14-18 yrs old
Math & Economics
Identify the different economic sectors (primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy and use Weber's model to explain industrial location.
May 21, 2019
Minecraft World File
Original Lesson by: Guill Strougo
Help students understand that they can charge different prices for transportation of goods and introduce the concept of Weber’s model of industrial location.
1. Pre-game set up
• Students will be placed in 3 groups and assigned (by teacher or at random) which sector of the economy they will be required to role play
i. Sectors include
- Primary – extraction of raw materials (these students will be the only ones allowed to mine)
- Secondary – manufacturing (these students will be in charge of manufacturing items)
- Tertiary – provided distribution of items (these students will be given some currency at the beginning of simulation and tasked with purchasing and selling products to the other groups)
• Students will be given 15 minutes to plan how they wish to execute the simulation
2. Round 1
• Students will arrive in Minecraft world and have 20 minutes to mine, build, explore, however they would like. The main objective is to make a profit. They may do this any way they wish, but cannot deviate from their roles
• At the end of the round they will record how much profit they have made.
• After the 20 minutes, students will have 5 minutes to regroup, form companies, merge with other groups, and reflect on how to improve their output.
3. Round 2
• Students will have another 20 minutes to play. The objective remains the same (make as much profit as possible)
• At the end of round, students will be asked to reflect on round two.
4. Round 3
• Final round, students will work for 20 minutes to finalize how they will maximize their profits
Students are expected to reflect after each round and make adjustments as needed. Try to encourage students that they can join (merge with others in their group to help increase economy of scale and become more competitive.