketch rough drafts of their posters first.
• If you choose to make the buckeye candy, you will need to gather the ingredients for your
recipe prior to making the candy. In addition, you will need a slow cooker to melt the
chocolate. Parent volunteers are suggested to facilitate this activity.
• Monitor student progress carefully and adjust assignments accordingly.
Attachments:
Attachment A, Sample Criterion for the Post-Assessment
Attachment B, Alternative Uses for Productive Resources – Small Group Practice
Attachment C, Alternative Uses for Productive Resources
Attachment D, Post-Assessment Scoring Rubric
Attachment E, Buckeye Candy – Productive Resources
Attachment F, Buckeye Candy – Productive Resources Example
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Attachment A
Sample Criterion for Post-Assessment
Students will need to include the following on their poster:
•
One good and one service
•
Three productive resources for each good and service (identified and labeled)
•
Three alternative uses for each productive resource (identifying the opportunity cost the
student has selected)
Poster aesthetics:
•
A title
•
Labels:
o
o
o
o
Good
Service
Productive Resources
Alternative Goods/Services
•
Neatly arranged and glued
•
Neatly written or typed
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Attachment B
Alternative Uses for Productive Resources – Small Group Practice
1. Draw a picture of a good or service in the top box. You may also find a
picture in a magazine to glue in this box.
2. In each of the next two boxes, list one productive resource
used to make the good or provide the service in the top box.
3. In the last two boxes, list an alternative good or service you could
produce with that productive resource.
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Attachment C
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How We Use Productive Resources – Grade Four
Attachment D
Post-Assessment Scoring Rubric
Use the post-assessment to determine your students’ understanding of productive resources and opportunity costs. Use a rubric to grade the final projects.
A suggested rubric that mirrors the criteria listed earlier:
Goods and services
Productive
resources
Alternative uses for
each productive
resource
Poster aesthetics
Your final grade:
Meets expectations (3 points)
One good and one service are
correctly and completely
identified.
Six productive resources are
correctly and completely
identified.
Six alternative uses for productive
resources are suggested and an
opportunity cost is identified for
each productive resource.
Titles and labels are included and
the student demonstrated creativity
in the style selected. The poster is
neatly arranged and the student
used neat, legible writing. Each
picture is neatly glued onto the
poster.
Acceptable (2 points)
Two goods or two services rather than
one of each identified.
Target for improvement (1 point)
Student included one good or service.
Four productive resources are correctly
identified.
Two productive resources are correctly
identified.
Four alternative uses for productive
resources are suggested and an
opportunity cost is identified for each
productive resource.
Titles and labels are included. The poster
is somewhat neatly arranged and the
student used legible writing. Some
pictures are neatly glued onto the poster,
while others may be wrinkled or taped.
Two alternative uses for productive
resources are suggested and an opportunity
cost may be identified for each productive
resource.
Titles and labels may be included, but are
poorly or incorrectly done. Or, titles and
labels are not included. The poster is not
neatly arranged and the student did not use
neat, legible writing. The pictures may have
been visibly taped or stapled onto the
poster. The student used little care in
producing this poster.
/ 12 points
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12
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