LP+The+Utah+Economy+Today

**Standard 4.** Students will understand the diverse ways people make a living in Utah.
 * Objective 1.** Explore the components of Utah's economy.
 * Indicator a.** Identify the multiple components of Utah's economy; e.g., government, agriculture, mining, tourism, high tech industry.


 * Lesson: The Utah Economy Today **


 * Vocabulary:**
 * GDP
 * GDP per capita


 * Essential Questions:**
 * Why are GDP and "GDP per capita" important economic measures?
 * Which industries contribute to Utah's overall economy?
 * How are bigger and smaller companies important to the Utah economy?


 * Instructional Activities:**
 * Use [|the map] that compares the GDP of the individual states to countries around the world. Discuss what GDP means and how it is different than GDP per capita. There are a variety of ways to compare these online--Wikipedia has Utah closer to Hungary than Ukraine. With the students, look up the GDP per capita for Utah, Ukraine, and Hungary and discuss why those numbers are so different from each other and what that means.
 * How does Utah produce the equivalent of a fairly large country? How could we categorize the work people do? With the class, create a list of categories and suggest the kinds of jobs that fit beneath each. Alternatively, you could work from a prepared list and identify the types of jobs that fit within each.
 * Use the blank circle graph of the top 20 industries (by GDP) and have the students try to determine which order some of those industries are in, or how much they contribute to the economy. Create a list of the reasons students use in making guesses (how many people they know in an industry, how much money they think an industry makes, what large companies near them do, etc.)
 * Review the correct answers with students, focusing on industries that were very different than predicted and also on the factors that the students had used in ranking industries.
 * Review the graph showing the size of companies compared to the number of companies in Utah and discuss what that means in terms of the job market. Review the list of the largest companies in Utah as well to give names to the biggest companies on the graph.
 * Assign the students to research one of the top 20 industries in Utah by visiting with and interviewing one or more people who work in that industry. Have them present their research in poster form, or on Glogster Edu.
 * What types of jobs exist in that industry?
 * What level of education/training is required, or other requirements for working in that industry?
 * What does the future look like for that industry?
 * Etc.
 * Alternatively, assign students one of the counties in Utah and have them research the top 3 employers or largest companies or businesses in that county. Have them answer the following questions:
 * What is the top employer in that county?
 * What does that say about the economy of that county?
 * What kind of education is required to work for that company?
 * What does the future of the county look like based on where the jobs are? Is that an industry that will continue to grow in Utah?


 * Assessment:**
 * Report on report on industries or counties.
 * Test question: How do both bigger and smaller companies contribute to the Utah economy and how are they different?
 * Test question: What are some of Utah's biggest industries today in terms of GDP?


 * Materials / Resources for Teachers:**
 * __The Utah Journey__, pages 282 -288
 * [|Agriculture income/expenses in 2009]
 * []


 * Materials / Resources for Students:**
 * __The Utah Journey__, pages 282 -288