Teacher Trekker

The beginning of February marks the transition between the fall and spring semesters. For senior social studies classes throughout New York City that means an end to the U.S. government course and the beginning of a semester of economics. For the past few years I have started the economics course with a group role-playing project. Originally, I assigned my students the “Marooned on an Abandoned Island” scenario where they were expected to combine a limited amount of resources to survive until an eventual rescue. Students often did research about survival methods by watching episodes of Survivor or the film Castaway. My classes always enjoyed this project, but I was looking for ways to build on the assignment.

I knew I could expand on this project for conceptual learning and creativity by combing more current themes from the news and pop culture. Movie screens and television sets around the planet were rich with stories about zombies, worldwide plagues and other apocalyptic scenarios. Building off this trend, I decided to rework my island survival project into an urban survival assignment. There is a much more direct correlation for my students and the broadcast media to which they are exposed. The result is my own Walking Dead meets Escape from New York survival strategy project called “Apoconomics: The Economics of Survival Project”.

Learning Objectives

During the first week of the economics course, it is necessary to introduce a number of basic, but extremely important economic concepts to serve as a foundation for the remainder of the semester. Specific attention will be paid to scarcity and the three types of resources (natural, labor, capital) with limited attention to the differences between wants and needs. I would recommend that teachers introduce these ideas using their preexisting lessons/units and use the project as a concluding or supplemental assessment.

By the completion of the project students will be able to:

• define and give examples of scarcity
• define and give examples of natural, labor and capital resources
• define and give examples of wants versus needs
• identify what resources are at their disposal in the context of the role-play scenario
• identify what resources they need to obtain in order to survive the role-play scenario
• examine current events connected to scarcity, and, where possible, apply these lessons when formulating their survival plan
• create a survival plan that demonstrates how to combine limited resources in the most efficient way possible that facilitates the group’s survival
• design a Power Point presentation that explains their survival plan & story to the class
  share their survival plan & story to the class through an oral presentation

In summation, the purpose of this project is to allow for students to demonstrate an understanding of the above mentioned concepts by working through a role-playing scenario that requires them to determine how to best combine their limited resources in order to survive an apocalyptic or cataclysmic event.

Organizing the Groups & Determining Their Unique Scenario/Problem

How groups are arranged is at the discretion of the teacher. Whether they are predetermined by the teacher or chosen by the students, there is no need to alter anything. Groups should include 3 – 4 students. I would sooner create a group of 3 and a pair of 2 before allowing a group of 5. Once the groups are finalized and the students are sitting together, it is necessary to determine their unique apocalypse scenario and secondary problem.

To do this I bring in two 6 sided dice. One representative from each group will roll the pair of dice two times. The first roll will determine their Apocalypse Scenario. The second roll will determine the specific secondary problem they face, aka their “monkey wrench”. The students enjoy this phase of the process. Keep in mind the teacher can complete this step prior to introducing the project, but I enjoy having my students be part of the process. They are very animated and excited during this portion of the class. Sometimes they get jealous of other groups, and in other instances they joke that they’re grateful they don’t have to deal with a particular apocalypse scenario and/or secondary problem.

Below are the lists that will determine the group’s unique scenario & problem. Keep in mind there is no # 1 because the lowest you can roll is a 2. You can also edit/expand/reduce the lists however you want.

Apocalypse Scenario

1. N/A
2. Massive Earthquakes
3. Extreme Flooding
4. Extreme Winter Blizzard
5. Extreme Summer Heat Wave
6. Massive Fires
7. Tunnels & Bridges Destroyed
8. Attacked in Gang Territory
9. Terrorist Takeover
10. Alien Invasion
11. Worldwide Plague
12. Zombies

Secondary Problem

1. N/A
2. All water is missing from the Safe House
3. All food is missing from the Safe House
4. All of your water is stolen on Day 7/Week 3
5. All your food is stolen on Day 7/Week 3
6. Can’t find drinking/bottled water & beverages
7. Can’t find pre-packaged food
8. Missing Supplies – Someone in the group is stealing
9. Pregnant girl gives birth Day 7/Week 3
10. Police Officer is killed on Day 7/Week 3
11. Fireman gets mysterious illness on Day 7/Week 3
12. Dentist is taken hostage on Day 7/Week 3

