Nick Samsal

This product bundles together my seven lessons on this most essential economic model. With properly labeled graphs and reasoned analysis, students interpret the meaning behind and predict the impact of various events in the microeconomy. UNIT DESCRIPTION As the foundational "strand" in any Economics course, Supply and Demand emphasizes the creation of two-variable graphs and the analysis required to understand how events affect market equilibrium. By calculating consumer and producer surplus, a

This unit bundles together my five lessons on the three principal measures of economic health: GDP, unemployment, and inflation. It also explores the connection between short-run business cycle fluctuations and the more expansive goal of long run growth. FIVE COMPLETE LESSONS The Business CycleGDP (Gross Domestic Product)UnemploymentInflationLong Run Economic GrowthSTUDENT MATERIALS INCLUDED WITH EACH LESSON Warm Up Activity -- collaborative activity to engage student attentionNotes -- note shee

This is a complete lesson plan about the basic history and organizational structure of the Federal Reserve System. It also explores the Fed’s three major functions: the payments system, supervision and regulation, and monetary policy. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on The Financial Sector.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- students label parts of a $1 bill associated with the Fed. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the lecture and is a guide for all activities. 3) Not

This unit bundles together my seven lessons on the production decisions faced by firms in the four market structures: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. It emphasizes the graphing and calculation of various cost, revenue, and profit data. SEVEN COMPLETE LESSONS Perfect CompetitionBusiness CostsRevenue and ProfitThe Basics of MonopolyThe Logic of MonopolyOligopolyMonopolistic Competition STUDENT MATERIALS INCLUDED WITH EACH LESSON Warm Up Activity -- collab

This is a complete lesson plan that explores the many facets of Gross Domestic Product. It examines the three different ways to calculate GDP, the difference between nominal GDP and real GDP, and GDP per capita. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on Economic Indicators.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- students determine which items are included/excluded in GDP. 2) PowerPoint Presentation –contains the lecture and is a guide for all activities. 3) Note Sheet -- students fill

This complete lesson examines how a change in price affects a market. The price elasticity of demand measures how consumers will respond and predicts the consequences for firms. To understand why economists use percentages to calculate elasticity, students examine the difficulty of comparing variously-sized goods to the current price of gas. During the lecture, students learn to use the midpoint method, classify a good based on its coefficient of elasticity, construct properly-labeled graphs, an

This unit bundles together my seven complete lessons on The Financial Sector, detailing those institutions primarily concerned with money and interest rates. UNIT DESCRIPTION The unit begins with an in-depth look at the concept of Money. Each successive lesson adds a new building block to the previous lesson, culminating in an examination of Monetary Policy. In between, students explore the consumer’s role in the financial sector, the multifaceted financial system, the monetary role of banks,

This is a complete lesson plan that explores the calculations behind inflation, its causes and effects, and why a low, but positive, inflation rate is the policy goal of many governments. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on Economic Indicators.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- students experience inflation during a classroom auction. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the lecture and is a guide for all activities. 3) Note Sheet -- students fill out this note sheet durin

This lesson explores the fluctuating relationship between GDP, unemployment, and inflation. It uses real-world data to illustrate how these "big three" indicators help economists understand the U.S. economy. I have fully updated the lecture, notes, and quiz; I am in the process of updating the Class Activity, the Homework and adding a Warm Up Activity. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on Economic Indicators.) STUDENT MATERIALS Desired Results -- advance organizer that lists what student

This is a complete lesson plan about the functions, types, and characteristics of money. It also takes an in-depth look at the M1 and M2 money supplies, and the monetary base. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on The Financial Sector.) TEACHER MATERIALS 1) Lesson Plan -- uses a backwards design model to provide a detailed description of the lesson goals, assessment evidence, and lesson outline 2) PowerPoint Lecture -- contains the lecture slides and is a guide for all activities 3) Answer

This is a complete lesson plan that explores the unemployment rate, historical unemployment data, and different types of unemployment. It also emphasizes the causes and treatments of unemployment. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on Economic Indicators.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- students use roles to calculate the classroom unemployment rate. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the lecture and is a guide for all activities. 3) Note Sheet -- students fill out this

This complete lesson introduces how market interventions create shortages, surpluses, and other problems. Through participation in a market simulation, where the teacher alternatively imposes a price ceiling and a price floor, students discover that these small-minded market interventions are beneficial to some but unfair to most. With much attention given to graphing and making calculations, this lesson builds on the concepts of total surplus and deadweight loss. It includes plenty of real-worl

This is a complete lesson plan about the relationship between savings and investment. It emphasizes the savings-investment spending identity, and it takes an in-depth look at the loanable funds market using graphs and an interactive simulation. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on The Financial Sector.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- use the equation for GDP to prove savings equals investment. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the lecture and is a guide for all activi

This complete lesson introduces the supply half of the supply and demand model. By surveying their classmates in the Warm Up Activity, students understand why supply curves slope upwards. This gets reinforced in the lecture, where they learn to illustrate changes in supply on graphs, identify the 6 determinants of supply, and calculate producer surplus. The lesson also explains how a change in supply is different than a change in the quantity supplied. To reveal how these concepts are present in

This unit bundles together my five lessons on why and how individuals make decisions. As the introductory unit in an Economics course, it nurtures a student’s ability to think like an economist. UNIT DESCRIPTION The unit begins with an introduction to some basic economic concepts, particularly the notion of incentives and how they drive human behavior. Students then explore how Scarcity forces individuals to make decisions before expanding this analysis to society as a whole (Economic Systems).

This complete lesson outlines the circular flow of money between all seven sectors of the economy. It begins with an exciting simulation, where students compete to accumulate the most goods and services (households), the largest profits (firms), or the most votes (government). The lecture uses animations to illustrate how money flows through each sector in equal amounts and in an endless loop. Through real-world data and simple mathematical calculations (disposable income, budget balance, etc.),

This is a complete lesson plan about the functions, problems, and regulations of the banking system. It also explores the money multiplier and how banks create money by loaning out their excess reserves. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on The Financial Sector.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- students are given roles to simulate how banks create money. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the lecture and is a guide for all activities. 3) Note Sheet -- students fill out

This is a complete lesson plan that serves as an introduction to the concept of monopoly. It explores the characteristics of monopolies, the ways in which they maintain market power, and how society attempts to control them. (It pairs nicely with my lesson plan on The Logic of Monopoly, and it is also part of a larger unit on Market Structure.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- compare the characteristics of monopoly to the board game. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains the

This is a complete lesson plan about the unique characteristics of oligopolies. Students get to see the strategic decisions faced by oligopolists by participating in two exciting simulations. Other parts of the lesson focus on collusion, problems with tacit collusion, and the kinked demand curve. (This lesson is part of a larger unit on Market Structure.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- simulation that mirrors the famous prisoners’ dilemma. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contai

This is a complete lesson plan about the various costs that a business incurs: fixed costs, variable costs, average costs, and marginal cost. It also explores the difference between short run and long run ATC curves. (This lesson pairs nicely with my lesson plan on Revenue and Profit, and it is also part of a larger unit on Market Structure.) THIS DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: 1) Warm Up Activity -- simulation that demonstrates the Law of Diminishing Returns. 2) PowerPoint Presentation -- contains