Part 2: Follows lesson, "Moving With Trade."

Introduction: This is the simulation portion to "Moving With Trade." People saw the wonderful goods that the explorers brought back with them. To fulfill their wants and needs, they began to trade with others. This lesson will give students a better idea of what it was like to trade with others.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Participate as a producer of goods.
2. Participate as a consumer of goods.
3. Apply the concepts of supply and demand.
4. Apply the concepts of scarcity.
5. Experience trading.
6. Generalize how trading works.
7. Work cooperatively with others.

Geography Standards: The geographically informed person knows and understands:

11. The patterns and networks of economic, interdependence on Earth's surface.

16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.

Materials:

• Patterns for products (bag of sugar, porcelain, grain, spices, silk) prepared prior to simulation, one per group
• Supplies
• List of products and directions, "At the Marketplace", prepared prior to simulation
• Sign: "Marketplace"
• Pictures, tapes, etc. on marketplaces, Venice
• Paper - use inexpensive paper...newsprint, newspaper, odds & ends

Assessment: Teacher's discretion. Suggestions: Students should know terms such as: producer, consumers, supply, demand, scarcity, and trade. Could students work cooperatively to get the job done? Have students write several paragraphs discussing explorers, marketplace, resources, and interdependence. How well did they understand the ideas?

Procedure:

1. Discuss how an environment can sometimes dictate what products may be produced in an area depending on the physical environment and resources.
2. Review why the Europeans began their voyages of discovery and explorations.
3. Provide students with pictures of marketplaces. Have them generalize what marketplaces may include (i.e., fresh produce, other goods, people, trading, noise, smell). If available, have students listen to a tape of the sounds in a marketplace. Discuss where the open markets are in their neighborhood. Compare. Discuss.
4. Familiarize students with the location of Venice, Italy. Share pictures of Venice with students. Discuss physical and cultural landscape.
5. Discuss economic terms such as: producer, consumer, scarcity, supply, demand, trade
6. Explain to students that the environments of a region help determine what products can be produced. This can lead to trading of goods that people want or need for survival.
7. Students will participate in a marketplace in Venice, Italy. Place the sign "Marketplace" where trading takes place.
8. Divide students into five groups. Each group will represent a region that will produce a product. Groups will trade with each other.
9. Using the pattern and supplies provided, each group will trace, label, and cut their product. The more pieces the groups have, the more they can trade at the Marketplace. Give them a few minutes to begin production.
10. Provide each group with "At the Marketplace." (A list of products they need should be recorded prior to the simulation. A different amount should be given to each group.)
11. When the signal is given, one person from each group goes to the marketplace to trade. Each group member should be given a chance to trade. While that person is trading, the rest of the group should be producing the group's product.
12. Stop when the first group has collected all of its products.
13. Discuss what students have experienced. i.e., What did they learn about supply and demand, trading, scarcity. etc.? What did they learn as a group member? What are the effects of resource availability?
14. Have students apply what they have learned about early Europeans, exploration, and trading. Have them generalize the information learned.