Students will research a resource used in the creation of a capital good that has led to conflict in another country. Examples could include the mining of minerals, oil, and monocrop agriculture. They will collaborate to create an engaging news broadcast that presents their findings and answers the driving question.

Student teams will work together both inside and outside the classroom to complete a “GooseChase” scavenger hunt.  Students will demonstrate mastery of the principles of supply and demand.

Ben & Jerry are producers of ice cream. Even if they produce ice cream for the entire nation, they still must make choices on which flavor to produce! Scarce resources force them to make a choice!

Water is a limited resource that we use over and over again. The idea is to teach the science behind the water cycle, where water comes from and is located on the Earth. After research and developing and understanding of conservation students will create a water tower that will collect and store rainwater. Students will also create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on water conservation.

Understanding economics will help to make you a more successful person. Economics is a broad subject, just like any academic topic, that can be pursued from undergraduate programs at the university level, all the way to doctoral programs that require upwards of seven years of research to complete. However, our goal is to give you the most important basics of economic thinking so that you can not only earn an “A” in your high school economics class, but also learn how to be a more effective earner, saver, spender, and citizen.

Scarcity means that individuals as well as entire countries have to make choices about what to do with their resources. How a country answers the three fundamental economic questions (What to produce? How to produce? Who receives what is produced?) determines what type of economy it possesses. These decisions are also made on a global level, meaning the coordination of the planet’s resources involves making decisions on what should be made, how it should be made, and to whom it will be distributed. Thanks to improved transportation and communication, demand in one country may be easily met by a country in the opposite hemisphere. Of course, this give-and-take has been going on for centuries, but international trade over the past half-century has reached new heights, resulting in globalization, or the growing interdependence of countries upon one another.

The introduction to this lesson is a brief online story about a little girl's visit to a pet store with her father. She considers several pets before choosing a "cute and cuddly" dog. Students are reminded that pet owners are responsible for keeping their pets safe, healthy and happy. A discussion of a pet owners desire to provide the best for their pets leads to an exploration of people's wants.