During the last six weeks the first grade students at Council Traditional IB World School have been working on one of their six IB units of inquiry.  They have been learning that communities have a responsibility to provide goods and services connected to supply and demand.  The students have learned about scarcity and supply and demand.  They have explored how these things effect the price of items for example Zhu zhu pets.  They have learned about stores that provide goods and ones that provide services. 

Each of the 6 first grade classes held a town market in which the students came up with 8 or 9 stores including such things as a pet store which sold stuffed animals and pet supplies, a hot dog stand, a movie theater complete with popcorn, and drinks, book stores that sold used books donated by the students, and a jewerly store that sold necklaces and bracelets.  After the students decided the stores their market would have they came up with a list of merchandise their stores could sell using play money.  For example the students strung beads to make necklaces for the jewerly store,  made homemade playdough to sell at the toy store, donated old stuff animals and books for the pet store and book story. 

Next the students worked in factories and got paid "Council Cash" to produce the items needed.  While working in the different factories the students learned about mass production verses assembly lines as well as the factors of production such as capital, natural, and human resources.  Next students applied and were interviewed for jobs at the different stores.  Each store hired 2 employees to stock and work their store the day of the market. 

Students made signs and wrote commericials to advertise their store.  Each student was given an opportunity to work in the market and to be a consumer and shop at the market making good choices about their wants and needs.  After working in the stores the students calcuated the amount  their store took in and then subtracted the overhead for merchandise, advertising, and payroll to figure the stores profit.