Demand Lesson Plan for High School

February 13, 2023

An image with a teacher looking at a computer with text that says, "If you're a social studies teacher, chances are you're probably teaching economics. You might be feeling stuck because your students might be checked out already." — If you’re a secondary social studies, you might be wondering how to make teaching about economics engaging! Demand is an economic principle that you can teach in an engaging way!

Teaching high school seniors can be difficult especially during the second semester. If you’re a secondary social studies teacher, chances are that you’re probably teaching economics. You might be feeling stuck because your students might be checked out already. After all, most students already know what their post high school graduation plans are during the second semester so why do they need to pay attention in class anyway? I totally get it and I’ve been there. Fortunately, there is a way to make economics fun and interesting for students. One economic topic that you can teach in an engaging way is demand! Yes, you can teach an engaging demand lesson plan that your students will love! And the great thing is that demand is a core economic principle!

I’ll walk you through one of my interactive demand lesson plans! If you’re interested in purchasing the complete lesson plan, you can click here. This lesson is a good way to introduce students to the concept of demand.

Demand Lesson Plan Hook!

An image of students engaged in a demand lesson plan with text that says, "It is important to engage students from the beginning! Especially seniors with senioritis." — For this demand lesson, it is important to engage students from the very beginning!

It is important to engage students from the beginning! Especially seniors with senioritis. One way to capture students’ attention is through an interesting and relevant warm-up. To begin this demand lesson, I gave students the following warm-up questions:

Why do you think LeBron James makes an average of $37 million a year while teachers (on average), make $47,000 a year?
In 2020, two bottles of purell hand sanitizer sold for $299.00. Why?

These are great questions to ask students because it gets them thinking economics without them even knowing it! Once students have had a chance to write their answers to these questions, give them some time to pair-share with their peers. Pair-sharing is a great way to get students used to speaking in class (which can be scary at times!).

Next, explain to the class that today they will learn about demand. Demand influences the prices of goods and services.

Important Economic Terms!

An image of dictionary with text that says, "important terms that students need to know are demand, quantity demanded, demand schedules, and demand curves." — For this lesson, important economic terms that students nee to know and understand are demand, quantity demanded, demand schedules, and demand curves.

Terms that students will need to understand are demand and quantity demanded. Explain to the class that demand is the various amounts of a product that a person is willing and able to buy at various prices at a given point in time. While quantity demanded is how much of a product a person is willing and able to buy at a certain price.

For this demand lesson, students will also need to know what demand schedules and demand curves are. Explain to students that a demand schedule is a chart that shows the various quantities or amounts demanded of a certain product and various prices.

Explain to students that demand curves are graphs that show the various quantities or amounts demanded of a certain product at various prices.

Demand Lesson Plan in Action!

To get students to see demand in action, students will conduct in class surveys. The purpose of these surveys is for students to discover the demand of concert tickets for the musicians Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and Rick Astely (these are the musicians I chose for my class, feel free to use musicians who fit the needs and preferences of your class!)

I created tally sheets like the one below for each musician. Then I had students go around the room and ask their classmates at which prices they would be willing and able to buy a concert ticket for each of the 4 musicians. Students then placed a tally mark next to each of the prices their classmates would be willing and able to buy a ticket.

I gave students about 15-20 minutes to conduct their surveys. To produce more buy-in I played music by Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and Rick Astley during the surveys.

An image of tally sheet with text that says, "I created tally sheets for each musician." — For their in-class surveys, I created tally sheets for students to use.

Demand Schedules and Demand Curves

After the 15-20 minutes were over, I had students return to their seats so they could turn their surveys (from their tally sheets) int a demand schedule and demand curve. I gave students pre-made demand schedules and demand curves (like the ones below).

Once students completed their demand schedules and demand curves, I had students answer the following questions as their exit slip:

Based on your demand schedules and demand curves

Which musician is in high demand? Explain how you know.
Which musician is in low demand? Explain how you know.
Identify the quantity demanded for concert tickets at $20 for
1. Ariana Grande:
2. Post Malone
3. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
4. Rick Astley

My students enjoyed this demand lesson and it was a great way to get them up and moving in class. My complete demand lesson includes lesson procedures, a student friendly reading that goes over demand, student handouts and graphic organizers. Click here if you want to purchase the complete lesson!