Economics Unit



Starting in October we (as a team) will be working on the 8th grade Viking Vendors unit. This is a protect that will get grades in all classes and will be worked on intermittently until Christmas break in December. Students will have chosen their own group of 4 students to work with. They will be creating a product to sell to other students for "fake" money. They will even complete some product research prior to "production" to be sure they are making a product that would appeal to the other 8th grade consumers. However there will be some expense to each student because they need to by supplies to make these products. This is not meant to be expensive nor should it be, so please don't let your children tell you otherwise. Each group member is responsible for the production and cost of 15 items, although we hope they work together to make them. Remember, students will be "buying" other products with their fake money (which is an average of their 4 core classes grades at midquarter) so they will come home with a lot of other items that they purchased.

We will be working on consumer reports and doing some online comparison shopping. We will have people with interesting careers come in to talk to students about their job, and the path they took to get there. If you have a job that you think would appeal to 8th graders please feel free to contact me.

Overall we want the kids to understand that there is an importance to being an educated consumer. We also want them to get a glimpse at how a business operates and that being an business owner takes planning and that they need to know what the public wants and needs so that they can be successful.

Again, this is not meant to be a major cost, so if there are financial questions or issues, please contact one of us.

Thank you for your support. Kids come back years later and tell us how much they enjoyed this unit, we hope your child will have the same experience!