A/AS level Economics - Supply and demand

 The use of diagrams, the abstract nature of the concepts and an (often) lack of understanding of the importance of modelling in economics makes this a challenging area to teach and a difficult one for students to learn. The idea of modelling human behaviour, central to the methodology of economics, is not something that comes easily to students new to A’ level – bearing in mind that 8 weeks before the first class of sixth form, these students were doing GCSE.

The aims of this lesson are for students to:

  • write down and or articulate through questioning the relationship between price and demand/supply
  • offer an explanation for the difference between a shift and a movement along the demand/supply curve
  • draw a demand and supply diagram, label it appropriately and identify equilibrium
  • draw a shift in either demand or supply and demonstrate the process by which price changes.
  • identify at least three reasons why a demand or supply curve might shift in either direction
  • confidently apply their knowledge to at least two different contexts not covered in the ‘lesson’
  • understand how economists go about their work – in seeking to quantify costs and benefits and making decisions based on maximising benefits and minimising costs.