Economic Systems

6th Grade World Geography

Document Based Lesson

SS6E5 The student will analyze different economic systems.

• A. Compare how traditional, command, and market economies answer the economic questions of 1 – what to produce, 2 – how to produce, and 3- for whom to produce.

• B. Explain how most countries have a mixed economy located on a continuum between pure and market and pure command.

• C. Compare the basic types of economic systems found in United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia.

Essential Question

1. How do the leaders within different economic systems decide the following:

a. What to produce?

b. How to produce?

c. For whom to produce?

Overview:

The world's economic systems fall into one of four main categories:

a. Traditional economy b. Market economy c. Command economy d. Mixed economy

However, there are unlimited variations of each type. An economic system must define what to produce, how to produce it and for whom to produce it.

Depending on the products produced and the environment, certain economic strategies will be more successful than others. Today we will be looking at the first three.

The Documents:

1. Document A: The Economic Continuum2. Document B: Traditional Economy3. Document C: Laissez-Faire4. Document D: England- A Market Economy5. Document E: Command Economies, etc.

Background Questions1. Describe in your own words what an economic system is.2. What is unique about a traditional economic system?3. Where might traditional economic systems be found?4. What is another name for a command economy?5. What is the difference between a free market economy and a

social market economy?6. What kind of economy does the United States of America have?7. Define or explain each of these terms:

Goods DistributionInputs EnterpriseOutputs RegulateScarcity

Understanding the Question and Pre-Bucketing

1. What is the analytical question asked by this Mini-Q?2. What terms in the question, if any, need to be defined?3. Rewrite the question in your own words.

Pre-BucketingDirections: Using any clues from the Mini-Q question and the document titles on the cover page, predict analytical categories and label the buckets. We suggest a three-bucket framework.

Traditional Economy

Market Economy

Command Economy

Hook Excercise

Questions:

1. Where do you think that the United States of America falls on this economic continuum? Why?____________________________________________________

2. Where do you think that Russia falls on this economic continuum? Why? ___________________________________________________________________

3. Where do you think that England (the United Kingdom) falls on this economic continuum? Why? ____________________________________________________

Command Market

Example of a Traditional Economy

Questions:

1.What type of household does this traditional economy center around?

2.What are some of their sources of income?

3.How does this farm household utilize their goats and fowl?

4.What can you infer the farm households standard of living to be like?

René de Voyer, Marquis d'Argenson: The Origin of Laissez- Faire

Laissez-faire: An economic environment in which transactions between private parties are free from tariffs, government subsidies, and enforced monopolies, with only enough government regulations sufficient to protect property rights against theft and aggression. The phrase laissez-faire is French and literally means "let [them] do", but it broadly implies "let it be," "let them do as they will," or "leave it alone." Scholars generally believe a laissez-faire state or a completely free market has never existed.

Quote Translation:

“Leave it be, that should be the motto of all public powers, as the world is civilized ... That we cannot grow except by lowering our neighbors is a detestable notion! Only malice and malignity of heart is satisfied with such a principle and our (national) interest is opposed to it. Leave it be, for heaven's sake! Leave it be!)”

Questions:

1. What does the term Laissez-faire mean?

2. How can you relate the term Laissez-Faire to a market economy?

3. Do you agree with scholars that a completely free market has never existed? Justify your answer.

4. Do you agree or disagree with the Laissez-Faire philosophy? Why or why not?

England’s Market EconomyQuestions:

1.What are the 5 branches of this market economy chart?

2.What role do consumers play in the demand side of the market economy?

3.What things might effect supply in a market economy?

4.What does equilibrium mean?

5.What determines a surplus &/or a shortage?

6.What do the consumers and producers desire in price?

Command Economy

Questions:

1.Interpret the image of Stalin pulling the strings on the puppet as it relates to a command economy.

2.Using the segment on the command economy from your background essay, What role do you think the man in the sunglasses plays in the command economy?

3.According to the map how strong do you believe the presence of command economies are in the world? Why?

Traditional Economy

Determined ByCustoms, Traditions, community or religion

Determined ByCustoms, Traditions, community or religion

Determined ByCustoms, Traditions, community or religion

Who answers the 3 basic Questions?

Who answers the 3 basic Questions?

Using the previous graphic answer the below questions:

1.In a command economy who decides what to produce?

2.In a Market Economy Who decides how things are produced?

3.What if any are some similarities between a market and command economy?

4.Why do you believe that almost all economic systems are mixed economies?

5.Which of the four economic systems do you agree with their decision making process and why?

Bucketing Getting Ready to Write

• Bucketing

Look over all the documents and organize them into your final buckets. We suggest a three-bucket format, but other formats are possible. Write the final labels under each bucket and place the letters of the documents in the buckets where they belong. It is okay to put a document in more than one bucket. Remember, your buckets are going to become your body paragraphs.

• Thesis Development and Roadmap

On the chickenfoot below, write your thesis and your roadmap. Your thesis is always an opinion and answers the Mini-Q question. The roadmap is created from your bucket labels and lists the topic areas you will examine in order to prove your thesis.

Traditional Economy

Market Economy

Command Economy

From Thesis to Essay WritingMini-Q Essay Outline Guide

Working Title

Paragraph #1

Grabber

Background

Stating the question with key terms defined

Thesis and Roadmap

Paragraph #2

Baby Thesis for bucket one

Evidence: supporting detail from documents with document citation

Argument: connecting evidence to thesis

Paragraph #3

Baby Thesis for bucket two

Evidence

Argument

Paragraph #4

Baby Thesis for bucket three

Evidence

Argument

Paragraph #5

Conclusion: Restatement of main idea along with possible insight or wrinkle