Atlas - Unit 4: Exploring Economics

Wayne RESA

Unit PlannerSocial Studies 4

Wayne RESA – SS / Grade 4 / Social Studies / Social Studies 4 / Week 18 - Week 24

RESA, MAISA MC3 Units

Unit Abstract

In this unit students deepen their understanding of economic principles and examine how an economic system works using the United States as an example. They begin the unit by engaging in a scarcity simulation designed to review economic concepts from previous grades. Students then explore the characteristics of market economies and the types of questions economists ask. Using a circular flow model, students examine how households and businesses interact in a market economy. They expand their understanding of economic decision making by applying the concepts of price, competition, and incentives. Using the automobile industry as a context, students consider how businesses become interdependent through the use of specialization and division of labor. They then explore how these factors influence productivity. In addition, the role of government in the economy is introduced as students distinguish between taxing and spending, and consider how the purposes of government influence decisions to tax and spend. Finally, students investigate the role of global competition on the economy and employment in the United States. In doing so, they apply economic concepts in assessing the impact of global competition on the national economy and identify public issues relating to global competition.

Unit 4 Word Document
Links to Unit 4 Overview Video Clips Parts 1 & 2 Unedited

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Stage One - Desired Results

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Standards

Grade 4 Unit 4 Standards Covered

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Compelling Question

How are geographers, economists, and political scientists similar and different in how they study places and people?

Supporting Questions

What questions do economists ask and how do their answers describe the United States?
How do the characteristics of a market economy influence economic decision making?
How does competition affect the economy in the United States?

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Content (Key Concepts)

circular flow

competition

division of labor

economic decision making

economics

employment/ unemployment

incentives

market economy

price

productivity

public goods and services

role of government

specialization

supply/demand

Skills (Intellectual Processes)

Cause and Effect

Classifying

Describing

Using nonlinguistic representations

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Stage Two - Assessment Evidence

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Unit Assessment Tasks

MC3 Unit Assessment Grade 4 Unit 4.docx
MC3 Unit Assessment Grade 4 Unit 4.pdf
MC3 Unit Assessment Grade 4 Unit 4 Teacher Booklet.docx
MC3 Unit Assessment Grade 4 Unit 4 Teacher Booklet.pdf

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Stage Three - Learning Plan

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Lesson Plan Sequence

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Resources

Butcher or oversized construction paper
Markers or colored pencils
Overhead Projector or Document Camera and Projector

Grade 4 Unit 4 Additional Student Resources
Grade 4 Unit 4 Additional Teacher Resources

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Expectations/Standards

MI: Social Studies (2007)

4th Grade

History

H3 History of Michigan (Beyond Statehood)
Use historical thinking to understand the past.

4 – H3.0.5 Use visual data and informational text or primary accounts to compare a major Michigan economic activity today with that same or a related activity in the past. (E)

Civics & Government

C3 Structure and Functions of Government
Describe the structure of government in the United States and how it functions to serve citizens.

4 – C3.0.7 Explain how the federal government uses taxing and spending to serve the purposes of government.

Economics

E1 Market Economy
Use fundamental principles and concepts of economics to understand economic activity in a market economy.

4 – E1.0.1 Identify questions economists ask in examining the United States (e.g., What is produced? How is it produced? How much is produced? Who gets what is produced? What role does the government play in the economy?).

4 – E1.0.2 Describe some characteristics of a market economy (e.g., private property rights, voluntary exchange, competition, consumer sovereignty, incentives, specialization).

4 – E1.0.3 Describe how positive and negative incentives influence behavior in a market economy.

4 – E1.0.4 Explain how price affects decisions about purchasing goods and services (substitute goods).

4 – E1.0.5 Explain how specialization and division of labor increase productivity (e.g., assembly line). (H)

4 – E1.0.6 Explain how competition among buyers results in higher prices and competition among sellers results in lower prices (e.g., supply, demand).

4 – E1.0.7 Demonstrate the circular flow model by engaging in a market simulation, which includes households and businesses and depicts the interactions among them.

4 – E1.0.8 Explain why public goods (e.g., libraries, roads, parks, the Mackinac Bridge) are not privately owned. (H)

E2 National Economy
Use fundamental principles and concepts of economics to understand economic activity in the United States.

4 – E2.0.1 Explain how changes in the United States economy impact levels of employment and unemployment (e.g., changing demand for natural resources, changes in technology, changes in competition). (H)

E3 International Economy
Use fundamental principles and concepts of economics to understand economic activity in the global economy.)

4 – E3.0.1 Describe how global competition affects the national economy (e.g., outsourcing of jobs, increased supply of goods, opening new markets, quality controls).

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