2. You, your team and the rest of the class are on board a hot air balloon. However, the balloon is falling from the sky as there are too many people and too many ‘items’ aboard!
In order to save your balloon from crashing, some of the items will have to be thrown over board.
But which …?

3. Your team will now be assigned a number. Listen carefully!

4. In a few moments you and your team will be randomly assigned an ‘item’.
You have four minutes to complete these tasks:
Think of as many uses as possible for your item other than its primary use. You would be allowed to cut or break your item up but you can not add any other materials to it.
Of all of the uses that your team has generated, which would be the ‘most valuable’?
Prepare an argument to be delivered to the rest of the class which would win a debate about which item is the most valuable and should be saved. All other items will be thrown from the balloon!

6. In a few moments you and your team will be randomly assigned an ‘item’.
You have four minutes to complete these tasks:
Think of as many uses as possible for your item other than its primary use. You would be allowed to cut or break your item up but you can not add any other materials to the item.
Of all of the uses that your team has generated, which would be the ‘most valuable’?
Prepare an argument to be delivered to the rest of the class which would win a debate about which item is the most valuable and should be saved. All other items will be thrown from the balloon!
Time is up!
Each team must now present their argument. Explain how your item can be used differently to its primary purpose and explain why that would be valuable.
After each team has finished their argument the whole class will vote on the most valuable item (you can not vote for your own!). 1 3 5 7 2 8 4 6
Click here to spin again
Press space bar to stop
Press space bar for plenary
Press space bar to start timer

7. Plenary: In your groups:
How many alternative uses did you discuss for your item?
What criteria did you use when deciding about what is meant by ‘valuable’?
Individually:
Why did you vote for your chosen item at the end of the ‘balloon debate’?

8. Economics:
This activity illustrates a key aspect about why we study economics.
Every ‘item’ or resource has some value to human society. That ‘value’ is different depending on a number of factors such as time, scarcity, importance to survival and an individual’s opinion.

9. Economics:
Also, every resource that exists could have several different uses. When we consider the value of an item we have to think about what is being given up to use or consume that resource.

10. Economics:
Every person has ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. For example, we ‘need’ food to survive and ‘want’ a car to make journeys faster and more comfortable.
However, there is a limit to the amount of resources that exist on the planet and economists discuss methods of allocating those scarce resources.