1
Introduction to Economics
There is never enough of anything. What that forces, and the four ingredients every business is built from.
Oakville · Grades 5–9
Economics isn’t hard. The vocabulary is.
A twelve‑year‑old who has ever chosen between two things at a store already understands opportunity cost. Nobody has told them what it is called. We fix that, one idea an hour, on Saturday mornings in Oakville.
- Who
- Grades 5 to 9
- When
- Saturdays, 10–11 am
- Where
- Glen Abbey Community Centre
- Cost
- Free for Voice Linking Association members, $10 per session otherwise
- Next session
- September 19 — Game Theory
How we teach
The idea first. The word second.
Students are put in a position where they have to work something out. Only then do they get the term for it. By that point the word is a label for something they already understand, not a definition to memorise.
Every farmer at the market is selling identical wheat. You try charging more. Nobody buys from you.
You are a price taker.
Three companies already own every cell tower in the country. You wanted to start a fourth carrier.
You just met a barrier to entry.
You spend $20 on a hoodie. The shop pays its staff. The staff buy groceries. The grocer pays a supplier.
That loop is the circular flow.
The hour
Same shape, every week
Predictable on purpose. A student who knows what is coming next spends their attention on the economics instead of on the room.
- 01
Recap
Four cards from last week, cold‑called.
- 02
Core ideas
One at a time, in plain language.
- 03
Diagrams
A real chart for each concept.
- 04
Activities
Three or four. Half the hour.
- 05
Exit ticket
One written answer on the way out.
- 06
Preview
What is coming next week.
The curriculum
Six sessions so far
Each one gets a full hour. Miss a week and you are still fine — every session opens with a recap.
2
Opportunity Cost & Trade‑offs
Every choice costs something you didn’t choose. Putting a number on it, and why trade makes both sides better off.
3
Supply & Demand
Building both curves out of the room’s own answers, then finding the one price that clears the market.
4
Circular Flow & Economic Cycles
Following a $20 hoodie all the way around the economy, then watching what a recession does to the loop.
5
Market Structures
Sorting real businesses from perfect competition to monopoly, and finding what actually decides it: how hard it is to get in.
6
Game Theory Next · Sept 19
When your best move depends on someone else’s. The prisoner’s dilemma, played before it is named.
From a parent
All it took was a bag of candy for him to experience self‑control, judgment and self‑affirmation firsthand. That’s worth so much more than memorising a hundred definitions.
Henry’s parent
Next session: Saturday 19 September
Game Theory, 10 to 11 am at the Glen Abbey Community Centre library in Oakville. We do not run every week — dates go out in the WeChat group. New students are welcome in any session.