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Third Grade
Civics/Government: Rights

Teacher name: Kristen Drabek
Level of Certification: Early Childhood/Elementary Education
Grade Level and topic of previous lesson: (listed above in boxes)

Lesson Title: Incentives in our community
Grade Level: 6
th

Subject: Economics

Standard: 6-EI.1.1- Explain how incentives vary in different economic systems. (with a focus on
the economic system in our community)
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to identify positive and negative economic incentives in their
community.
Students will be able to determine the purpose for these incentives.
Students will be able to determine who offers incentives.
Students will be able to create a new economic incentive that will help their community,
explain what it is, and discuss whether they think the incentive will influence peoples
behavior.

Prior Knowledge Needed:
In 5
th
grade, 5-U3.2.1- Students described the advantages and disadvantages of each side
during the American Revolution with respect to military leadership, geography, types of
resources, and incentive.
In the previous lesson, students learned that economic incentives are offered to influence
our behavior. They learned goods and services in the previous chapter, but learned that
incentives can involve them.
Introduced was that positive economic incentives reward people financially for making
certain choices and behaving a certain way. Also introduced, were that negative economic
incentives punish people financially for making certain choices and behaving in a certain
way. Now they will apply the terms they have learned to identify economic incentives in our
community whether they are positive or negative.

Materials/Resources:
Post It Notes
Bags of Cracker Jack
Student Journals
Worksheet
Computer/Printer

Time Needed: 3 days, 45 minutes each

Anticipatory Set: Give each student a little bag of Cracker Jacks. Before they open the bag, ask:
When you look at this bag, what do you notice?
Is there anything that encourages you to open the bag? If
so, what is it?
Is there some type of reward for opening the bag? If so,
what is it?
Is the reward good or bad? Explain.
Head into the lesson sequence for day one.


Lesson Sequence:
Day One: What are economic incentives? (A little review)
o Economic incentives are offered to encourage people to make certain choices or
behave in a certain way. They usually involve money, but they can also involve
goods and services.
o Positive economic incentives leave you better off if you do what was asked of you.
These incentives benefit you in some way. They reward you with money or some
sort of financial gain such as a better price, a free item, or an upgraded item.
Coupons, sales, freebies, discounts, and rewards can be positive economic
incentives. They are called positive because they are associated with things many
people would like to get.
o Negative incentives leave you worse off financially by making you pay money.
These incentives cost you money. Fines, fees, and tickets can be negative economic
incentives. They are called negative because they are things you do not want to get.
o Economic incentives use money to: encourage you, persuade you, convince you,
bribe you, punish you, reward you, penalize you, and influence you. You will only
get the economic incentive if you make the required choice or behave in the way that
you are asked. You might be influenced by the incentive, but you still must make a
choice.
o Activity: Create a T-chart with positive incentives on the top of one side and
negative incentives on the top of the other side on the board. Hand out two post it
notes to each student. Ask them to hypothesize and formulate a positive incentive
and a negative incentive. A positive on one, and a negative on the other. One by one,
each student will share what they have written, and give evidence to why what they
have written is a positive incentive or a negative incentive. As a class, we will
critique what everyone has come up with and place the post it notes where they
belong on the T-chart.
Day Two: Who offers economic incentives and why?
o Businesses often use economic incentives to encourage people to come and do
business with them. Offering incentives is one way to get customers to choose to
come and spend money at a business.
Restaurants use coupons, buy-one, get-one deals, Kids Eat Free Night, and
other incentives to encourage people to choose their restaurant.
Stores offer coupons, sales, discounts, buy-one, get-one free and other
incentives to get customers to choose their store.
Airlines give frequent flier miles as incentives for people to choose to fly
with them.
o Government agencies also use economic incentives, but they usually do it to
encourage certain behaviors in people. Offering incentives is one way the
government tries to get people to behave responsibly.
Public libraries use library fines to discourage people from keeping the books
too long. Fines encourage people to choose to turn books in on time.
Park rangers and park police officers use littering fines as a way to keep
people from littering. Fines help people choose not to litter, and this keeps
the parks clean.
Police officers use speeding tickets as incentives to keep people safe.
Speeding tickets discourage people from choosing to speed and encourage
them to drive safely. Parking tickets help keep parking spaces open for
handicapped and fire hydrants clear of unwanted cars. Parking tickets
encourage people to choose only legal parking spaces.
Police officers give out tickets if babies are not riding in car seats or if people
are not wearing their seatbelts. These negative incentives discourage people
from choosing unsafe behaviors.
o Activity: In your journals, identify a situation when you might have been faced with
a negative incentive, and compare it to a situation when you received a positive
incentive. State who provided the incentive and why. Provide evidence to why it was
a negative incentive or positive incentive. Lastly, summarize how you felt after
receiving each, and explain to me what each incentive encouraged you to do after
you received it.
Day Three: Lets see what you have learned!
o Can you figure out who might be offering the incentive and tell why?
Economic Incentives Worksheet: Work in groups, split them up depending
on how many students in the class. (Worksheet attached)
Let each group present their findings and turn the worksheet into me.
Critique, challenge, be the devils advocate, and ask HOT questions
throughout all three days of lecture and activities to keep the students
engaged and on task. It is a great way to check for understanding.
Independent Practice Homework:
o Brainstorm! Create an incentive that would help your community. Think of a
behavior that you want to encourage. Create a positive incentive to encourage the
behavior or a negative incentive to discourage the behavior.



Higher Order Thinking:
1. Why do people use incentives?
2. What is the difference between a positive incentive and a negative incentive?
3. Do all incentives work? Why?
4. Who offers economic incentives? Why?
5. Does everyone think and react in the same way about an incentive? Why? Why not?
6. Do you think economic incentives work better than non-economic ones? Why? Why not?
7. Can you figure out who might be offering the incentive and tell why?

Assessment of Objectives:
o Day One Activity (explained above)
o This assessment is more informal because I will be observing what they are
writing on their post it notes, hearing them explain to me how they got their
answer, and me giving them feedback. This will assess the objective of students
being able to identify the difference between positive and negative incentives.
o Day Two Activity (explained above)
o This is more of a formal assessment because I will be reading individual
journals, each and every word. This will assess the objectives of students
being able to identify who offered the incentive and what their purpose
was for giving the incentive.
o Day Three Activity (worksheet attached)
o This assessment is both informal and formal. After all the groups are
finished, we will compare answers out loud. I will be critiquing and
giving feedback to their answers. It can also be a formal assessment if I
were to have them fill out these worksheets and turn them in to me as a
group or individually. This will assess the first three objectives all in one.
o Independent Practice Homework: (explained above)
o This will explain the last objective when the student will be able to create
a new economic incentive that will help their community, explain what it
is, and discuss whether they think the incentive will influence peoples
behavior.
Rubric: