Cookie Scarcity When The Doorbell Rang
An Economic Lesson for students in grades K-6
From the Center for Economic Education at George Mason University
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins ISBN 0-688-05251-7/Copyright 1986 Summary: When Ma bakes cookies for tea, Victoria and Sam are delighted. When the doorbell rings, they realize they will have to share their good fortune. Lesson Description: Demonstrate scarcity using the story events as a guide. This activity takes students through a series of multiplication, diviSion, and addition problems. Economic Concept: Scarcity means not enough supply to meet demand. Victoria and Sam experience a scarcity of cookies as more and more hungry friends arrive at the door. Materials: One copy of the handout for each student An overhead transparency of the handout Paper cookies reproduced onto brown card stock or real cookies­
12 cookies per pair of students (From Instant Math Centers: 2-3, 2000 Creative Teaching Press) One paper plate per student
Procedure:
1. Hold up one large cookie and ask is anyone would like it.
Many students may want the cookie. Tell students that we
have a scarcity of cookies because there aren't enough
cookies for each person who wants one.
2. Introduce the story by telling students that we will be
reading about two children who end up with not enough
cookies. Ask how many cookies are in a dozen.
3. Read the story aloud.
4. Distribute copies of the handout. Display the overhead one
problem at a time.
5. Put students into groups of two and give each group twelve
cookies. These can be paper cookies or real cookies that
are wrapped (for cleanliness). Each student will need one
paper plate.
6. Read and complete problem one on the overhead as students
divide the cookies onto their paper plates and complete
their handouts.
7. Work through each question by regrouping students into
groups of 4 then 6 then 12.
8. Allow students to eat the real cookies at the end of the
activity.
Review:
Scarcity occurs when we do not have a large enough supply
of any good or service to meet the demand of consumers.
Ask if everyone got enough cookies. If not is there a
scarcity of cookies in our classroom?
I
Ask students for other examples of scarcity: Water in a drought Tickets to a sold-out concert
(Do not confuse scarcity with shortage. Shortages occur
when manufacturers withhold supply in order to increase
demand. This situation often occurs with the most popular
toys at Christmas.)
Extension:
Play musical chairs. This game is all about scarcity!
Rachel Powell, Program Coordinator
Center for Economic Education
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
[email protected]
Directions:
Read the problems below.
Write a number sentence to show the problem and solution.
Cut out the 12 cookies above.
Glue them to paper plates to show the answer to one of the problems.
Problem #1
Jorge brought a dozen cookies to the Boy Scout meeting. 5
other friends showed up. How will Jorge share his cookies?
Problem #2
Mary-Anne, Meredith, and Laura are having a tea party.
They will share the 12 cookies mother has baked. How many
cookies will each girl get?
Problem #3
Marcus finds a fresh tray of one dozen cookies and a note
from Mom on the kitchen counter when he gets home from
school. How many cookies does he eat by himself?
Problem #4
Tonya is made Christmas cookies for her presents. How
many cookies can she give to each of her four grandparents?
Problem #5
Dad told David to share the cookies with his sister, Sasha.
How will they divide the cookies evenly?
Problem #6
Each of the 12 parents at the PTA meeting takes one
cookie? How were the cookies divided?
Dust Bowl Scarcity
An Economic Lesson for students in grades 3-6
From the Center for Economic Education at George Mason University
Angels in the Dust by Margot Theis Raven
ISBN 0-8167-3806-8/Copyright 1997
Background:
Due to cyclical drought and poor farming practices, the environment and
economies of 5 states were devastated during the middle years of the
1930s. What came to be known as the Dust Bowl was called by many who
lived through it "the dirty thirties." Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado,
and Oklahoma were reduced from fertile farmlands to ravaged waste lands.
Farm families living through this challenging period experienced extreme
scarcity of many basic necessities.
Summary:
Great Grandma Annie's story of growing up during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma
is both sad and sweet. Annie teachers her sister to write in the dust on the
kitchen table and succeeds in raising vegetables after inventing an irrigation
system. The loss of her mother due to dust pneumonia, though, over
shadows her life and struggles.
Economic Concepts:
Scarcity-A drought is a scarcity of water. A scarcity of water results in a scarcity of food. Needs-Annie's family struggles to meet their basic needs for health care, shelter, food, water, and cleanliness. Natural Resources-Water, land, crops, live stock are all examples of natural resources. Materials:
2 empty, clean tin cans with only one end removed per student
Sturdy cotton cord or twine
Three sentence strips-see #1 below.
Blackline maps of 5 states-Texas, New Mexico, Colorodo, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Wall map of USA Clothes line and clothes pins Procedure:
1. Divide students into 3 groups. Give each group a different sentence
strip with a word missing:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is a scarcity of water.
Drought is a
of water.
Drought is a scarcity of _ _ _ _ _ __
Give them a couple minutes to come up with the word that is missing and then share altogether to create a complete sentence. 2. Tell students that the book we are going to read is historical fiction (define term as necessary) about the Dust Bowl and that the Dust Bowl occurred in the mid-west in the middle of the 1930's. Ask, "What else was happening in America in the 1930's?" Great depression. Tell students that the Dust Bowl was caused by drought and by the farming practices used at that time. These harsh methods stripped off the sod and left the top soil vulnerable to erosion. Discuss "erosion". Ask students to predict living conditions after the land was stripped and no rain fell. We'll learn more about this when we read the story. 3. Tell students that the Dust Bowl occurred in the American mid­
west and south west and affected 5 states most harshly. Put students into groups of 5 and distribute on copy each of the 5 black line maps. A US map on display or for each group may be helpful. Ask students to work together to determine the names of their five states. 4. Define "scarcity" and ask students to listen for examples of Scarcity in the story. Read the book. List students' observations concerning scarcity on the board. These
may include: rain/water, top soil, corn, wheat, food, shelter/home,
fresh air.
5. Ask students what the family's basic needs were. List and then use
this list to create a chart of needs. These include in this order:
Medical care/fresh air
Shelter/safety
Water and food
Cleanli ness
Apply this list to other stories such as Beatrice's Goat. 6. Note that many of the things that are scarce in the story are natural resources. Define: Natural resources are not made by people, and they are used by people. 7. Give each student a paper plate. Fold the plate into quarters. In one quarter, write NATURAL and the definition above. Then list natural resources mentioned in the story-water, soil/land, corn, wheat, horse, cow, vegetables. The remaining quarters of the plate can be used to define Human, Capital, and Intermediary resources. 8. Write "Make Do" on the board. Discuss how Annie made do in her
vegetable garden using tin cans to create an irrigation system.
Discuss: how else could we put tin cans to good use?
9. Show students tin can telephones and tin can stilts. Allow students
to make their own tin can toy or game--such as can bowling.
Extension:
10. Begin a classroom timeline-using cord and clothes pins--for the
books read in class as well as a classroom map pinpointing the
location of book events.
11. Art Extension: Shadow pictures
Rachel Powell, Program Coordinator, [email protected]
Center for Economic Education at George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030