ECONOVILLE

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Glossary | Teacher Info

WebQuest Links:  Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Welcome to the exciting world of Econoville! I am your guide, Mighty Money Man, but you can call me Money for short.  I will lead you through Econoville. While you are in Econoville you will wander through wants and needs, grapple with goods and services, concentrate on consumers and producers, and recognize resources.  What might you ask are all of these interesting things? Well, follow me on this exciting journey through Econoville, and you will become an economics expert!

You will learn about economics by visiting the places in Econoville.  Your final mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become the Vice-President of Production in the land of Econoville.  In order to receive this promotion, your group will be responsible for creating a good or service.  You will be given a list of available materials, and several options for presenting your final product.  Your final presentation can be a power point slide show, a poster created on poster board, and a finished product using the materials found in your box.  If you are successful, your group will be promoted to the Vice-Presidency and receive a prestigious award!  If you are ready to go, click on the cash!

Yippee!  You have just arrived at the Mall of Econoville.  At this mall you can find anything your heart desires.  Before you go in, you need to understand Wants and Needs. Needs are things people must have in order to live.  For example,  food and water are things I need to survive. Wants are things people would like to have.  For example; I wish I had a swimming pool in my backyard or I would like a Nintendo Wii.  You should also understand the concept of opportunity costs.  An opportunity cost is the thing you give up when you choose something else.  For example, if you like chocolate and strawberry ice cream and you choose to get a strawberry ice cream cone, chocolate is your opportunity cost.  When you choose between more than 2 things, your second best choice would be your opportunity cost.
 
 

 Howdy Partner!  I'm happy to say you've arrived at the Goods and Services Corral.  Before you leave the corral, you need to know the following.  A Good is something people want that you can hold or touch.  Some examples are an apple, a rug, or a hairbrush.  A Service is something people do for other people.  Some examples are a barber cuts hair, teacher educates students, or police officer protects people.

• Brainstorm all the services that fifth graders can actually perform (example: weed pulling, washing dishes, feeding the dog).
• From this list, choose a  service that you would like to perform.
• Now, using the Goods and Services Worksheet, list all the goods that you need in order to complete that job successfully.                                                              

Time to fill in my Goods and Services worksheet!

    Welcome to the Rockin' Resources Restaurant.  I sure hope you are hungry!  Today you will be visiting The Rockfish Seafood Grill Restaurant to check out some of their mouthwatering meals.  Before you go, there are three things you should understand.  They are human resources, capital resources and natural resources.
   Human Resources are the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce a good or service.  Some examples are: actors, students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, or tollbooth attendant.
   Natural Resources are gifts from nature.   Examples are: land, timber (trees), minerals, light from the sun, water, or eggs from a chicken.  IF SOMETHING IS MADE WITH THE HELP OF A MACHINE, IT IS NOT A NATURAL RESOURCE.
   Capital Resources or Capital Equipment, are the goods such as the buildings, equipment, machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured and constructed things used over and over again in the production of goods and services.  Examples are: trucks, factory, machinery, or forklift.
 

I'm glad you chose to get some help before going any further.  Here's what we're going to do.  Let's pretend that your class is going to take a field trip to a local restaurant like McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's.  When we get to the restaurant, we are going to observe what goes on behind the counter and see how the hamburgers are made and the resources that were used. Here is what we would learn...

Human Resources are the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce a good or service.  Examples of human resources used in a restaurant include: chef, measurers, pourers, stirrers, mixers, turners, servers, and cleaners.
Natural Resources are gifts from nature. Examples of natural resources used by a restaurant chef  include: eggs, milk,
Capital Resources or Capital equipment, are the goods such as the buildings, equipment, machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured and constructed things used over and over again in the production of goods and services.  Examples of capital resources used by a restaurant chef include: spoons, measuring spoons, measuring cups, oven, and cookie trays.

I'm ready!  Let's go to the Rockin' Resources Worksheet

    You will learn about economics by visiting the places in Econ-o-mania.  Your final mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become the Vice-President of Production in the land of Econoville.  In order to receive this promotion, your group will be responsible for creating a good or service.  You will be given a list of available materials, and several options for presenting your final product.  Your final presentation can be a power point slide show or a poster created on poster board telling us about a finished product using the materials found in your box.  If you are successful, your group will be promoted to the Vice-Presidency and receive a prestigious award!

1. Open up the box of materials to see what goodies you and your team have to work with.
 

2. Brainstorm a list of possible goods or services that you could create using some or all of the materials.  Be as creative as you can.
3. Choose your final product from your brainstorm list.
4. Decide whether your product is a good or service.
5. Identify if your product is a consumer want or need.
6. Give your product a creative name.
7. List the steps you would need to use in order to create your product.
8. Identify your resources as human, natural, or capital.  You should have at least one of each type of resource.  (Remember to trace some materials back to their original natural resources.  For example, rice is the natural resource used to make Rice Krispies.)
9. Give your product a price.
10.   Decide as a group how you are going to present your product to the President of Econoville.  Are you going to create a poster on poster board, or create a slide show using power point.
11. Create your final presentation.  Be sure you include all of the information in steps 4 - 10 above

Print a copy of these directions

When you have finished your final challenge, go to the conclusion.

Evaluation
The Final Challenge Scoring Tool

Delete and type here.

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Name:  ______________________________  Date:  _________________________

    Congratulations!!!!  You are now the new Vice-President of Econ-o-mania.  Please print your certificate for successfully completing this webquest.  We hope you enjoyed your journey through the land of Econ-o-mania.

More Economic Terms
 

Capital Resources:  are the goods such as the building, equipment, machinery, ports, roads, dams, and other manufactured and constructed things used over and over again in the production of goods and services.  Examples are: trucks, factory, machinery, or forklift.
Examples of capital resources used to make cookies would be:  spoons, measuring spoons, measuring cups, oven , spoons, cookie trays.

Consumer:  person who uses goods and services

Consumption:  when we decide what goods and services we will use to satisfy our wants

Goods:  things that you want or need that you can touch

Human Resources:  are the people who use their health, strength, education, and skills to produce a good or service.  Some examples are: actors, students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, or tollbooth attendant.
Examples of human resources for a cookie maker include:  measurers, pourers, stirrers, mixers, turners, servers, and cleaners

Interdependence:  People depend on each other.  Our well-being is partly dependent on the behavior of others.  We specialize to increase our well-being.

Natural Resources:  gifts from nature.   Examples are:  land, timber (trees), minerals, light from the sun, water, or eggs from a chicken.  IF SOMETHING IS MADE WITH THE HELP OF A MACHINE, IT IS NOT A NATURAL RESOURCE.
 Examples of natural resources used by a cookie maker include: eggs and milk

Opportunity Cost:  The next best thing you give up to get something.  What you give up when you choose one thing over another.

Producer:  someone who makes a good or provides a service

Production:  Putting resources together to make goods or provide services

Scarcity:  Scarcity occurs when people, as individuals and in families, schools, and communities, cannot have everything they want.  Scarcity requires choice.

Service Workers:  people who do something for you that you want of need

Specialize:  people who complete one part of the production process