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Lesson Plan
Government & the Market

The Market Economy

6-8
One class period
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Learning Objectives

Students will be able to...

  • Describe the characteristics of a market economy, including the principle and protection of private property rights.
  • Identify the relationship among supply, demand, scarcity, and opportunity cost.
  • Analyze how profit, incentive, and competition motivate individuals, households, and businesses.
  • Describe the circular flow that shows the interaction among consumers/households, businesses/producers, and markets.
  • Analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services.
  • Compare the market economy to other types of economies (command, traditional, mixed).
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Overview

This lesson teaches the basics about the market economy, including the relationships between consumers and producers, supply and demand, and profit and incentive. Students learn six traits of a market economy, compare the market economy to other types of economies, identify opportunity costs, and much more. We recommend teaching this lesson before the other lessons in this unit.

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