Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: prohibitions and licences
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe why governments intervene in markets with externalities and public goods.
  • Compare the economic effects of prohibitions versus licensing regimes.
  • Evaluate when a prohibition or a licence is the more appropriate policy tool.
  • Apply the concept of quotas to a real‑world example such as fishing licences.
  • Analyse the equity and revenue implications of each approach.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen for slides/diagrams
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Handout summarising prohibition vs licence comparison
  • Case‑study worksheet on fishing quotas
  • Calculator or spreadsheet for simple calculations
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: “Which products do you think should be completely banned and why?” Connect this to prior knowledge of externalities. Explain that today’s success criteria are to distinguish between bans and licences and to justify the choice of policy in different contexts.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5’): Students list examples of market failures they’ve seen; share briefly.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10’): Rationale for government intervention; introduce prohibitions and licences with diagrams.
  3. Comparison activity (12’): In pairs, use the handout to fill a Venn diagram contrasting bans and licences; teacher circulates for misconceptions.
  4. Case study – Fishing quotas (10’): Walk through the example, calculate the socially optimal catch, discuss revenue use.
  5. Decision‑making task (8’): Groups evaluate a given scenario (e.g., tobacco, drones) and recommend either a prohibition or a licence, justifying with the criteria.
  6. Check for understanding (5’): Quick exit ticket – one sentence stating the key advantage of licences over bans.
Conclusion:
Recap the main differences between prohibitions and licences and how each addresses externalities. Collect exit tickets to gauge understanding and assign a short homework: research a real‑world licence system and write a paragraph on its equity impacts.