Intended Grade Level

Lesson Title: The Economy of a Nation

Intended Grade Level This lesson is designed to be used with ninth grade World Cultural Geography students although the components of this lesson are flexible and may be used to introduce basic economics to students at various levels. Teachers and students determine sources students search for information on the nation they have chosen or been assigned. This freedom allows for flexibility on the matter of appropriate grade levels for this lesson.

Infusion/Subject Areas Using this lesson with World Cultural Geography is ideal, but it could also be used in reading and communications classes, 6th and 7th grade Geography, World History, Global Studies or/and other regional study courses.

Concept/Main Idea of Lesson This project is an Economic Geography lesson. The study starts with the reading and discussion of given sections of the textbook on political and economic systems and proceeds with students conducting research of various world nations’ economies. Students are guided in developing an understanding of terms, questions-at-issue, assumptions, implications, consequences of various economic conditions, i.e. world poverty. Students began to identify and analyze patterns as they compare and contrast nations’ government types, economic systems, industries, natural resources, production, and sustainability.

National Curriculum Standards

 III. People, Places, and Environment  V. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions  VI. Power, Authority, and Governance  VII. Production, Distribution, and Consumption  IX. Global Connections

I. Instructional Objective Students will develop an understanding of how availability of resources and various economic activities affect stages of economic development and living conditions of people in various nations.

Students will research various aspects of an assigned nation and its economy. They will analyze judge the effectiveness of world economic and government systems as they share and discuss lessons learned.

II. Learning Activities Sequence a. Set Induction/Lesson Initiating Behavior: Prior students reporting to class, remove a substantial number of desks from the classroom so that there are not enough seats for all students to have a seat. Provide the students who do not have a seat a newspaper to sit on. Explain that the desks had to be borrowed for a special class being taught at the school for the day. (Encourage the students to solve the seating problem quickly and to go ahead and complete the bellwork assignment.)

BELLWORK Students consider and write a response to the question: What do you think about the fact that in modern world societies some people have access to the use of an abundance of the world’s resources while others have limited to no access to those same resources? Include examples of where this tendency may be observed.

Call on volunteers to share their responses to the questions.

You have experienced briefly what it may feel like to be one of the “haves or have nots” of the world.

Discuss:  the thoughts and feelings of those who were able to sit at desk in comparison to those who had to sit on the floor. (Adjust questioning to fit students’ solution to seat shortage.)  how this scenario differs from or reflect those real world situations of the “haves and have nots,” supply and demand, trade offs, etc.  Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. (Use diagram.) b. Learning Activities: Day 1 View United Streaming video, Economics: A Framework for Teaching the Basic Concepts: Fundamental Economic Concepts. Students should write notes as economic terms are introduced during the video segments. Discuss Quiz results at end of video. Assign independent reading of textbook for homework.

Terms: economic systems, GNP, GDP, governments, production, natural resources, opportunity costs, standard of living, industries, commerce, sustainable development, poverty, per capita income, etc.

Days 2 and 3 Using Nation Research Notes and The Economy of a Nation handouts, the students will be given the opportunity to use the internet to research the history, government, economy and other aspects of an assigned nation.

Students should use the “The Economy of a Nation” foldable to create a visual to display the information learned. Display the Economy of a Nation Cube RUBRIC to the class. Days 4 and 5

Students finalize their The Economy of a Nation cubes and begin presentations. Each student should be instructed to take notes on the Economic Geography Presentations Active Listening Notes page. c. Closure: Analyze Presentation Information – Discussion Questions:

What are some ways to group or categorize the information presented on nations?  Common features: types of governments; type of economy; primary production; region or location; natural resources; poverty level

 Similar levels of development and living conditions

Does a nation’s form of government affect its economic system? How?  Level of government’s involvement in deciding what goods and services are produced, how production is conducted, and the distribution of wealth, goods and services.

Is there a relationship between a nation’s primary economic industries and the standard of living in that nation?

 What patterns do you observe in standard of living and rates of poverty for the nations observed?

 What are the economic activities in nations with high rates of poverty?

 What are the major economic activities of nations with higher standards of living?

III. Evaluation

Foldable – The Economy of a Nation foldable cube is evaluated using the Economy of a Nation RUBRIC Active Listening Notes – Sections of the Economic Geography Presentations Active Listening Notes page is completed as students listen to presentation

IV. Materials and Resources

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs Nation Research Notes The Economy of A Nation Foldable student copies Economic Geography Presentations Active Listening Notes – student pages Socratic Questioning Strategies –teacher reference V. References

Arreola, Daniel D., etal. World Geography. United States of America: McDougal Littell, 2005, chapter 4, section 5.

Economics: A Framework for Teaching the Basic Concepts: Fundamental Economic Concepts. unitedstreaming. 2006. unitedstreaming. 11 October 2006

Roger LeRoy Miller. Economics: Today and Tomorrow. New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2004, Unit 1.

VI. Additional Suggested Readings

Clayton, Gary E. Economics: Principles and Practices New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2002, Unit 1 and Chapter 18.

VII. Internet Links http://countryreport.org (Country Information) https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html (The World Factbook) http://www.prb.org (Population Reference Bureau) http://set.lanl.gov/programs/cif/Resource/Handouts/SocSampl.htm (Socratic Questioning Strategies) http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/m aslow.htm (Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

VIII. Suggested Images http://www.prb.org/pdf06/06WorldDataSheet.pdf (2006 World Populations Data Sheet) http://www.unitedstreaming.com/search/assetDetail.cfm? guidAssetID=1B3707A2-D48A-4A90-B91F-277C071B7339 (Economics: A Framework for Teaching the Basic Concepts: Fundamental Economic Concepts) Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

Self- Actualization

Needs for Esteem

Need for Love, Affection, and Belongingness

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs TYPES OF GOVERNMENT & ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (This list is not exhaustive. Other systems exist, but these are the major ones you will encounter at this level.)

Government Systems 1. Autocracy-Government by a single person having unlimited power. 2. Authoritarian-One person rules with unlimited power characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to that authority. 3. Democracy-Citizens elect their leaders who must obey a constitution or other traditions. 4. Democratic Republic-Usually, a “democratic republic” is not democratic and is not a republic. A government that officially calls itself a “democratic republic” is usually a dictatorship. Communist dictatorships have been especially prone to use of this term. For example, the official name of North Vietnam was “the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.” China uses a variant, “The People’s Republic of China.” 5. Dictatorship-Government under the control of one all powerful leader/ruler usually a military leader. 6. Monarchy- Government ruled by a hereditary ruler, such as a king or queen, who has more or less limited powers. 7. Republic-a literal democracy is impossible in a political system containing more than a few people. All “democracies” are really republics. In a republic, the people elect representatives to make and enforce laws. 8. Theocracy-A government in which God or a god is considered the supreme ruling power. 9. Totalitarianism-Government in which one political party holds control over the lives of people by using police threat to censor their behavior.

Economic Systems 1. Barter- is a form of trade where goods or services are exchanged for a certain amount of other goods or services, i.e. there is no money involved in the transaction. Also called traditional economy. 2. Capitalism-An economic system characterized by a free competitive market with private and corporate ownership of production and distribution means. 3. Communism-A social system characterized by the absence of classes and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence. 4. Egalitarianism- A social system that advocates the doctrine of equal political, economic, and legal rights for all citizens. 5. Socialism- A social system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are owned collectively and political power is exercised by the whole community.

*As the various countries are studied, have students identify the country’s form of government and economic system. Support with specific examples and proofs.