Dan's+Pants+Reinforcing+Activity

Tell the students that they will learn about the economic principles of supply, demand, price, and competition. They will read two articles describing examples of supply and demand, and the effect of supply and demand on prices. To conclude the lesson, the students will work in groups to create an ice cream stand which will sell sundaes and milkshakes. Since each group will not have enough ingredients to run its stand successfully, they will have to develop a plan to get the supplies they need from other groups. The goal for each group is to make the best sundaes and milkshakes they can at a competitive price which will turn a profit. Thus, keeping costs down is quite important. A group of adults will buy one sundae and one milkshake from each of the competing groups. Groups will be judged by the quality of the ice cream stand and the quality of the sundae and the milkshake.

Begin the lesson by asking the students the following questions: 1. List five items you would like to buy if you had enough money to buy them. 2. List five items you would like to sell if you could find a buyer for these items. 3. How do you think the price for an item is established? 4. How do the producers of various items decide how many of the items to produce?

1. Place the students in groups of four or five. Tell them they will create an ice cream stand. In their ice cream stands they will make sundaes and milkshakes. They will be judged on three points. One point is the attractiveness of their stand. Another is the quality (or taste) of their sundaes. The final point is the quality (the taste) of their milkshakes. A group of four or five adults will independently judge the ice cream stands according to each point. The teacher will pay $15.00 to the team with the best stand, $15.00 to the team with the best sundae (plus the price of the sundae), and $15.00 to the team with the best milkshake (plus the price of the milkshake). Students must set a price for their sundaes and their milkshakes-a price that will allow them to make a profit. Explain that the price of the sundae and the milkshake will be a factor in deciding which one is best. Explain that the cost of making one sundae is 25 cents, plus the cost of any supplies the students had to buy; the cost of making one milkshake is 35 cents, plus costs.
 * Procedures:**

2. Tell the students they will need to develop a plan for obtaining all of the necessary ingredients for making their sundae and milkshake since no group will have all of the necessary ingredients. The students will need to work well as a team, divide jobs, and formulate a plan for obtaining the ingredients they need.

3. The students will have about 30 minutes to design their stand (including menus) and make their sundae and milkshake. Please distribute the following materials to each group: Once the students have established their stands and produced their sundaes and milkshakes, judge each ice cream stand, taste each sundae and milkshake, and award the prize money based on the criteria established.
 * Group 1 $15.00, milk, bowls, ice cream, chocolate syrup, straws
 * Group 2 $15.00, milk, caramel, chocolate syrup, spoons, ice cream
 * Group 3 $15.00, blender, cups, napkins, construction paper, markers, ice cream
 * Group 4 $15.00, two scoopers, blender, markers, ice cream, milk
 * Group 5 $15.00, ice cream, bowls, construction paper, blender, one scooper
 * Group 6 $15.00, milk, caramel, chocolate syrup, ice cream, cups

4. Discuss with students their thoughts and experiences as they went through the activity. Discuss whether they students used money to purchase supplies or whether they traded for the supplies. Ask how much profit they were hoping to make from each sale. Then award the students for each of the prizes discussed previously.