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LESSON: SATURDAY MARKET
Lesson Summary
Sellers
from near and far arrive at the market before dawn on Saturday. There
are trucks, carts, and donkeys loaded with beautiful rebozos, fiery
chile peppers, comfortable huaraches, squawking parrots, fine rugs,
flowers, etc. The sellers work all day, hoping to sell all their
wares and drive away with empty trucks.
Concept: Market
Definition: A market exists whenever people buy
and sell goods and services.
Comprehension Questions
Why
were there so many people at the Saturday market?
People came to
buy and sell goods, hoping to make some good deals.
What is
a price?
A price is the amount you pay to buy a good or service or
the amount you receive when you sell a good or service.
In the
story it does not explain how the prices of goods in the Saturday market
were set. In the Saturday market, how do you think people set their
prices?
Probably, by haggling between buyer and seller.
Many prices are not marked clearly as in our stores.
What
were the sellers/producers hoping for during market day?
They
hoped to sell all their goods to buyers at high prices so the sellers
could make a profit.
What
were the buyers/consumers hoping for during market day?
Buyers were
hoping to buy the goods they wanted at low prices.
Who
were some of the sellers/producers and what goods did each
sell?
The producers included Miguel, who brought sacks of chile
peppers;
Carmen, who had beautiful shawls for sale;
Luis, who
reluctantly had his fat and charming pig for sale;
Rosa, with her
huaraches;
Pedro, with his fine rugs;
Estela, with her
flowers;
Lucia, with her potions;
Juan, with his bread and
cookies;
Ana, with her tortillas;
Diego, with his parrots;
and
Enrique, with his clay figurines.
How did
the producers estimate the amount of goods to be brought to the market for
sale?
They considered the amount consumers bought during the
previous week. For example, Miguel sold ten sacks of chile
peppers last week. This week he brought more. Each week, Rosa managed
to sell two hundred pairs of huaraches. This week she made another two
hundred pairs of huaraches, just as usual.
Carmen
sold only two rebozos last week. What was the reason for her poor
sales?
There were many other ladies who were supplying rebozos in
the market. Carmen worried that one day there would be more rebozo
sellers than women to buy the rebozos.
What
advice would you give to Carmen?
Answers will vary. Carmen
could sell her rebozos at a lower price. This will probably increase the
quantity of rebozos she sells. She could try to change the design on her
shawl so that her product appears to be different from the other sellers.
She may also decide to change her product and start selling something else
which may appeal more to her customers.
Other Concepts: Goods
and Services, Producers, Consumers, Supply and
Demand, Price. | 
