I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Balance

Essential Question:

Why is it important to understand the concept of elasticity as it applies to economics?

Bridge:

Visualization of the Concept

Content:

Make Changes

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: The teacher engages students in two different experiences that have the potential for opposite emotional impact.

Activity: The teacher begins class with two announcements each of which is posted on official school letterhead. 1.)there is a new Latin course being offered next quarter. The teacher sincerely encourages students, if they are interested, to sign up for this course; and 2.) parking passes have become more expensive and will rise $15 per quarter to fee of $100. Generally, the second announcement will bring forth a range of emotional responses from the students.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students analyze the differences in their emotions as the two announcements were made.

Activity: The teacher conducts a class discussion to debrief the “announcements” experiences, with a focus on the quality and range of student emotions.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students create depictions of elasticity.

Activity: Without previous definition, students are assainged to draw objects that they feel are “elastic” and “inelastic”, as preparations for delving into the technical side of the concept. Students post their visuals and explain why the pictures are elastic or inelastic.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Students acquire knowldege and skills to apply elasticity in economic situations.

Activity: Lecture: The lecture provides definition of the following: elasticity of demand; supply elsticity; cross price elasticity; income elasticity; degrees of elasticity; elasticity along a straight line demand curve; total revenue and expenditures and teh elasticity of demand; determinants of elasticty of demand; incidence of a tax. Students take notes and hand in summary papers in either linear or concept-map form indicating mastery of concepts and terms presented.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students work through traditional guided practice activities for mastery.

Activity: Students complete traditional text problems, mathematical problems and teacher prepared word problems.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real world scenarios.

Activity: 1.) Students conduct a field-based study where the concept of elasticy applies. Their task is to go to a store and choose one product to analyze. They must ask 15 customers how many units of their product they would buy at the actual price, as well as how many they would buy at each of 3 alternative prices (withing 5% of the actual price). Students sum the customers quantities to create a market demand curve using the 4 prices. Students use their intuition and hypothesize what degree of elasticity their product exhibits. Then they calculate elasticity of demand between each of the points on the demand curve and interpret the results. Finally, using these results they also determine the effect on customers’ total expenditures and what effect an increase in an excise tax would have. 2.) Students write a description of where else the concept of elasticity can be applied, i.e. the brakes in an automobile-- What happens to your speed as you depress the brake pedal by a certain percent of pressure? The car slows down, but by how much? If the applied pressure is more than 1%, the result is elastic; if the pressure is less than 1%, the result is inelastic.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students share and critique projects.

Activity: Students form learning partner teams of four. Each student in turn shares his/her projects with team members for critiquing and suggestions for editing.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students share finding and examples with whole class.

Activity: Students briefly report their research findings to the class. Each example product is reviewed for elasticity and inelasticity.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: