Using Economic Thinking to Make Better Decisions
Unit 1 · Lesson 1.10 · Last updated September 18, 2026
A 45-minute summative assessment where students apply the principles of economic thinking to make a recommendation and set a SMART goal.
Overview
In this lesson, students will complete a summative assessment. The assessment assumes that students have certain knowledge, so refer to the Unit 1 Overview before teaching it. Students will apply two of the principles of economic thinking they learned about in Unit 1 to recommend a SMART goal for a young person struggling with a decision. In Lesson 1.9, students were introduced to the assessment and given time to score sample responses.
Learning Objectives
- Apply the principles of economic thinking to decision making.
- Set a SMART goal.
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Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Using Economic Thinking to Make Better Decisions (1 copy per student)
- Optional: Sentence Starters (1 copy for each student who needs additional support)
- Optional: Suggested Scoring Rationale (1 copy for educator reference, previously used in Lesson 1.9)
- Optional: Alternative Text Messages (for make-ups, different class periods, or future semesters)
- Optional: Text Message Template (to customize the text messages)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–11
- Display Slide 2. Direct students to follow the instructions on the slide and ensure desks are cleared of all other materials. Additional educator tips and details are in the notes section throughout the Instruction Slides.
- Progress through Slides 3–5 to introduce the learning objectives and the agenda for the lesson.
- Proceed to Slide 6. Distribute 1 copy of Using Economic Thinking to Make Better Decisions to each student. Direct students to review the Task and Instructions on their handout before writing their responses.
- Advance to Slide 7. Call attention to the two sets of text messages on the handout. Reinforce that students will provide advice connected to one person's text messages.
- Display Slide 8. Remind students to read the rubric carefully before beginning the assessment and again before submitting their work.
- Use Slides 9–10 to remind students of the principles of economic thinking and the components of a SMART goal if needed.
- Proceed to Slide 11. Pause for any questions that are useful for the good of the group, and remind students that they can ask you questions during their individual work time.
Slides 12–14
- Advance through Slides 12–13. Tell students to begin working on their assessment. Circulate while students work to supervise and clarify instructions as needed.
- Display Slide 14 when there are 5 minutes left in the class period. Announce that students should be getting ready to submit their work.
- Collect Using Economic Thinking to Make Better Decisions and students' written responses. Pro Tip: if students wrote the assignment by hand, have them staple their rubric to the back of their writing. If students completed the assignment electronically, include a copy of the rubric in the document students work in.
- Tips for scoring: reference the Sample Responses and Suggested Scoring Rationale from Lesson 1.9 to see what an Advanced and a Proficient response look like. Students may reasonably apply any of the principles of economic thinking and recommend a variety of SMART goals related to the text messages they selected.
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
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