Show Me The Money: Major Economic Systems

Subject: Social Studies

Lesson Length: 55 - 60 mins

Topic: Economic Systems

Grade Level: 7

Standards / Framework:

Brief Description: Students will understand the three major economic systems and explore the pros and cons of each.

Know Before You Start: Students should have a good understanding of what an economy is and why countries would need a system in place.

Hook:

Have students imagine they are now the leaders of their own country with some difficult decisions to make. They have already begun to set up a government but are unsure of how they want the country’s economy to operate.
Discuss the following:
- What are some laws they would make?
- How would their economy work?
- Would there be any rules regarding how much money workers should make?
- How would business owners be taxed?
Read and discuss the sample comic.

Activity:

Introduce the following vocabulary:
- economy
- supply
- demand
- markets
- interdependence
- consumer
- scarcity
Have students research the three major economic systems: Socialism, Capitalism, and Communism.
Next, have them choose one of the three systems as the economic system for their new country.
Using the sample comic as a guide, have them create a three-panel comic illustrating their chosen system.
- Panel 1: Define the system you selected.
- Panel 2: Illustrate why you chose this system and why it benefits your country.
- Panel 3: Illustrate any downsides (cons) you see to implementing this system in your country.

Closure:

Group students into groups of three; one student for each system.
Have each group discuss their comics and their reason for choosing the system. Ask students to persuade other group members to switch their system.
As a class, find out if anyone was persuaded. Have a few volunteers present their economic system and explain why they think it is best for their country.

Differentiation:

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