Elementary Education Program

Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Design Document for Lesson Plan

Name: Emily Lindsay and Toria Bennett

Grade Level: 4th Grade
Concept/Topic: Economics
Length of Lesson (in minutes): 60 minutes

Learning Objectives: What are your learning objectives? (What new understandings will the
students have as a result of this lesson? Make sure learning objectives are 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. 

Under which standards from North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NC-SCOS) do these
learning objectives fall?

 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.

Key Tasks/Activities: What are the key activities or tasks that you plan to use?

 Story read aloud and discussion: “Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday” by
Judith Viorst 
It is about a boy named Alexander who tries to save a dollar that he has received from his
grandparents to buy a walkie-talkie, but his poor spending decisions result in him losing
all of his money. 
 Following the reading we will discuss:
o Opportunity cost
o Saving 
o The importance of understanding the economic factors when making decisions
 Following the reading and discussion, students will be split into groups to play a game of
Life. Each student will be given a budget worksheet to fill out as they play:

Cards: Totals:

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

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Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

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?)

What is your rationale for why you have selected these particular tasks/activities to meet your
learning objectives?

  We read the book, “Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday” by Judith Viorst, to
introduce the students about how important it is to save their money and not make poor
decisions to lose it. 
 Game of life: Students will understand the importance of economic factors when making
decisions. Students will be able to use the visual money and demonstrate responsible
decision making. 

Anticipating Students’ Responses: How do you anticipate that students will respond to your
planned activities/tasks? This does NOT mean their response affectively, but instead their
response academically (e.g., What prior knowledge or conceptions might they bring? How do
you think they will approach or solve the task(s)?). When necessary, please insert images of
your handwritten anticipated approaches/strategies. Be specific! Use your anticipated responses
to help you plan your questions in the lesson plan.

Students will have background knowledge about money, but it will most likely be limited.
Children have most likely seen their parents use money to buy items but have little knowledge on
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Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

where that money came from, or how their parents saved it. Most students at this age have not
had experiences with saving money or weighing opportunity costs. 

Responding to Students’ Responses: Describe how you will provide scaffolding for students
who are stuck, and describe how you will extend the thinking of students who have a firm grasp
on the target content/objectives.

If a student is stuck, we will refer back to the book we read:

 Why was Alexander unable to buy the walkie-talkie?
 How did Alexander lose money?
 What could Alexander have done differently?
 How did the story demonstrate opportunity cost?

As an extension for students who have a firm grasp on the topic we would have them make
personal connections:
 What is something that you would like to save for? How much money is it, and how long
do you think it would take to save for?
 Have you seen your guardians at home make financial decisions, what were they?
 Can you think of a time where you experienced an opportunity cost?

Development of Practices among Students: Which disciplinary practices does your lesson aim
to develop? (e.g., “construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others”, “develop
and use models”) How do the task(s) develop the target practice(s)?

Our lesson aims to develop and use models. The task targets this practice by the students
participating in the Game of Life; they are modeling how to save money and show how to be
responsible with their money when playing. 

Assessment: Describe your assessment plan for the targeted learning objective(s). What
specific data/information will you use, and how will that data/information tell you that the
students have/have not 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. 
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Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Vocabulary/Language Function: Define vocabulary that students will need to know in order to
access the content and goals of your lesson. Be precise and careful with your language. Please
attend to three types of vocabulary:
● Content vocabulary (e.g., obtuse, molecule, civil rights)
● Academic language (e.g., represent, model, compare)
● Key non-content vocabulary that is necessary to understand the task/activity

●      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.

Classroom Management Plan: Describe your classroom management plan. Explain how you
will motivate students to engage in the lesson, how you will set and enforce expectations, and
how you will ensure that transitions are smooth and efficient.

We will state that if this lesson works out and everybody works efficiently then we will be able
to have more hands-on lessons like this, but if not then we will have to go to the traditional way
of teaching, such as lectures and worksheets. We will set expectations before the game. We
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

know that there is a potential to cheat during the game, so we will ensure that we are holding the
students accountable of themselves and making sure that everyone is being fair.