Lesson Plan

Resources → Subject Notes → Economics → Notes
Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: Indicators of living standards: Human Development Index (HDI) and its components
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the three dimensions of the HDI and their associated indicators.
  • Calculate each HDI sub‑index using the provided formulas.
  • Interpret HDI scores to classify a country’s level of human development.
  • Analyse how changes in health, education or income affect the overall HDI.
  • Evaluate the usefulness and limitations of the HDI as a measure of living standards.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Printed handout of HDI formula sheet
  • Worksheets with data for sample countries
  • Calculator or spreadsheet software
  • Laptop for interactive demonstration
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: Which factors do you think determine a country's quality of life? Review prior learning on GDP and its limits, linking to the need for broader measures. Explain that today’s success criteria are to compute and interpret the Human Development Index.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5') – Students list three aspects of living standards beyond income on sticky notes; share with class.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10') – Introduce the HDI, its three dimensions, and the formulas; display a radar‑chart example.
  3. Guided practice (12') – In pairs, calculate health, education, and income sub‑indices for a given country using provided data.
  4. Whole‑class check (8') – Review calculations, clarify the geometric mean, and address misconceptions.
  5. Application activity (10') – Students compute the HDI for another country and classify its development level.
  6. Reflection & exit ticket (5') – Each student writes one insight about how a change in one dimension would impact the overall HDI.
Conclusion:
Summarise how the HDI combines health, education and income into a single measure of living standards. Ask students to submit an exit ticket stating one limitation of the HDI. For homework, assign a brief research task to compare the HDI of two countries and suggest policy actions to improve a low‑scoring dimension.