Recommended Pacing Guide

Depending on your classroom objectives and timing, you may choose to introduce this project to your students prior to or after the completion of classroom lessons about scarcity and resources. These are questions that teachers need to consider when planning this unit. Personally, I spend a day introducing the project to my classes before teaching any lessons. Here is the pacing guide that I follow:

Week 1 – Introduction & Essential Concepts
Monday – Introduce the project & assign groups.
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday – General lessons about scarcity and resources.
Friday – Brainstorming – Students meet with their groups and begin to apply the concepts to their project. They have the full period to begin organizing their resource lists, to determine what resources they need & where to obtain them, to create a map with their route & key locations, such as temporary safe houses & places they could scavenge for additional resources, as well as to create their background story.

Week 2 – Secondary Concepts & Connections to Current Events
Monday through Thursday – Teacher will continue economic course & move on with their curriculum. It is during this time I introduce lessons about wants & needs, as well as relevant current events about the themes we study. Students are expected to work with their groups on their own time.
Friday – Students meet with their groups to begin finalizing their projects. If necessary students will need to meet over the course of the weekend to complete their work.

Week 3 – Presentations & Assessments
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday – Group Presentations (3-4 groups per day)
Thursday – Full Class Discussion & Review of all Concepts & Projects
Friday – Final Assessment – Quiz or Exam (Teacher’s Discretion)

At the end of presentation week, each class will anonymously vote the group that they feel presented the most realistic survival plan. That group will receive a +5 points bonus for designing the class’s best executed plan.

Brainstorming & Researching Suggestions

This project requires a great deal of problem solving skills and creativity. There is much more to it than just making connections about scarcity and resources. It will also require students to do a good deal of research specifically about survival skills. One of the best sources to use is mass media. A simple internet search will lead them to many websites and online magazines that will assist them. YouTube has countless videos about survival skills. There are also many television shows and movies that directly and indirectly show the skills and resources that are necessary in such a crisis. Many of them can be found on YouTube and even more with a Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu account. This research will inform students what resources they will need to obtain in order to demonstrate a particular survival skill. The student generated list has grown over the years and is too large to post. Download the file below for the complete list:

Apoconomics – TV & Film Resource Guide – Mac Pages Version

Apoconomics – TV & Film Resource Guide – Microsoft Word Version

The Project Assignment

Students will be expected to complete a three part project. The first component is the written portion of the assignment and requires students to complete a series of 10 questions that asks them to identify their existing resources & what resources they will need to acquire, how they will combine their resources and explain their overall survival plan. The second component is the visual portion of the assignment and requires students to complete a Power Point presentation with a map. The third component is the oral portion of the assignment. Students will be expected to present their visual portion of the project in combination with their oral presentation. Groups will present their survival plan to their classmates who will be expected to take notes about how each group attempted to solve the problems associated with their unique scenario/problem.

Downloadable “Apoconomics: The Economics of Survival Project” Files

Feel free to download the “Apoconomics: The Economics of Survival Project” if you would like to try this assignment with your students. Modifications may be necessary based on grade and skill level.

Economics – Project – Apoconomics – The Economics of Survival – Mac Pages Version

Economics – Project – Apoconomics – The Economics of Survival – Microsoft Word Version

Conclusions

If you are interested in taking a creative approach to teaching about scarcity and resources then please consider using my “Apoconomics: The Economics of Survival Project”. It is not only one of my favorites, but my students always enjoy themselves immensely while demonstrating their understanding of the subject matter. I have invited administrators to join my class during presentation week, and they are always impressed. The students, who are by and large “city kids,” even learn about a variety of survival skills that are completely foreign to them. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved.

To all of the educators reading this, I urge you to try this project with your economics classes. If you have any questions regarding this project, the supporting lesson plans about scarcity & resources, the whole class discussion or the final unit exam, please feel free to email me via my Contact Page. Happy Teaching!