Prices and Choices

Overview

Lesson 5 of 10 in Economic Choices and Change. Students investigate how supply and demand affect prices and use simple graphs to explain consumer decisions in familiar markets such as food, housing, and technology.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Explain how supply and demand influence prices.
• Interpret simple supply-and-demand graphs.
• Analyse how price changes can affect consumer choices.
• Apply economic reasoning to a familiar, current example.
• Recognise that economic decisions involve competing needs, wants, and priorities.

Success criteria

• I can identify whether supply or demand has increased or decreased.
• I can describe how a change affects price.
• I can use evidence from a graph to explain a consumer decision.
• I can distinguish between an economic factor and a personal preference.

Curriculum links

• Economic decision-making and the relationship between needs, wants, resources, and choices.
• How markets, producers, consumers, supply, and demand influence prices.
• Interpreting and communicating information from graphs and other sources.
• Critical thinking about the effects of economic change on individuals and communities.
• Applying social studies concepts to current and familiar issues in Canada.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–3 minutes – Hook: Why did the price change? Open with the price-change hook slide. Display two familiar examples, such as a popular technology product and a grocery item, with a question: “Why might the price of this item rise or fall?” Students make a quick individual prediction, then share with a partner.

2. 3–8 minutes – Build the economic model Use the supply-and-demand teaching slides to review the roles of producers and consumers. Explain in accessible language: supply is how much sellers offer, while demand is how much buyers want and are willing to purchase. Introduce the basic patterns: higher demand with unchanged supply usually raises price; higher supply with unchanged demand usually lowers price.

3. 8–13 minutes – Read a graph together Display the worked graph example and model how to read the title, axes, lines, and price change. Think aloud using the sequence: “What changed? What happened to price? What might consumers do?” Check understanding with two quick scenarios: a poor harvest reducing food supply and a new trend increasing demand for a product.

4. 13–22 minutes – Paired graph investigation Distribute the supply-and-demand investigation worksheet to pairs. Students interpret three simple graphs showing changes in supply or demand. For each, they identify the change, predict the effect on price, and explain one likely consumer response. Students may refer to the graph choice decision tree as a visual reminder for reading and selecting appropriate graph types.

5. 22–27 minutes – Familiar example discussion Show the familiar-market discussion slides. Pairs choose one example—food, housing, or technology—and complete the sentence frame: “When ___ changed, demand/supply likely ___, so prices might ___. Consumers might ___ because ___.” Invite three pairs to share. Clarify that real prices can also be affected by wages, transportation, government policies, competition, and unexpected events.

6. 27–30 minutes – Exit check and connection Use the plenary slide. Students independently answer on the final section of the worksheet: “If demand for concert tickets increases but the number of tickets stays the same, what is likely to happen to price? Explain why.” Ask students to hold up one finger for supply, two for demand, or three for both if they can name the main factor in a scenario.

Resources

• the Prices and Economic Choices slide deck
• the supply-and-demand investigation worksheet
• the graph choice decision tree
• Projector or interactive display
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils and highlighters
• Optional local examples of food, housing, or technology prices
• Seating arranged in 15 pairs

Assessment

• Listen during the hook and graph modelling for accurate use of supply, demand, price, and consumer choice.
• Check paired worksheet responses for correct identification of the changing factor and logical explanation of price effects.
• Use the final written response to assess whether each student can apply the supply-and-demand relationship independently.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank and sentence frames: “Supply increased/decreased because…”, “Demand increased/decreased because…”, and “Therefore, price may…”.
• Pre-teach vocabulary with visual examples and allow students to annotate graphs using separate colours for supply, demand, price, and consumer response.
• Pair students strategically; read worksheet instructions aloud and provide a partially completed example for students requiring additional support.
• Extend students by asking them to explain why a real-world price may not change exactly as the simple model predicts, using a second factor such as transportation costs or competition.