Twelfth Grade · History · week 22

Supply: the seller's side

Explain the law of supply and what shifts a supply curve versus movement along it.

Supply is the amount producers are willing to make at each price. The law of supply: higher prices call forth more production — because at higher prices, harder and costlier production becomes worth doing. At $2 a jar, only the easy honey gets harvested; at $12, distant hives and hired help pay for themselves. Plotted, supply slopes upward.

Distinguish two motions. A price change moves you ALONG the existing curve. A change in the conditions of production — input costs, technology, number of sellers, taxes, expectations — SHIFTS the whole curve: at every price, more (or less) gets made. Cheaper fertilizer shifts wheat supply right; a drought shifts it left. Price moves along; conditions shift.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Run the lemonade stand aloud: at 50¢, at $2, at $5 — what changes about their willingness to work?
  • Drill the along-vs-shift distinction with quick-fire examples; it's THE test question forever.
  • Ask a real producer if you know one (crafts, farm stand, freelance) how price affects their output.
  • Preview: supply is half a scissor blade — demand next week, and the blades cut together.
Talk about it:
  • Why would anyone produce more just because price rose?
  • What could make a farmer grow more wheat at the SAME price?
  • Which shifts supply: a sales tax on producers, or shoppers wanting more?

Mastery looks like: They state the law of supply with the cost logic behind it and sort along-vs-shift correctly.

Common stumbles: Calling every change a "shift"; thinking supply means what's in the warehouse rather than willingness-at-each-price.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of History for this learner.
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