② Deep · Connect & organize

Phase 2 — Connect & organize

Now students take the facts from Phase 1 and relate them: sorting needs from wants, seeing why scarcity forces a choice, and learning how money and leaders work in a town. Deep learning is where knowledge becomes usable — the bridge to the problem.

🎯 By the end of Phase 2 students can sort needs from wants, explain scarcity and why it forces a choice, show how supply and demand change a price, and state a claim with a reason — the exact moves the problem will demand.

Concept mapping · d 0.64§113.14(c)(6)(B), (c)(14)(D)

1 · Needs vs. wants & scarcity — a concept map

Build a class concept map with "Our town's choices" in the center. On one side, cluster needs; on the other, wants. Then draw the scarcity ring: when there is not enough money, land, or time, the town must choose — it cannot have everything.

Needs (must have)	Wants (nice to have)	Because of scarcity…
safety (fire, police)	a splash pad	one empty lot can hold only one thing
a way to learn	a fancy fountain	the town has a limited budget
clean water	a bigger parking lot	the town must weigh which need matters most

Talk move: point to any two items and say the cause-and-effect sentence aloud — "Because there is only one lot, the town must choose ______ instead of ______." This rehearses §113.14(c)(14)(D).

📚 Sources: Scarcity, explained ↗ · CFPB · Money As You Grow (needs vs. wants) ↗

Direct instruction · d 0.56§113.14(c)(6)(A,C), (c)(5)(A,B)

2 · Supply & demand — the town market

Use a simple story: at the town market, one baker sells fresh bread. Work through what happens to the price when supply and demand change:

What happens	Supply / demand	Price goes…
Only 5 loaves left, everyone wants bread	low supply, high demand	up ⬆️
50 loaves, few shoppers today	high supply, low demand	down ⬇️

Then name the money words: the baker's cost (flour, oven), the price shoppers pay, and the profit left over (price − cost). Make a tiny budget for the baker to show earning, spending, and saving.

📚 Sources: Ben's Guide · Supply & demand ↗ · EconEdLink · Free economics lessons ↗ · MyMoney.gov · Budget & saving basics ↗

Argumentation · d 0.86§113.14(c)(7)(A,C), (c)(9)(A), (c)(15)

3 · Who decides? Local government + a first claim

Learn who runs a town: a mayor or town leaders, a city council that votes on rules and the budget, and workers who provide services (fire, parks, roads). Then practice the reasoning the problem needs with a short, structured claim.

Warm-up claim: "Our town should ______ because ______." Fill in the blanks about a small town choice (like adding a crosswalk or a new bench). Give one reason.

Sentence stems (ELPS support): "Our town should ______." · "My reason is ______." · "This helps because ______." · "Someone might disagree and say ______, but ______."

Note: keep this a practice claim about a small choice. The big empty-lot decision belongs in Phase 3, where students hold stakeholder roles.

📚 Sources: Ben's Guide · State & local government ↗ · iCivics · Counties Work ↗ · Ben's Guide · Citizenship ↗

✅ Deep check before the problem: can students sort a need from a want, explain why scarcity forces a choice, tell what makes a price go up or down, and state a claim with one reason? Those abilities are exactly what Phase 3 will ask them to transfer.

‹ Phase 1 — Surface Phase 3 — Transfer ›

Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.14; effect sizes from Visible Learning MetaX.