George Mason University

Graduate School of Education

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROGRAM

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Intern: Winter Sutter

Grade Level: 2nd

Title: Producers & Consumers: Virtual Field Trip

Date: Fall 2015

I.

Objectives
Students will know:
o The definition of a consumer.
o The difference between a good and a service.
o The definition of a producer.
o The difference between a producer and a consumer.
o In what ways each individual can be a producer.
o The definition of scarcity.
o What a milk farmer does.
Students will understand:
o How producers and consumers play a key part in our economy.
o How scarcity plays a role in the choices people make as producers and
consumers.
o Why we have to make economic choices.
o That producers and consumers are interdependent.
Students will be able to:
o List resources that different types of farmers might use.
o Explain scarcity and create an example.
o Determine the products that they themselves use and consume.
o Explain the ways in which a milk farmer is a producer and a consumer.

SOL Economics 2.9:

The student will explain that scarcity (limited resources) requires people to make choices
about producing and consuming goods and services.
SOL Geography 2.4:
The student will develop map skills by
a) locating the United States, China, and Egypt on world maps;
SOL Economics 2.7:
The student will describe natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources
(people at work) and capital resources (machines, tools, and buildings).
SOL English 2.13:
The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
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c) Capitalize all proper nouns and the word I.
h) Use correct spelling for commonly used sight words, including compound
words and regular plurals.
j) Use verbs and adjectives correctly in sentences.
SOL English 2.14:
The student will use available technology for reading and writing.
SOL English 2.2:
The student will expand understanding and use of word meanings.
c) Clarify and explain words and ideas orally
e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.
SOL English 2.7:
The student will expand vocabulary when reading.
b) Use knowledge of prefixes and suffixes.
d) Discuss meanings of words and develop vocabulary by listening and reading a
variety of texts.
e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.
SOL Computer Technology K-2.1:
Demonstrate an operational knowledge of various technologies.
A. Use various types of technology devices to perform learning tasks.
a. Use a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, touchpad, and other input
devices to interact with a computer.
b. Use appropriate buttons, gestures, menu choices, and commands to
manipulate the computer when completing learning tasks.
B. Communicate about technology with appropriate terminology.
a. Use basic technology vocabulary as needed.
SOL Fine Arts 2.4:
The student will create works of art inspired by a variety of concepts, themes, and literary
sources.
SOL Fine Arts 2.6:
The student will use foreground and background in works of art.
SOL Science 3.5:
The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and
terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer;
SOL Math 2.19:
The student will analyze data displayed in picture graphs, pictographs, and bar graphs.
II.

Materials for Learning Activities

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Students will need:

o Personal computer or laptop
o Internet. Specifically, access to: http://dairyfarmerproducers.weebly.com/
o Pencil
o Milk Farmer: Producer or Consumer? Worksheet (see Appendix A); 1 each
Teacher will need:
o Pen/pencil
o Paper for observational notes

III.
Procedures for Learning Activities
Time
Steps
2-5 min. Introduction:
1. Gather student attention
Activate prior knowledge:
2. T: Today we are going to continue learning about producers and consumers. Can
anyone tell me what we already know about consumers?
3. Take student answers, being sure to cover that:
a. Consumers buy and use goods and services.
b. We are consumers when we buy toys or buy food we did not make.
4. T: And what do we already know about producers?
5. Take student answers, being sure to cover that:
a. Producers create the products that we use and buy.
b. Producers provide the services that we use and buy.
6. T: Great! Today we are going to see an example of someone and decide whether
we think they are producers or consumers.
30-40
min.

