The conceptual introduction to this issue focuses on two questions: why study competition and what is a competitive market. Four instructional units follow, beginning with "Choosing Competitors." This preschool and kindergarten unit involves students in competitive games (naming colors), role playing competitive behaviors, comparing toys, and making pictographic decision charts. The first and second grade unit, "The Funny Putty Factory," offers four separate activities ranging from a race to making a "funny putty product, each designed to help students understand the concept of competition. "Why Do We Buy?" the unit for third and fourth grade children, helps students analyze advertising techniques, conduct a market survey, and learn about competition by selling cupcakes. The last unit, intended for fifth and sixth grade students, offers students a view of community competition (as between realtors and restaurants, for example) and shows how competition helps people develop new products and keep prices down. (JDH)