Normally, I would not look at lessons beyond the 8th grade level, but this one caught my eye because it is hard to describe the traditional economy for students at the middle school level. I believe that even though this lesson was created for the high school student, that you could use a lot of the lesson to teach middle school students as well. There are ample technology links in this lesson to adapt and use to teach definitions and background information. I looked up all the links and was very excited to go on further in those links to learn more. Because the kids would be so engaged in the research, I feel they would learn a great deal. There is a LOT of meat in this lesson. A good background on a market economy would be a big plus before starting this lesson. I also feel that it is more than just a one-lesson timeline. I think you will need to help your students walk through the responses they give on the questions, and perhaps have a cooperative learning group for discussion if your class size is very large. This lesson also meets and exceeds any multicultural standards your district may require. I learned a lot from this lesson, and plan on taking it with me to use in my middle school classroom. Thanks for tackling a tough example to teach!!

I am glad to find a lesson that gives an example a traditional economy that still exists! The lesson teaches about the Inuit and the way the tribe depends on one another for survival, and it also has students use a Venn Diagram to compare the traditional economy to a market economy. It includes worksheets with questions that would be good for starting discussions, and it also encourages student to engage in their own research.