Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 03/03/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: economics as a social science
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the core characteristics that make economics a social science.
  • Explain the differences between positivist, interpretivist and critical realist approaches.
  • Apply a simple economic model to formulate and test a hypothesis using basic data.
  • Distinguish positive statements from normative statements and evaluate their policy relevance.
  • Analyse interdisciplinary links that influence economic methodology.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Handout summarising methodological approaches
  • Printed flow‑chart diagram of theory‑model‑empirics‑policy
  • Worksheet with positive vs normative statement tasks
  • Calculators (optional)
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: “What makes economics different from physics?” Capture ideas, link to prior knowledge of scientific methods, and outline that today’s success criteria are to identify methodological features, compare approaches, and use a simple model to test a hypothesis.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Students list differences between natural and social sciences on sticky notes (quick check).
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Core characteristics of economics as a social science and overview of positivism, interpretivism, critical realism.
  3. Group activity (12'): Using the handout, groups fill a table of positive vs normative statements for a current policy (e.g., minimum wage).
  4. Model demonstration (8'): Walk through the production function model and the five‑step empirical testing process; students sketch a hypothesis.
  5. Methodology debate (10'): Teams argue the merits of positivist vs interpretivist approaches using real‑world examples.
  6. Summary & reflection (5'): Whole‑class recap of key points; students write one takeaway on a post‑it.
Conclusion:
Recap the main ideas: economics blends theory, modelling, and empirical testing while acknowledging normative judgments. For exit, pupils write one positive and one normative statement about a recent economic policy. Homework: read the textbook section on economic methodology and prepare a short critique of an assumption used in a common model.