Lesson Plan: Elementary Education Program Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences
Lesson Plan
Name: Emily Lindsay and Toria Bennett

Grade: 4th
Topic/Concept: Economics
Materials/Resources:
 Book: “Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday” by Judith Viorst
 4- Game of Life Boards
 Worksheet:
Cards: Totals:
Career: (how much are you making through your job)
Starter Home: (what is the cost of the house you started with)
Family: (how many people are you providing for in your house)
House: (if you bought a new home is what is the cost of it)
Long Term Investment: (List the values of much you had to pay the banker or
collected money from the bank)
Share the Wealth: (List the money taken away or Earned such as “+20 or -20”)
Education: (are you going to college? If so, how much does it cost?)
Money Left over: (After the game is over, how much money do you have left?)
Teaching Behavior Focus: Develop and use models.
Learning Objectives (measurable):
 Students will be able to define opportunity cost.

 Students will be able to know what it means to save and be able to determine good
strategies for saving.
 Students will be able to determine economic factors that can influence our decisions.

 Students will be able to make sound economic decisions.
Standards:
4.E.2 Understand the economic factors when making personal choices.
4.E.2.2 Explain how limited personal financial resources affect the choices people make based
on their wants and needs.
Assessment Plan (How will you know that your students met the objective?):
Our assessment plan for the targeted learning objective will be assessing the students on the
worksheet that they turn in at the end of the task. We will also observe them during the game to
see if they are using correct vocabulary and making sure they are making sound economic
decisions while playing the game.
New Vocabulary:
● Content vocabulary (e.g., obtuse, molecule, civil rights)
Students will need to know the meaning of:
Opportunity cost- A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up
to acquire or achieve something else.
Saving- process of setting aside a portion of current income for future use, or the
flow of resources accumulated in this way over a given period of time.
● Academic language (e.g., represent, model, compare)
Students will:
Model- Students will model with the game of life how to make responsible
decision making.
Represent- Students will use their visual money in Game of Life to represent
how much they have and have left.
Compare- Students will compare their money that they saved with others and
figure out who came out with more money.
● Key non-content vocabulary that is necessary to understand the task/activity
Students will need to know the meaning of:
Vocabulary from the reading:
Walkie-talkie- a portable two-way radio.
Vocabulary from Life Game Activity:
Career- an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's
life and with opportunities for progress.
Long Term Investment- are assets or money that a person intends to hold
for more than a year.
Starter Home- a relatively small, economical house or condominium that
meets the requirements of young people buying their first home.
Wealth- an abundance of valuable possessions or money.
Note: A detailed lesson plan is specific enough for another teacher to read and teach
effectively. There should not be any question regarding what to do or how to do it.
Lesson Development (hook/engage/launch, step by step in real time, include questions you will
ask in real time, closure/revisiting learning objectives):
Hook: 2 minutes to allow students to share

 Raise your hand if you ever wanted something that cost money. Were you able to have it?
Why or why not? Today, we are going to learn about what it means to save money and
why this is important.
Engage:
 Read book aloud to students: “Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday” by Judith
Viorst
 Have students sit in a circle following the reading to invite conversation. Have a class
discussion: 10-15 minutes
o Why was Alexander unable to buy the walkie-talkie?
o How did Alexander lose money?
o What decisions did Alexander make that caused him to not get the walkie-talkie?
What would you have done differently?
o What is an economic decision? Did Alexander demonstrate good or bad
economic decisions?
o Does anyone know what opportunity cost means? How does this story
demonstrate opportunity cost?
o Does anyone know what it means to save? How would things have gone
differently if Alexander saved?
 Now you all will have the chance to practice saving money and making economic
decisions!
Launch: 40 minutes
 Split students into four groups.
 Today, we are going to play the game of Life.
 Read instructions with students and make sure to answer any questions. Set expectations
for the game: no cheating, respectful, stay on task, kind words
 Hand out budget worksheet to students
 As you are playing, you will fill out this worksheet to keep track of your money
throughout the game.
 Answer any questions students may have about the worksheet.
 Hand out a game board to each group and allow students to play the game for the
remainder of the lesson. Remind students that it is okay if they are unable to finish the
game in time.
 Walk around as students are playing to ensure that everyone is on task, using vocabulary
from the lesson, and to see if students are demonstrating sound economic decisions.
 After 40 minutes of play, have students clean up their games and turn in their budget
worksheets.
Closure:
 Gather students in a circle to debrief about the experience: 5 minutes
o What did you learn about saving from this game?
o Did you experience any opportunity costs during this game?
o What do you think you did well while playing?
o If you could play again, what would you do differently?
*As a possible extension to the lesson, introduce play-paper money as a reward for good
behavior in the classroom. Students can save up for various prizes like a prize out of the prize
box, an extra 10 minutes at recess or computer time, or an ice cream day.

Lesson Plan: Elementary Education Program Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

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Lesson Plan: Elementary Education Program Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

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Elementary Education Program

Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Name: Emily Lindsay and Toria Bennett

Career: (how much are you making through your job)

Teaching Behavior Focus: Develop and use models.

Learning Objectives (measurable):

 Students will be able to define opportunity cost.

4.E.2 Understand the economic factors when making personal choices.

Hook: 2 minutes to allow students to share

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