Year 8 · Value

The Economics of the Ground

Markets, ownership, price signals and WA's next twenty years

Economics deepens. Students learn how resource companies are structured and valued, how commodity prices move and why, what a genuinely rewarding career looks like in practice, and which resources will define WA's next chapter.

The Year 8 units

Year 8 puts a price on everything. Across four units, students find out who actually owns a mine and where the money flows, track live commodity prices to watch demand and supply move in real time, test what makes a working life genuinely good, and back their own evidence-based forecast of WA's next big commodity. It matters because economics taught through the industry outside their own window stops being abstract — and this is exactly the age when ideas about money, work and worth start becoming personal.

Every unit arrives classroom-ready — full lesson sequences, slides, student workbooks and assessment rubrics, aligned to the revised Western Australian Curriculum, mandated from 2026.

Unit 01

Who Owns the Mine?

"How do resource companies actually work — and who profits from what's in the ground?"

Ownership structures, shareholders, royalties and where profit actually flows — the market system that sits around every WA operation.

Students produceA “follow the dollar” flowchart from ore sale to shareholder, state and community.
HASS Economics · Australia’s mixed market economy
Unit 02

The Price of Everything

"Why do commodity prices rise and fall — and what does that mean for every person in WA?"

Demand, supply and price signals taught through live commodity charts: why iron ore's price moves, who reacts, and what it means for jobs. Students track one commodity across the term.

Students produceA commodity tracking report with the student's own price commentary.
HASS Economics · Australia’s mixed market economy
Unit 03

Work, Wages and Wellbeing

"What makes a genuinely good career — and does the resources sector deliver it?"

What makes a good working life — income, purpose, conditions, wellbeing — tested against the documented reality of resource careers.

Students produceA personal “what I want from work” framework mapped to real industry roles.
Industry connectionWorker profile video: rosters and wellbeing, unvarnished.
HASS Economics · Work and financial decision-making
Unit 04

The Next Big Thing

"Which WA resources will matter most in 20 years — and how do you identify them now?"

Students research which WA commodities the 2040s will demand — lithium, rare earths, hydrogen — and build an evidence-based forecast of their own.

Students produceAn investment-style one-pager: the commodity I would back, and why.
HASS Economics · Australia’s mixed market economy

For the teacher running it

Zero prep

One page of guidance per unit. Everything else is done.

Complete materials

Lesson sequences, decks, workbooks and rubrics included.

Curriculum current

Aligned to the revised WA Curriculum every school teaches from 2026.

Real industry access

Worker videos, site content and industry panels arranged through the program.

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