Class: Social Studies - Elementary Economics for Fourth Grade

Class Length: 9 weeks

Schedule: 3-day/week lesson plan

Resources needed:
● Corresponding lessons on SchoolhouseTeachers.com
● Journal
● Index cards for vocabulary
● Apples for Week 7

Instructions: This suggested lesson plan is broken down into separate weeks and days. On the line
beside each day, write the specific day of the month you would like your student to complete each
assignment (consider writing dates in pencil). As your student completes each assignment, he/she
can mark the checkbox beside it. When the entire lesson has been completed, come back to this
page and mark the check box beside that lesson. Once the entire course has been completed,
consider printing out a Certificate of Completion as well.

Use the note boxes on each page to provide further instructions, leave a message for your student,
remind yourself about the details of a particular lesson, and so on.

Lessons Completed
(Check the following boxes as you have completed each lesson.)

 Lesson 1: Introduction
 Lesson 2: How Geography Affects the Economy
 Lesson 3: Major Exports
 Lesson 4: Major Exports
 Lesson 5: Major Exports
 Lesson 6: Produce and Consume
 Lesson 7: Supply and Demand
 Lesson 8: Importing and Exporting
 Lesson 9: Review

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Week 1: Introduction

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Download Lessons and Activity Sheets: Economic Terms worksheet (page 1)

and Resources worksheet (page 2).
 Define economics.
 Discuss terms on page 1 and fill in the Economic Terms worksheet.
Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Review the Terms from Day 1.

 Discuss how each affects the other:
Goods vs. Services
Producer vs. Consumer
Supply vs. Demand

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Define resources.
 Use the Resources worksheet to discuss the following terms:
Capital Resources
Human Resources
Natural Resources
 Create a presentation about a concept from the week to share with a
friend or family member.

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Week 2: The Effects of Geography on the Economy

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Parent preparation: Watch Geography and Economy videos and print the
World Export Map (links on page 2).
 Define economic geography and GDP density.
 Discuss how the economy of a country can be affected by outside
factors, (crops, rainfall, location, etc.).

Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Watch Geography and Economy Videos, (link on page 2). Discuss

the questions.

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Discuss effects, products and services, supply and demand,

(day 3 discussion on page 2).
 Write a summary paragraph about how weather can affect the economy
of a country.

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Week 3: Major Exports

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Prepare for Week 3: Continents by printing out the following:

North America printable map (Activity Sheets, page 3).
South America printable map (Activity Sheets, page 4).
Africa printable map (Activity Sheets, page 5).
 Using the Continents-North America printable map, research and write some
of the major exports of North America.

Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Using the Continents-South America printable map, research and write some
of the major exports of South America.

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Using the Continents-Africa printable map, research and write some of the
major exports of Africa.

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Week 4: Major Exports

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Prepare for Week 4: Continents by printing out the following:

Europe printable map (Activity Sheets, page 6).
Asia printable map (Activity Sheets, page 7).
Australia printable map (Activity Sheets, page 8).
 Using the Continents- Europe printable map, research and write some of the
major exports of Europe.

Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Using the Continents- Asia printable map, research and write some of the
major exports of Asia.

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Using the Continents- Australia printable map, research and write some of the
major exports of Australia.

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Week 5: Major Exports

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Prepare for Week 5 by printing out the following:

Fruit Trade map (Activity Sheet, pp. 9-13).
Fruit Trade labels (Activity Sheet pp. 14-15).
Global Meal worksheet (Activity Sheet, page 16).
 Discuss how food comes from each country.
 Use the Fruit Trade map and the Fruit labels to identify where our fruit is
grown and exported.
 Look at the label on fruit to see where they were grown.
Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Use the Global Meal worksheet to find where other foods are grown, made
and exported.
 Fill in the first section of the worksheet.
Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Make a global meal with an ingredient grown or made in a different country.

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Week 6: Produce and Consume

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Prep for Week 6 by printing out the following:

Product Pitch worksheet (Activity sheets pp. 17-18).
 Review “Product” and “Consumer” and relate those to the terms to “Produce”
and “Consume.”
 Make a list of producers and consumers.
Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Use the Product Pitch worksheet to create or improve a product.

 Be sure to identify the consumer as well.
 Research grocery store prices in your area for a specific food and
explain why the cost is low or high.

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Present your product and discuss the reasons your consumer will
purchase your product.
 Create a presentation about a concept from this week to share with
a friend or family member.

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Week 7: Supply and Demand

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

Apples needed for this

week  Review “Supply” and “Demand.”
 Discuss the following:
What will happen with an increase in demand?
What will happen when demand is more than the supply?
What happens when supply is more than the demand?

Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Display multiple apples (5-10). Ask students what price they

would put on each apple.
 Take all but two apples away and ask them to put a price
on the apple now.
 Discuss what would happen if the apples were in high demand
because of low amounts of product. Discuss what happens when there is a
surplus of product.

Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Play musical chairs.

 Discuss how there is a low supply of chairs and a high demand.
 Create a newspaper or magazine advertisement illustrating supply and
demand.

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Week 8: Importing and Exporting

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

 Make a list of things that are imported into the country.

 Make a list of things that are exported out of the country.
Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Discuss what transportation devices are used for import and export.
 Why might certain things use certain types of transportation?
Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Write a paragraph describing what would happen if your favorite

import was not imported anymore.
 Write a paragraph describing what would happen if a product
you produced could not be exported anymore.

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Week 9: Review

NOTES: Day 1 | Date: _________________________________

Review
 Goods vs. services
 Producer vs. Consumer
 Supply vs. Demand
 Capital Resources
 Human Resources
 Natural Resources
Day 2 | Date: _________________________________

 Review how geography plays a role in our economy.

 Review some of the major products produced in other countries.
Day 3 | Date: _________________________________

 Review how we encounter supply and demand in our everyday lives and what
causes changes to that supply and demand.
 Review the ways imports and exports affect our economy.

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