If you’ve never heard of the game Pit then you aren’t alone. Most people haven’t. But I am here to tell you that you are missing out on something fun and a great teaching moment in your classroom.

Learning Economics

The more opportunities students have to practice or act out something they learn the more likely they are to remember it. Economics needs more opportunities for practice. Pit, the game does just that.

Pit debuted in 1904 and was inspired by the commodities exchange in Chicago. Players try to “corner the market” by trading commodities with their fellow players. A bull card can be a wild card or help you gain bonus points. A bear card keeps you from winning and can cause you to lose points. But students should be encouraged to trade vigorously and loudly just as they would in the trading pit.

Addressing Learning Standards

Teaching with Pit comes with a PDF presentation of the history of Wall Street, the stock markets, and commodities futures. Important vocabulary words and concepts are included in the presentation and it is an important building block in understanding the concept of Pit, the game.

Honestly, a lot of people don’t buy the game because they ask themselves, “what are commodities anyway and why is there a game created around them?” By the end of the presentation, students will have a better understanding of the difference between stocks and commodities futures which will help prepare them for the short research booklet they need to complete.

The Booklet

By visiting market websites, students can look at prices of commodities as well as the long-term price trends of the commodities in the game. They need to create a graph and then share it with the class so they have a better understanding of the cost of things and how futures trading can cause the price of items to increase or decrease.

All of these learning opportunities happen before students ever play the game so you can rest assured they are walking away with essential information from the lesson.

In My TpT Store

This resource is for sale in my TpT store. It is part of an economics bundle that includes my bestselling resources, Teaching with Monopoly, and my original game, Tulip Mania. Each of them focuses on different economic factors students need to know before they leave school. Use these games in any history class or economics class.

Teaching with Pit also comes with my Teaching with…Bundle that includes Teaching with Monopoly and Teaching with Chess.

Please note: You do not get a copy of Pit the game in your TpT purchase. You must purchase at least one copy of the game from an authorized retailer.

******************************

Follow me:

 

If you enjoyed this then maybe you’d also like: