Plotting Potential Production: Hands on with PPC

For production activity – 10 pieces of paper,  5 markers,  1 pair of scissors PER GROUP

For graphing – yarn and dot markers for each student

Plotting Potential Production Slides

PPC String Graph Student Handout

Production Possibilities Worksheet Answers

Production Possibilities Workssheet

Example of Graph with Yarn and Chips

PPC Scenarios from the PPT slides with answers

1. Slides 2 – 4 introduce the lesson. Place students in groups of 3 – 5.  Give each group 10 pieces of paper, 5 markers, and 1 pair of scissors.  Groups will have 10 minutes to make as many bookmarks and posters as they can with the available resources.  They need to make a combination of both products. And they must be decorated in some way – not just words on the page. (Product criteria: posters = a full 8 ½ x 11 page; bookmarks = 5 per 8 ½ x 11 sheet.) After the 10 minutes are up, groups will share the number of products they made (teacher can record group responses on the board for later referral)  Groups will explain their choices as to resources allocation.

Here are some suggestions for poster/bookmark sayings:
“Opportunity Cost: Skipping Netflix to Study Economics”
“Talk to the Invisible Hand”
“Scarcity: the Reason There’s No Pizza Left”
“Money Talks. Mine Mostly Says Goodbye”
“Make Good Choices: Consider the Costs and Benefits”

2. Debrief questions: Why did you choose to make bookmarks/posters/combinations? Did you use all of your available resources? If yes, is one group’s production more efficient than another? If no, why did you not use all available resources?

3. Have each group graph the different production possibilities on a PPC graph with one axis labeled bookmarks and the other axis labeled posters. Have them brainstorm how many posters they would make if they were just making posters, and how many bookmarks they would make if they were just making bookmarks.  Graph the three points (only posters, posters and bookmarks, only bookmarks) and draw the curve that connects the three points.  If a group used all of their resources, their production will be recorded as a dot on the PPC curve.

Teacher note:  If they have 10 pieces of paper,  the max they would make are 10 Posters and 0 Bookmarks,  40 Bookmarks and 0 Posters, and the third number is their actual production.   So their graph should be labeled to 40 on bookmark axis and 10 on poster axis.

4.  Ask students (slide 4):

• What would happen if your group was given more resources – more markers, more paper, more workers?   (You would increase production at all points) What would happen to your productivity?  What would that look like on your graph?  What would happen to the curve?
• What would happen if one of your group members couldn’t work?  (Production would decrease at all points). What would happen to your productivity?  What would that look like on your graph?  What would happen to the curve?

1. Hand out the PPC graph with yarn and dot markers.  We have dot markers that are red on one side and yellow on the other side.  The red side marks where the economy begins and the yellow side signifies where the economy ended.  The yarn indicates where the new PPC curve is. (If the teacher doesn’t have two sided dot markers, two different colored sheets of paper can be cut into circles and used instead).
2. Explain the purpose of a Production Possibilities Curve. Slides 5 – 8
3. Do the 1st scenario together as a class.  Slide 9 – 10 First read the scenario to the students and give them time to solve it.  Check it as a class by drawing the correct graph on the board. 
4. After ensuring the students understand what to do, read the other scenarios one by one to the class.  Check the students answers upon completion of each scenario and correct any misunderstanding.   Answers are in the slide notes.  Slides 11-16 

Hand out the production possibilities worksheet.  Students complete this worksheet individually for a grade.

Play 2 lies and a truth. After reading the scenario, the students determine which statement is the truth and explain why.  Slides 16-19.   If you are short on time, skip this activity and go right to slide 20 for debriefing.   If skipped, this would make a great bell ringer for the next class period.