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Teacher: Kevin Klemm Date: 2/24/12 Subject: 11th grade U.S.

History Period: 1st 3rd Objectives: Students will connect the beginning activity to the overall concept of how capitalism and communism work in todays society Students will demonstrate the knowledge gained during the lesson by deciding which economic system is better in todays society 15-20 mins Bellringer Activity o The lesson will begin with the teacher passing out 3 small sheets of paper to each student. Each sheet will have a number on it, ranging from 1-100. These numbers represent a dollar amount to be used in an auction. o In the front of the class, there will be four small bags filled with candy. The teacher will begin by telling the students that the bidding for the first bag of candy will start at $1. o The auction will proceed until no one chooses to bid any higher. The buyer will hand over their money, receive their bag, and the selling price will be written on the board. o The same process will be used for the last three bags. o The teacher should NOT tell the students that they are allowed to pool their money together they should figure this out on their own o The debriefing of the activity will begin by having students notice the numbers on the board What happened to the bids for the bags of candy? (They got higher) Why did they get higher? (The number of bags decreased, and people realized their chances of getting one were decreasing) o The other part of the activity involves handing out one piece of candy to each student. The candy should vary in

15-20 mins

10-15 mins

size Did everyone get a piece of candy? (Yes) Did everyone get an equal piece? (No) But I thought everyone got a piece of candy? (Some students got a bigger piece of candy than others did) What economic systems do each of these activities represent? (1st-capitalism, 2nd-communism) Lecture on Capitalism vs. Communism o Notes on each economic system o Discussion of each system in theory vs. each system in practice Did everyone have a fair shot at bidding on the bags of candy in the first activity? Is poverty eliminated in communism? Example for communism Varying test scores throughout the class if I average them out and give everyone the same grade, is that fair? For those that got high grades before I averaged them out, what do you do the next time we take a test? (Study less) the average on the next test goes down Example for capitalism Gas prices continue to go up and sometimes go up even when oil prices are going down Why? Each gas station knows that people have to get gas in order to get around, therefore they can charge (to an extent) whatever price they deem reasonable Which system is better? o Students will write a paragraph about which system they believe is better in todays society o Upon doing that, a class discussion about why students made their choice will conclude the lesson

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