3rd+Grade+Economics

=3rd Grade Economics:=




 * * Suggested Materials
 * Key Vocabulary
 * Essential Question(s)
 * Enduring Understandings
 * Unit Objectives
 * Beginning the Unit
 * As the Unit Continues
 * Toward the End of the Unit
 * Teacher Suggestions
 * Work Samples ||

=Suggested Materials=

Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier
 * Books:**

Time for Kids Around the World
 * Magazines:**

 __http://www.freerice.com/ http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/ http://www.kiva.org/__
 * Internet:**

= = = = = = =Key Vocabulary=

trade barter money resources loans services producer consumer**
 * economy

= = __ Enduring Understandings: __ __ Unit Objectives: __
 * __ Essential Questions: __**
 * ** What is the responsibility of a world community to provide for the needs and wants of its members?  **
 * ** What is the responsibility of the members of a world community to provide for their own needs and wants?  **
 * Students will understand that the organization of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in world communities affect their ability to meet the economic needs and wants of their citizens.
 * Students will understand that the environmental and geographic resources of a world community impact its ability to provide the goods and services needed by its citizens.
 * Students will identify and compare two world communities to highlight differences in the process/structures they use to provide for the economic needs and wants of their citizens.
 * Using the same two communities, students will identify how the environment and geographic resources of the communities impacted the provision of goods and services.
 * Students will examine how people in world communities trade or barter for their needs.

= = = = =Lesson Ideas=

Visit Kiva.org to talk about microloans http://www.kiva.org/

Visit Heifer: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/

Use the site to have conversations about how people can use the resources around them to solve problems and get what they need. Discuss how the internet allows us to be "global connected"

Have students create a "loan" plan for a person in a country of their choice. They could use indidivuals listed on these websites for ideas, could create a "fictionalized" character to create a loan for or use a character from a trade book.

Students could also write a "mock" loan. They could inhabit a persons life from another country in order to write a loan request that would demonstrate an understanding of the resources available in another country.

Make an argument to buy one animal on the Heifer site. Argue why that animal would the best choice given the community needs. You could provide a "budget" to a student or groups of students have them create a spreadsheet or chart depicting how they would make their spending choices and why.

Compare and contrast how you could use that budget across different communities. What does 250$ buy you in the US? A Wii, clothes, new shoes? What does 250$ buy you in a developing country? Create a chart, poster, report that depicts this.

Use Hot Shot Business (http://disney.go.com/hotshot/hsb2/index.html) to have discussions about using resources to manage your business. Create a plan for running future "businesses" and consider how a business might look in another country.