Suggested Units for 6-8 Grade Social Studies Standards

Unit 1:
Producers, Consumer and Markets (SS8.2.1, SS8.2.2)

Key concepts:
Producers, Consumers, Productive Resources, Demand, Supply, Profit, Entrepreneurs

Focus: Middle School Economics

• Unit 2 Lesson 3 "To Market, Which Market?" Markets as places where goods and services are exchanged; students identify local markets.
• Unit 2 Lesson 4 "How Much will you buy?" Construct simply demand schedule and graph; discuss law of demand Unit 2 Lesson 5 "Demand Shifters" Students look for reasons demand for goods and services change besides price Unit 2 Lesson 6 "Inflation" Classroom activity to show what happens to prices when money supply increases
• Unit 3, Lesson 7 "Terrific T's Company: Production Decisions" Students look at what goes into producing a product and what happens when things change
• Unit 3, Lesson 8 "How Many Should we sell?" Discussion of the relationship between price and the quantity producers will make
• Unit 3 Lesson 9 "The Profit Puzzle" Calculating level of profit from varies products for sale.

• Lesson 19 "What's the Big Deal about Spices?" Activity working with spices to determine prices and compare past and present

Unit 2:
Economic Systems (SS8.2.3, SS8.2.4, SS 8.2.5)

Key Concepts:
Traditional, Command, Market Systems, Role of Government, Private property, Economic Institutions

Focus: Middle School World History

• Lesson 11 "Economic Systems of the Incas and Aztecs" Activity showing characteristics of command and market and basic systems questions
• Lesson 14 "The Economic System of Medieval Europe" Activity reviews 3 systems and explores role of incentives

• Lesson 4 "What, How and For Whom to Produce"
  Activity showing the difference between command and market system

• Lesson 5 "Economic Freedom, How Important is it?" Comparing economic freedom in various countries and the standard of living, GDP

Unit 3:
Role of Government in the Economy (SS8.2.10, SS8.2.11)

• Lesson 2 "Goods and Services, Some are Private, Some are Not" Analyze goods and services available in community and who provides them
• Lesson 4 "Uncle Sam's Checkbook" Activity looks at 4 major areas of government spending and what taxes support them

• Unit 4 Lesson 10 "Where does the Money Go?" Categorize federal spending and calculate the percentage of spending
• Unit 4 "Where does the money come from?" Type of taxes and what they are used for

Unit 4: Trade (SS.2.12, SS8.2.13)

• Lesson 6 "Trading Connections" Activity demonstrating the benefits of trade
  

• Lesson 5 "Clothes from Grain: Miracle or Problem?" Fables show why people trade and analyze cost and benefits of trade polices