Teaching Economics with PlayDough

Teaching economic concepts to third and fourth graders is quite difficult.  However, we have had fun working on the basic concepts of economics in my class by playing a game called Snakes and Donuts. In order to play, you need:  playdough - the more colors of playdough you can use, the better the game goes, unshaprened pencils or markers and a timer.  Students play one minute rounds.  During each round, students will use the playdough to create snakes – which must be as long as the unsharpened pencil or markers, and donuts – which is a complete snake wrapped around to make a circle. Students play many rounds, with the rules changing each round.  In this game, they play with the concepts of natural resources, trade, value and supply and demand.  Stop by my blog, Raki’s Rad Resources, to download a free sheet with directions and ideas and explanations for different types of rounds.