BUS:Green River/Going to Florida (Econ)

Summary

Students will make choices about spending time and money on vacation trips. Optionally, they will complete activities showing choices that must be made by businesses. This helps them apply the objectives listed above.

Materials

1- Green River Handout
2-You're Going to Florida Handout
3- Poster/display board
4- Square cardstock sheets
5- Markers (black and color)

Background for Teachers

Resources are limited and wants/needs are unlimited. Therefore, we must make choices about how to most effectively use our resources. These CTE Intro activities allow students to apply this concept by planning a trip with options for how to use their money.

Student Prior Knowledge

Basic arithmetic

Intended Learning Outcomes

1- Recognize that resources are limited and wants/needs are unlimited.
2- Explore how limited resources affect choices people make. 3- Recognize that choices involve costs and benefits and have consequences.

Instructional Procedures

1- Review the Green River and/or the You're Going to Florida activities and select one or both for your students to complete. These activities should be completed by individual students rather than groups.
2- These activities are worksheets, so the instructor can ask for them to be turned in if desired. They are self-explanatory, but the instructor should be available for questions.
3- After asking students to complete one or both of the travel handouts, the teacher may lead a class discussion of what choices the students made, why they made them, and what their opportunity cost was.
4- Students should also explain the consequences of their decisions and their opportunity cost.(Note: Remember that opportunity cost is the "one" next-best selection you would have made had you not chosen the option you did choose. Opportunity cost is not "all" the other choices you had, but only the one next choice you would have made.)

Extensions

Students (as a class or in groups) should be asked to briefly discuss economic choices that businesses must make about how to spend their limited resources. Try to direct students to local businesses they know in their own city or to businesses they are hearing about in the news.

1- Students can make a triangular display form. Ask students to select a local business to highlight on their display forms.
A. On the left side of the display, pictures or lettering of products or services sold by the business should be glued or written.
B. On the right side of the display, pictures and/or writing should depict three choices this business must make concerning how to spend their limited resources. The student may either: 1- Identify the choices from his/her own analysis, or 2- Make telephone or email contact to ask a company representative to identify choices the company must make.
C. On the bottom part of the display, the student should print or artfully display the name of the company.
D. Students may show and explain their displays to the class.

2- Working in groups of 3-4, students will identify a business they would like to start. They must list and share the following:
A. Name of the business
B. Good or service they are selling
C. Five decisions they must make about how to spend their limited resources. 3- Students may then share their ideas for a new business, the good or service they will provide, and the five business decisions they must make.