Market teaches students about supply, demand


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COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) — The busiest time at the Columbus Farmers Market is just after 9?a.m., and the main demographic is women age 19 to 50.

At least that is what students at Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln Campus found after spending a morning there on Sept. 13.

Third- and fourth-graders at the school have been learning about their community, business and economics in an authentic manner.

They invited Teresa Fischer, manager of the farmers market, to talk about the history of the Columbus markets and the impact they have on the local economy. Then they got to work making several crafts — including birdhouses, wind chimes, candles and friendship bracelets — and learning about supply and demand.

Third-grader Owen Schlaudroff said he and his classmates went around the school and asked: "What would you pay for this item?"

He told The Republic (http://bit.ly/1plTs9c ) they learned that if they set the price too high, no one will want to buy the item and they will not make any money. But they also learned that if they set the price too low, they will not make a profit.

"It's good to make things for people; and if we make things for the right price, then we can get more money for field trips," he said.

The prices they settled on — a finger puppet cost 25 cents, for example, and a dog chew toy was $6 — seemed to be the sweet spot.

And they learned that shoppers are attracted to special deals — like a free bag of bird seed with a birdhouse purchase.

The students raised more than $500 for future field trips, which are to be determined.

But they earned more than just money through the project. They got an authentic experience in economics.

While the third-graders made the sales and counted money, the fourth-graders were in charge of tracking data.

They kept track of customers with tally marks. They noted what time sales were made and wrote down the age and sex of the buyer.

Fourth-grader Grace Bronkella said the activity helped her learn about charts and graphs.

"Graphing is harder in our classroom than it is in real life," she said. "And I liked to make the stuff to sell."

___

Information from: The Republic, http://www.therepublic.com/

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by The Republic.

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