Download Mining Economics Acitivity

Gail Bastarache
Mining Economics Activity
SCOS Correlation-4th grade (rocks and minerals)
3rd grade and 6th grade (soil analysis)
Materials needed:
Two packages of chocolate chip cookies-one low priced store brand and the other “Chips Ahoy” or
other more expensive name brand.
1 box of round toothpicks
1 box of large paper clips
Data sheet for each student
Cookie Mining grid sheet- two sections for each child
Paper towel for each student
Activity:
1. Discuss the goals of mining, locations for mines, costs of starting a mining operation, and
problems that miners might have.
2. Explain that each student will be given an imaginary investment fund of $19. Their object is to
use this money to make more money in the mining activity today.
Each student buys property (a cookie), equipment (toothpicks, paper clips), and time for labor in
their mine.
3. Distribute cookie mining money (optional), cookie mining data sheet, and grid paper to each
student.
4. Each student will buy his/her own mining property or cookie. Notice the data sheet for the prices.
If you have enough cookies, you could allow them to buy two.
5. After the cookies are bought, have the students give their “mine” a name, and record it, along
with the price of the cookie.
6. Have the students place their cookies on the grid paper on the left and trace the outline of the
cookies. They should then count each square that falls inside the circle, counting partial squares as a
full square, and record that number on the sheet. Record the total of the squares counted on their
data sheet or at the top of the grid.
7. Students must now buy mining equipment. They can purchase more than one piece or type of
equipment. If a mining tool breaks, it is no longer usable, and a new tool must be purchased.
Students must not touch the cookies with their fingers as they mine, they must use equipment that
they purchased. Notice the prices of equipment on data sheet. Remind them to record the cost of the
equipment. They must not be over $19 for their total costs!
8. Mining time – allow five minutes for the students to mine. Their cost will be $1 per minute.
9. Now they can mine the chips out of the cookies. No student can use his fingers to hold a cookie.
The only things that can touch the cookie are the mining tools and the paper towel that the cookie is
sitting on. Students can finish mining before the 5 minutes are up, and record the time spent mining
on the sheet.
10. Students receive $2.00 for each chocolate chip mined. Broken chips can be combined to form
one whole chip. The data including number and value of chips should be recorded.
11. Allow students time to fill out the date sheet #8 to find if they have a profit or loss so far.
12. Students should not have eaten any of their cookies yet. They should use their tools “reclaim”
the property, placing the crumbs without the chips back onto the right side of the grid. No fingers or
hands allowed. Draw another circle around the reclaimed cookies, and assess students $1 for each
square over the original count. They should fill out the data on the lower section of their sheet; this
is the reclamation cost. They should find the difference in their profit after they pay reclamation
costs.
13. No one eats their cookies until they have completed their paper work. This is a rule of the
Federal Government! Discuss what the expressions “in the red” or “in the black” means. (Actually,
the US Government requires specific paperwork from miners or they will be closed down).
14. After you have spot checked papers, allow students to eat their cookies. Discuss with them who
had profits or losses. Allow them to write on the back of their data sheet what they would do
differently if they could repeat this mining activity. Ask them to explain how it would change the
outcome. Collect the data sheets for summative evaluation.
15. Allow student to clean up all disposable items.
Social Studies Investigation: Where are specific types of mines in the U.S.?
What kind of mining is done in NC?