Lesson 1, Part 3: Practice

Guided Practice

1. Your teacher will tell you about a choice that had to be made between two goods and why your teacher could not just have both things. You should think about a choice that you had to make today between two goods. Why could you not just have both things? Be ready to share your choice with the class.

2. Make a copy of the lists below on a piece of paper. Work with your teacher to match the list of economic wants on the left with a good or service listed on the right. When you are done matching, look at the list on the right and circle the goods.

Something You Want.................................Good or Service

Something fun to do after school......................baby sitter
Something to protect your feet from being cut.........car
Something to check your email.........................computer
Someone to take away your garbage.....................shoes
Something to drive in when you go to the store........trash pick-up
Someone to take care of you when your family is away..TV show


Independent Practice

1. Think about a choice that you had to make today between two services. Working on your own, write a paragraph with at least four sentences about your choice. Why could you not just have both things? Be sure that your paragraph has a topic sentence and a closing sentence. Put your name on your paper and turn it into your teacher.

2. Make a copy of the lists below on a piece of paper. Working on your own, match the list of economic wants on the left with a good or service listed on the right. When you are done matching, look at the list on the right and circle the services. Put your name on your lists and turn them into your teacher.

Something You Want..............................Good or Service

Something you want when you are hungry...................bus
Something you use to listen to music.....................kennel
Someone to help you learn about economics................movie
Someone to take care of your pet when you go on a trip...radio
Something to ride in to get to school....................sandwich
Something to see with friends at a theater...............teacher
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Teacher's Materials

Guided Practice

1. Think of an example when you had to choose between two goods. Emphasize why the items in your example are goods and not services. Students will be interested to learn that their teacher is also a consumer. Describe your decision process to the students, paying particular attention to the fact that you could not choose both goods. The important lesson is the necessity of making choices. Ask student volunteers to share about choices they had to make today or recently. Be sure that the examples are choices between goods and not services.

2. Guide the students through completing the matching exercise. Explain as necessary why some items in the right column are goods and some are services. Note that the examples in the right column are listed in the definitions of goods and services in Part 2 of the lesson. The answers are as follows. The items in italics are the goods. Guide students through circling the goods.

Something You Want............................Good or Service

Something fun to do after school.......................TV show
Something to protect your feet from being cut..........shoes
Something to check your email..........................computer
Someone to take away your garbage......................trash pick-up
Something to drive in when you go to the store.........car
Someone to take care of you when your family is away...baby sitter


Independent Practice

1. Students should work independently to write paragraphs describing recent choices between two services. It is important that the students focus on services, not goods. The paragraphs should have at least four sentences, including topic and closing sentences. The paragraphs should also explain why students could not choose both services. In this way, students can demonstrate an understanding of being forced to make a choice. This is an interdisciplinary exercise that requires students to use composition and grammar skills. Collect the paragraphs and read them to gauge student understanding.

2. Students should work independently to complete the matching exercise. Students will need to distinguish between goods and services. The answers are as follows. The items in italics are the services. Students should circle the services. Collect the results and determine student understanding of the concepts.

Something You Want...............................Good or Service

Something you want when you are hungry...................sandwich
Something you use to listen to music.....................radio
Someone to help you learn about economics................teacher
Someone to take care of your pet when you go on a trip...kennel
Something to ride in to get to school....................bus
Something to see with friends at a theater...............movie
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