Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: Reasons for differences in wages: demand for and supply of labour
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the concepts of labour demand and supply and how they determine wages.
  • Explain how key determinants shift the demand and supply curves.
  • Analyse how changes in these determinants create wage differences across occupations and regions.
  • Apply the labour‑market model to predict the effect of a policy or technological change on equilibrium wages.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Printed worksheets with labour‑market diagram
  • Laptop with presentation slides
  • Graph paper and calculators for students
  • Sticky notes for quick polls
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: ask students what factors they think influence how much people earn. Link responses to prior learning about price and markets, highlighting that wages are the price of labour. Explain that by the end of the lesson they will be able to identify and evaluate demand‑ and supply‑side factors that cause wage differences.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5’) – Students list three jobs they know and guess why pay differs; share briefly.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10’) – Introduce labour demand and supply concepts, equilibrium wage, using a diagram.
  3. Determinants of demand (10’) – Interactive discussion with examples; students add determinants to a mind map.
  4. Determinants of supply (10’) – Group activity analysing case studies; each group presents one determinant.
  5. Application task (15’) – Worksheet where students predict wage change for a scenario (e.g., tech automation) and justify using curve shifts.
  6. Check for understanding (5’) – Exit ticket: one sentence summarising how a change in either curve affects wages.
Conclusion:
Recap the main determinants that shift demand and supply and how they translate into higher or lower wages. Students complete an exit ticket stating the expected wage impact of a policy change. Assign a short homework: research a recent news article about wage changes and identify the underlying demand‑ or supply‑side factor.