Instructional Strategies:
1. T: Who knows what a milk farmer or a dairy farmer is?
2. Take student answers. Clarify any confusion. Follow-up with a description such as
a milk farmer is someone who gets milk from cows for us to use.
3. Handout Milk Farmer: Producer or Consumer? Worksheet (see Appendix A)
4. T: Lets review the first shaded question together. Do you think a milk farmer is a
producer or a consumer? Think about that for a moment to yourselves. [pause] Now
turn and talk to a neighbor and share your thoughts and hear theirs. [pause] Now on
your worksheet mark what you decided. Do you think the milk farmer is a producer
or a consumer? Check which one.
5. Direct the students to the http://dairyfarmerproducers.weebly.com/ website with
specific directions depending on whether the students have laptops to themselves at
their desks, are sharing laptops, or the class is travelling to the computer lab.
a. If possible, it is best to show the students how to navigate through the pages
and to show them (with the website pulled up) how there is one question on
their worksheet per page on the website. If not possible to show this
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because of resources/location, simply explain it in detail to the students.
6. Allow children to navigate website and work on their worksheets independently.
Provide assistance and clarifications when necessary.
3-5 min.

Summary/Closure:
1. Gather attention. Have children gather in one place with their worksheets and a
pencil if possible.
2. T: Now I want everyone to think of one important thing that they learned about
producers and consumers from this website. Think about it to yourselves. [pause]
Now turn and talk to a partner about the one important thing you learned. [pause]
Can three people share their thoughts?
a. Take 3+ student answers.
3. T: Great. I want everyone to think for a moment about how well you feel that you
understand producers and consumers in the economy. Think about it honestly. On a
scale of 1-3, how well do you understand it if 1 means not confident, 3 is very
confident and 2 is still working on it. I want you to circle the number you chose
at the bottom of the backside of your paper before you hand it into the basket.
4. Have students put their papers in the basket and return to their desks.
Extensions/Connections Describe extensions or connections to other lessons.
Students may pick or be assigned another job and brainstorm the ways in which
they are producers and the ways in which they are consumers.
Students will see other examples of producers and consumers if they attend the
field trip that is the fourth lesson of this unit.

IV.

Assessment
Students will be informally assessed on whole-class discussions and partner
discussions. Their participation will be used in conjunction with other assessments to
determine whether topics need to be re-addressed, re-taught, or practiced.
Students will be formally assessed on their Milk Farmer: Producer or Consumer?
worksheet. Their work will be used to determine whether the teacher needs to readdress the concept with the whole class, a few individual students, or not at all.
Students will self-assess their knowledge of the content at the end of this unit. This
self-assessment will be used to determine who needs additional assistance and
practice.
This was created to be the third lesson in a five part unit on consumers and producers.
At the beginning of the unit, students will be informally and formatively assessed
with a pre-test. At the end of the unit, students will be formally assessed with a
summative test.

V.

Differentiation
ESOL students will be able to work with a partner with whom they communicate well
with in order to better understand the vocabulary and descriptions of the people.
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VI.

Depending on the students needs, teacher may also create a vocabulary book
for the unit that includes key words such as consumer, producer, good, and service
along with their native-language translations and a picture.
All IEP and 504 accommodations and supports will be provided.
Gardners multiple intelligences addressed:
1 Linguistic: through paper/pencil answers
2 Visual-spatial: by seeing real pictures and maps
3 Intrapersonal: through independent work and individual time for thinking and
connecting to self
4 Interpersonal: through class and partner discussions

Technology Integration
The Smart Board can be utilized to display the webpage and provide an example of
what the children are supposed to do before they begin their independent work in
order to make the instructions more clear.
Students will be using laptops or computers either independently or with pairs
(depending on classroom resources) in order to independently investigate the website
on producers and consumers.

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Graduate School of Education
Appendix A

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ______________

Milk Farmer: Producer or

Consumer?

Before you read:

Do you think a milk farmer is a producer or a consumer? Producer
Consumer
Life on the Farm: Draw or explain one thing you learned about milk farmers.

Resources: What resources do you think a corn farmer might use?

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
What if: Explain or illustrate an example of scarcity:

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Graduate School of Education

Producing: What milk products do you use?

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Consumers: What kind of things do you consume?
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
The End:
Do you think a milk farmer is a producer or a consumer? Producer
Consumer
Why? _____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

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Graduate School of Education

How confident are you about producers, consumers, and scarcity? Circle One.

Not confident

Working on it

Very confident