Part of Lesson Plan: California Commodities

Activity Overview / Details

When class begins, gather students outside of the door, and deliver the following set of directions:

1) As they enter the room, they are going to be counted off into five different groups.

2) Each group has a station, which has a task sheet, a brown paper bag filled with resources, paper, and markers

3) As a group, they will have 3 minutes to complete Task #1 on the task sheet

Once you have delivered the direction set, allow the students to ask questions of clarification. After you have addressed the questions, allow students into the room, count them off into the five groups, and make sure that they have started on task #1 on the Task Sheet.

After the groups have completed their flags, name, and inventory - deliver the following set of directions:

1) Now that we have a name, a flag, and have identified your resources it is now time to start providing for the citizens of your nation

2) On your task sheet you will find a wants list for all of the nations. It will be your duty to designate your traders, your inventory keeps, and your banker.

3) Your group will have 5 minutes to acquire or trade as many goods as you can in order to fulfill the wants of your citizens.

4) At the end of the 5 minutes, you will return to your country and await further instructions.

Once you have delivered the directions, allow students to ask questions for clarification. Once they are ready, begin the trading, and at the end of the 5 minutes have them return to their seats and recount all of their items and money. After the counting has taken place, ask the following questions:

1) How many Nations were able to meet the wants of our citizens?

2) How many Nations had more of what was desired?

3) How many Nations ended the activity with much more than you started with?

4) How many Nations were not able to meet the wants of their citizens?

5) How many Nations ran out of money to purchase goods?

6) Who can tell us what this represented?

Inform the students that today they are going to have the opportunity to work with California's Top Commodities and understand the impact that they have on our State's economy.