SS MD 6-8 ECONOMICS 1

Economics 6th-8th: Indicator #1

Economics: 6^th - 8^th

Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

In the context of United States history through 1877, world history through the Middle Ages and in contemporary world geography, students are able to do everything required at earlier grades and are able to:

Indicator #1
Analyze how people and institutions experience scarcity and must make choices.

In a lesson from PBS, Eco Challenges, “students will address two of the more pressing issues confronting continental Africa -- the related concerns of growing desertification and the scarcity of clean water. Students will examine these issues within the context of Africa's economic development and the impact they have upon Africans.”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/eco/goals.html

Environment and Conservation: JAPAN from the ASKASIA LESSON PLANS Web page provides a simulation that "demonstrates how nations trade and use their resources to meet their needs and wants. In the simulation, resources are distributed unequally to student groups, and they must then accomplish a set of tasks which makes it necessary to trade with other groups." This link will take you to the organization's Web page, click on 'instructional resources', then 'lesson plans', and scroll down the page until you find this title listed.
http://www.askasia.org/for_educators/fe_frame.htm

How Much Is There To Eat? Population Density and Food Production: A Comparison of India and the Southern United States from the ASKASIA LESSON PLANS Web page is an activity that provides students with a concrete example of "the pressures that population places on food supplies." This link will take you to the organization's Web page, click 'instructional resources', then 'lesson plans', and scroll down the page until you find this title listed.
http://www.askasia.org/for_educators/fe_frame.htm

Making Ends Meet has students "prepare a monthly budget comparing income versus living expenses." This lesson utilizes spreadsheets.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/lesson/productivity/endsmeet.asp

This lesson, Euro Cent Trick, from the New York Times' Daily Lesson Plan Web page examines the switch to the Euro by "discussing how the prices of goods and services are determined, why countries have different currencies, and why some countries may want to share a currency system."
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/981230wednesday.html

This lesson, Step by Step, from the New York Times' Daily Lesson Plan Web page has students "learn about the steps of production, skills needed, technologies necessary to create quality goods and services."
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/981105thursday.html

This lesson examines the costs and benefits of the American colonists remaining part of the British Empire.
http://school.discover.com/lessonplans/programs/revwar1/index.html

A Lesson on Unemployment is another sample lesson plan from EconEdLink.
http://www.econedlink.org/cyberteach/cyb_macro.html

Please forward any questions, comments, or outdated link information to
Dr. Greg Bryant or Dr. David Vocke. Thank you in advance for your help.