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	Monopoly Summary/Suggested Uses In this session, high school students experience first hand the benefits and difficulties of working with an uncontrolled monopoly. Use this exercise to introduce units on anti-trust legislation, international economics, or related historical events. Plan on 50 minutes. Objectives Participation in this exercise will enable students to: Define and apply the term monopoly Identify and practice negotiation techniques Explore the difference between currency-based and barter economies Materials Enlargements of two picture cards on overhead transparencies (without answers) One set of TANGOES * for each group of three students in the class Envelopes for holding each team’s TANGOES * pieces Several sets of play money - large bills are best Directions Prior to class, separate all parallelogram TANGOES Ò pieces and place in one envelope. Mix the other pieces randomly then place any combination of 6 in each remaining envelope. Divide students into triads. If possible, space groups around the room. Explain that teams 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. Distribute envelopes with pieces. 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 challenging? (Accept any logical answers) 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) At what point did the parallelograms become valuable to you? (Was there a difference between the parallelogram team’s behavior and that of other teams? If so, how would you describe the difference?) Collect the pieces, reshuffle and divide them randomly, keeping all parallelograms in one envelope. Put varying numbers of pieces in the other envelopes. Issue each team a random amount of play money. One team should have significantly less money and one team should have significantly more money than the other teams. Give each team a new envelope with pieces. Put a new picture on overhead and allow 15 minutes. Call time, check each team’s progress and share the solution. ASK How did you approach this round differently from the last one? (Probe for changes in group strategies or techniques...) How did having money instead of a barter economy affect your team’s behavior?(Did negotiations become more intense? Did the value of the last piece or two increase suddenly?) Did the difference in number of pieces or money affect your group’s behavior? In what way? Why? (Relate to current or historical events they have studied) EXAMPLE? Debrief and Transition This exercise expands what we know about supply and demand. (Review those definitions) It also illustrates the concept of monopoly. A monopoly is when one group controls a service or supply of a commodity. In fact, the word monopoly is derived from Greek words meaning "one seller." Which group here had the monopoly? (The parallelogram group) As we saw, the resource controlled by the monopoly was valuable because without it no one could complete their picture. Having such an essential resource made this group fairly powerful. Having no restrictions on what they could charge for their parallelograms made them even more powerful. What if the monopoly had been circles instead of parallelograms? (Since circles would not help complete the picture they would not be valued, meaning no power to the monopoly.) What if the parallelogram monopoly wanted all your other pieces in exchange for one parallelogram – would any group here have been willing to do that? (Take input - point out that even without regulation, monopolies can only charge what people are willing to pay, but that they will naturally want to maintain the highest possible profit line) The power of monopolizing a necessary resource has influenced history many times. What examples of monopolies in recent history can you think of? (Examples: the telephone and electric companies. Take input – accept any reasonable answer. Check for understanding of the definition.) Use their examples to transition to regular lesson plan.