About This Lesson
When there isn’t enough of something to go around, we say the supply is low. When lots of people want to buy the same thing, we say the demand is high. When this happens, stores can charge more for items. In general, when supply is low and demand is high, prices go up. When supply is high and demand is low, prices go down. In this activity, students experience purchasing power using a fixed ‘fake’ money budget for buying in a classroom economy. With the help of the teacher leading an auction market, students will recognize the change in value of items auctioned when supply is increased.
