Supply and demand is a concept that seems to show up on every HSE readiness exam. The linked materials above can be used to introduce the concept in an engaging way.

One possible sequence for using these materials could be:

• assign either the Globalized Economics of Coffee or the 1970s Oil Crisis NEWSELA article
• unpack those texts in class, focusing on central concepts and vocabulary, so students are able to use and apply those terms further in the unit; could use “How to “Work” With a Text” strategies
• initiate a “What do you Notice? What do you Wonder?” using either set of graph sequences
  • particularly with the shipmap.org images, it’s more than okay to get to a transitioning point in which we say, “We don’t fully understand every graphic or text or image we encounter. More often than not we leave images, maps graphics, or texts with questions and those allow us to be curious and move onto the next set of questions and ideas.”
• introduce the Supply Chain with abbreviated “What do you Notice? What do you Wonder?”
• introduce “Supply Chain and Products Exercise”
  • after going over the four general phases of the supply chain, class can unpack the possible Supply Chain of a Snickers Bar.
    • where around the world do the raw products come from? where and how are they manufactured or transformed? how are they packaged? how are they sold?
    • class can record these individually, on whiteboard, or on both
• assign second half of “Supply Chain and Products Exercise” for students to complete before next class and additional reading
• some possible questions to explore during the following class
  • what percentage of items and products around us come from these complex supply chains? 
  • what images DO NOT come from complex supply chains? 
  • what happens, as in the Oil Crisis article, when one actor or supplier within a supply chain changes the “norm” of that chain? 
  • can you we think of any examples in which this type of chain effect has occurred or could occur? 
  • what are some statements or opinions we can say to be true about Supply Chains? Supply and Demand? Globalization?