Lesson
Understanding Prosperity Through Scarcity, Price, and Economy
Founding Principles
Individual Responsibility, Checks and Balances, Equal Protection, Equality
Virtues
Contribution, Honor, Humility, Integrity, Moderation, Respect
Guiding questions
Video supplements additionally published on PolicyEd.org a product of Hoover Institution, Stanford University. To view them in their original format, click here.
Guiding Questions
- How do prices reflect scarcity?
- How do prices impact prosperity in society?
- How does cooperation help mitigate scarcity?
Objectives
- Students will define: prosperity, supply, demand, law of demand, law of supply, scarcity, shortage, surplus, price ceilings, price floors, equilibrium, market.
- Students will identify how prices serve as a signal in the economy.
- Students will explain how supply and demand reflects the market and determine prices.
- Students will identify how prices affect the availability of goods and services that are a part of their daily lives.
- Students will analyze the impact the government has when setting prices above/below the market equilibrium
Materials
Student Resources
- Hoover Institution Videos & Viewing Guides
- 3×5 notecards or scratch paper
- Optional Student Guide
- Glossary
- Background Reading to Hurricane Katrina
- Helpful Weblinks for further research:
Educator Resources
Lesson Components
Lesson plan
Key Terms
- Prosperity
- Economy
- Law of Supply
- Law of Demand
- Supply
More Information
Facilitation Notes
- Start with the Hoover videos to give an overview of the included concepts.
- Depending on the level of scaffolding needed for your students, consider distributing the video viewing guides for added support.
- When using the glossary, teachers are free to introduce these terms at a pace they see is appropriate for their students.
- Note, as a society, we do see a general rise in prices – called inflation. This is why we encourage students to use the inflation calculator before talking about factors of supply and demand that change prices.
Standards
Related materials
How do prosperous societies differ from unprosperous societies in addressing the issue of scarcity? Why are individual liberty and limited government important in expanding prosperity?
How do prices reflect scarcity? How do prices impact prosperity in society? How does cooperation help mitigate scarcity?
How does trade increase individual and societal prosperity? How has the world made economic progress in the past few centuries? What does it mean to prosper individually versus living in a prosperous society?
Why is equality important for achieving prosperity? How does rule of law create a stable and predictable environment for economic prosperity? What is the proper role of the government in regulating the economy?
How does free speech impact economic prosperity? How does a marketplace of ideas support prosperity?
What does it mean to live a prosperous life? What role do social safety nets play in a prosperous society? How do people rise out of poverty in prosperous societies?
Why is individual liberty crucial for prosperity? What is the role of the individual, government, and the economy in the creation and maintenance of a free society? Use the lesson and videos to answer these questions with your students.