Economics

Grade 6

 

Overarching Question:   How do the following five factors of geography influence the settlement and economy of a region?

 

Absolute and relative location

Climate

Major physical characteristics

Major natural resources

Population size

 

Enduring Understandings

 

MA History/ Social  Science Curriculum Framework (2003)

Assessments

Standards of living vary widely throughout the world.

 

Supply and demand determine how resources get used.

 

Trade (import and export) is an integral part of the economy of a nation.

 

The purpose of taxes is to enable the government to provide some goods and services.

 

Individuals and nations decide what/why/and for whom to produce.

 

 

Vocabulary:

 

supply

demand

products

consumers

market economy

production

distribution

 

 

Provide examples of currencies from several countries and explain why international trade requires a system for exchanging currency between nations.

 

Give examples of products that are traded among nations, and give examples of barriers to trade in these and other products.

 

Define supply and demand and describe how changes in supply and demand affect prices of specific products.

 Supply is what producers or sellers want to sell or exchange.  Demand is what consumers or buyers want  to get in exchange or buy.

Identify the key elements of a market economy.

       In a market economy, the major decisions about production and distribution are made in a decentralized manner by individualized households and business firms following their own self-interest.

 

Describe how different economic systems (traditional, command, market, mixed) try to answer the basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.

 

Compare the standard of living in various countries today using gross domestic product per capita as an indicator.

  

Sample Assessments

 

 

Sample Learning Experiences