Standard 3: Understand the fundamental concepts and interrelationships of the United States economy in the international marketplace.

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General Information
Number: SS.7.E.3
Title: Understand the fundamental concepts and interrelationships of the United States economy in the international marketplace.
Type: Standard
Subject: Social Studies
Grade: 7
Strand: Economics

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Access Points

SS.7.E.3.AP.1
Identify that various currencies from different countries can be exchanged for trade.
SS.7.E.3.AP.2
Identify that the changing value of currency increases or decreases trade of goods and services between nations.
SS.7.E.3.AP.3
Identify the differences and similarities between a single resource economy and a diversified economy.
SS.7.E.3.AP.4
Compare and contrast the standard of living in various countries today to that of the United States using gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as an indicator.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans

Raising the Bar: A look at Capitalist vs. Government-Controlled Nations:

This lesson is called “Raising the Bar- A look at Capitalist vs. Government Controlled Nations.” This activity will help students to gain a deeper understanding of the differences between capitalism and socialism/communism and the advantages of capitalism based on the GDP and GDP per capita of eight nations. This activity should follow an introductory lesson on the forms/systems of government and economic systems. The teacher will provide students with information on the types of economic systems and provide them with data on eight selected nations. Students will work collaboratively to create color-coded bar graphs to show GDP or GDP per capita over 20 years (2002, 2012, and 2022) for the eight selected nations. Students will use this information to determine the advantages of capitalist/free-market system.

Type: Lesson Plan

Show Me the Money: Capitalism, Socialism, Communism:

The lesson begins with students exploring the terms economic freedom and standard of living in a group discussion.  Students will complete graphic organizers about capitalism, socialism, and communism as they learn via a provided PowerPoint presentation.  Students will reflect in writing on the advantages of capitalism and the free market. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Domestic and Foreign Policy Scavenger Hunt:

In this lesson plan, students will fill out a note guide and apply their new knowledge about domestic and foreign policies by sorting news stories and current events into categories of domestic and foreign topics.

Type: Lesson Plan

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