Abundance, and Scarcity, and Trade- OH MY!

Happy St. Patty's Day!! Are you wearing your green?! With all the testing madness going on at my school we didn't get too much to celebrate, however we did have an awesome day in Social Studies.

Every year, we have done a scarcity simulation in my class. This activity requires students to use trade to make up for scarcity and abundance in their group. Students try to complete tasks on a task list, however they may not have the necessary supplies needed. To complete tasks, students need scissors, construction paper, and tape, however they are distributed among groups. Students need to trade to get the supplies they needed.

Not only do students learn the economic concepts, they also need to work and communicate in groups. This is a valuable resource as they grow up. One of my groups even got the idea to rent out their scissors for 3 minutes for a fee of construction paper. I thought this was great because they got the supply back. I have uploaded this activity with all recording sheets, jobs for students in groups, and teacher directions in my Abundance, Scarcity, and Trade Simulation Activity.

My groups were much more creative this year than in the past, racking up lots of bonus points for their groups. My future fashion designer created the clothing on the left. Another student thought outside the box to color his pages since his group only had one color construction paper. (I am gushing at the outside the box thinking I saw today!!)

Another thing my students turned in this week was their Planet Real Estate Project (a editable freebie at my TpT store)! Some of the projects were adorable, and I was proud that many of my students did it ALL BY THEMSELVES. This is my one hesitation when sending home projects. I always have to stress to students I want their work, even if it is not perfect. I thought I would highlight two projects I was really proud to display in my halls. Both these guys worked very hard and I can tell from the writing they THEY did it!

Happy St. Patty's Day!