Background Nonverbal Communication Say Whaaat? Creative Writing Trends and Patterns Problem Solving Creative Thinking Say It – Do It (Scientific Writing) Three Dimensional TANGOES * Negotiation (Basic) Supply and Demand Monopoly Teamwork PDCA Cycle Beyond Disabilities Group Decision Making Dynamics	Supply and Demand Summary/Suggested Uses This exercise is used to illustrate the concept of supply and demand as part of a beginning economics class, or for history and government classes as an introduction to events which were predicated by serious shifts in the world markets. It will take 20 minutes with advanced groups and up to 30 minutes with other groups. Objectives Participating in this exercise will enable the student to: Understand the concept of supply and demand Practice appropriate teamwork interactions Explore problem solving strategies Materials Enlargements of two picture cards on overhead transparencies (w/o answers) One set of TANGOES * for each group of three students in the class Envelopes for holding each team’s TANGOES * pieces Directions Divide TANGOES * pieces by shape and place 7 pieces of the same shape in each envelope prior to class (all squares in one envelope, all triangles in another, etc) Size does not matter; triangles of any size may be mixed together in one envelope. Divide students into triads. If possible, space groups around the room. Explain that they will have 15 minutes to construct the picture on the overhead using their available pieces. Each team may negotiate with others for alternative pieces as needed. Turn on overhead and start the timer. Call time at 15 minutes. Check each team’s progress, share the solution, and congratulate their successes. ASK What made this task difficult? (Accept any logical answers) How did your group decide what other pieces you needed? (Scope out what was available, try all their own pieces first, etc) How did your group go about trying to get the pieces you needed from other groups? (Asking the price, opening with an offer, coercion, etc) How successful were your techniques? (Accept any honest answers) Repeat the exercise with a new picture, but take out half of the squares and half of the large triangles before the TANGOES * pieces are separated into the envelopes. ASK: How was this round different from the first time? (Probe for changes in group strategies or techniques...did they learn from their previous efforts?) Did having a shortage of pieces add pressure? How did that affect your team’s actions? (Did negotiations become more intense? Did some teams compensate by using 2 small triangles instead of the square? What effect did this compensation have on the other teams? Compare what you observed to what the students remember) Debrief and Transition This exercise illustrates the concept of supply and demand. Need for an item is called demand. When a needed item is in short supply it becomes more valued and therefore more expensive. (Illustrate with real example from the exercise AND FROM REAL WORLD-need example here ) When an item is readily available, it is taken for granted and therefore may be considered less valuable. (Ask for examples from life.) Demand can be created by increasing the popularity of a product. Toys and food are good examples of this -- what commercials can you think of that try to increase the popularity of a product, a song, or a movie? (Take input) Stopping production altogether can also increase demand. Original $3 Barbie dolls, for example, can be worth hundreds of dollars today. If demand remains steady, the value of an item can be changed by increasing or decreasing the available supply. (Refer back to exercise...each group needed the same shapes for both pictures, but lower supplies changed their perceptions the second time) Two factors affect supply – rates of production and available resources. (Take input – what diminishing resources can they list that affect the cost of living for Americans? Accept any logical answers such as fresh produce after extreme weather, personal computer advances, etc.) Although in this exercise we were only playing with shapes, you’ve given some good examples of how in the real world supply and demand have enormous impact...Let’s look at a situation where this balance was important. Transition to regular lesson plan.