Coffee Market Simulation
Unit 2 · Lesson 2.1 · Last updated June 2026
A 45-minute hands-on simulation where students act as buyers and sellers in a commodity market to discover how prices are determined through competition — the anchor experience for all of Unit 2.
Overview
This lesson assumes that students have certain knowledge from the previous unit. Refer to the Unit 1: Economic Foundations Overview. Students will act as either a buyer or a seller in a coffee commodity market simulation to learn how prices are determined in a perfectly competitive market. Participation will clarify that prices result from interactions between buyers and sellers based on information gained and what each party is willing to pay or accept. Following the simulation, students are guided through a debrief to solidify their understanding. Students will use this experience to anchor their learning throughout Unit 2. Watch a 5-minute video tutorial of the simulation.
Learning Objective
- Explain how the price of a good is determined in a competitive market.
Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Student Handout pp. 4–5 (1 copy per student)
- Unit 2 Overview: Microeconomics p. 6 (1 copy per student — consider printing on differently colored paper to help students locate it throughout Unit 2)
- Timer or view of a clock (1 for educator use)
- Debrief Questions p. 7 (class set — cut in half, 1 copy per pair of students)
- Coffee Market Supply and Demand Schedules p. 8 (1 copy for educator reference)
- Cards — Buyers and Sellers pp. 9–20 (class set — 1 copy printed and cut into 34 buyer cards and 34 seller cards; print on cardstock of 2 different colors so buyers and sellers can easily find each other; shuffle each set of cards separately)
Optional
- Unit 2 (Microeconomics) Key Terms (digital access or 1 copy per student)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–10
- Before students enter the room, replicate the "Market Data Table" on Slide 2 on a whiteboard or on poster paper. Students will view the data between rounds and during the debrief.
- Display Slide 3. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student. Direct students to complete the activator in the space provided on their handout. Distribute 1 copy of Unit 2 Overview to each student as they complete their activator. If providing digital access or hard copies of Unit 2 Key Terms, distribute them at this time. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
- Advance to Slide 4. Tell students that Unit 2 Overview serves as a roadmap for the unit — it identifies all learning objectives students ought to master by the end of Unit 2 and describes the summative assessments that will gauge their proficiency. Encourage students to place Unit 2 Overview in a safe location as it will be referenced throughout Unit 2.
- Progress through Slides 5–6. Identify the learning objective for students. Define market and explain that in this lesson, students will participate in a commodity market simulation.
- Proceed to Slide 7. While students read the slide, distribute 1 Buyer or Seller Card to each student, alternating as you hand them out. (Half of the students will be buyers, and half will be sellers. You will have extra cards.) Review the goals for buyers and sellers and the rules for acceptable prices.
- Advance to Slide 8. Instruct students to view the "Transaction Sheet" portion of their handout and circle their role (determined by the card given to them in Step 5). Guide students through the simulation instructions using the information on the slide. Identify a different volunteer for each round of trading to help exchange buyer cards.
- Proceed to Slide 9. Tell students to discuss the questions on the slide with 1 or 2 peers.
- Display Slide 10 and respond to student questions as necessary.
Slides 11–19
- Progress through Slides 11–12. Start the timer for 4 minutes and begin Round 1 by saying, "The market is now open." Give students 4 minutes to engage in transactions. Students record their card price and negotiated price on Student Handout. Record the negotiated prices as sellers report to you on the "Market Data Table" (created in Step 1).
- Exchange old seller cards for new ones when students complete a transaction, and ensure buyers also exchange their cards for new ones through the student volunteer.
- After 4 minutes, display Slide 13 and announce, "The market is closed." Allow students who just concluded a transaction to exchange their cards and record it on Student Handout. Record the negotiated prices as sellers report to you on the "Market Data Table." All other students take their current card back to their seat.
- Give students approximately 2 minutes to calculate and record their gains/losses for each transaction on Student Handout and total up their gains/losses for Round 1. Call attention to the "Market Data Table" and tell students to consider the 2 questions on the slide.
- Advance to Slide 14. Begin Round 2 by saying, "The market is now open," and start the timer for 4 minutes as students engage in transactions, record prices, and trade out cards as in Round 1.
- After 4 minutes, proceed to Slide 15. Announce, "The market is closed." Allow students who just concluded a transaction to record it on Student Handout. Record the negotiated prices as sellers report to you on the "Market Data Table."
- Instruct students to return their cards to the appropriate pile, return to their original seats, and take 1 minute to calculate their gains/losses for Round 2. If time permits, move into Round 3 (repeating previous steps), but be sure to leave 20 minutes for the debrief, summarizer, and reflection. Slides 16–17 are skipped and will not be visible to students in "Slideshow" mode. If completing a third round, "unskip" these slides.
- Advance to Slide 18 and tell students to calculate their Grand Total Gain or Loss across all rounds.
- Display Slide 19. Determine the class winner (student with the highest gains) and recognize them with a round of applause.
Slides 20–28
- Advance through Slides 20–21. Distribute a class copy of Debrief Questions to each pair of students. Allow pairs 5 minutes to brainstorm their responses. Encourage students to jot down their thoughts on their handout.
- Progress through Slides 22–28 to discuss the debrief questions as a class. As students share their initial responses to a question, click to reveal the text on each slide and introduce the economic language that corresponds to their experience in the simulation.
Slides 29–32
- Proceed through Slides 29–30. Allow 3 minutes for students to respond to the prompts on Slide 29 in the "Summarizer" section of Student Handout.
- Advance through Slides 31–32. Allow students 3 minutes to answer the reflection questions on Slide 31 in the "Reflection" section of Student Handout.
- Collect Student Handout to check for misconceptions or gaps in understanding.
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
What Educators Are Saying
This is a really effective lesson in getting students engaged and thinking about how a market works prior to introducing the ideas of demand and supply. I really enjoyed that this was a low stakes activity but yields a large amount of discussion which ultimately leads to an easier time teaching demand and supply. They were really engaged and got into the act of buying and selling trying to make the most money — we may have even got a noise complaint because they were so into it! I would suggest taking the extra fifteen minutes to print things out in different colors so it is easier to distinguish who is a buyer and who is a seller.
My students loved this lesson. They were reluctant to share their answers for the initial activator, but after participating in the coffee market, they came up with in-depth observations and made connections to real world markets.
This lesson was a great way for students to be introduced to markets. My classroom turned into a coffee market and students were invested in maximizing their gains.