7th+Grade+Curriculum

 **7th Grade Curriculum map** __**Units:**__

Reformation Unit ||= Age of Exploration and Scientific Revolution Unit ||
 * ~ 1st Quarter ||~ 2nd Quarter ||~ 3rd Quarter ||~ 4th Quarter ||
 * = Greek Unit ||= Asian Unit ||= Middle Ages Unit ||= African Unit ||
 * = Roman Unit ||= Islam Unit ||= Renaissance and

My livebinder site with more information on the content.

Strands: - || 18 ||  || 19 || 21 || - ||  ||   || 20 ||   ||
 * ~ ** HISTORY ** ||~  ||~ -- ||~ GEOGRAPHY ||~   ||
 * **Content Statements** || **Content Statements** ||  || **Content Statements** || **Content Statements** ||
 * 1 || 7 ||  || 12 || 14 ||
 * 2 || 8 ||  || 13 || 15 ||
 * 3 || 9 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 4 || 10 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 5 || 11 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 6 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ~ GOVERNMENT ||~  ||~   ||~ ECONOMICS ||~   ||
 * **Content Statements** || **Content Statements** ||  || **Content Statements** || **Content Statements** ||
 * 16
 * 16
 * 17

 =HISTORY= ==

** Topic: Historical Thinking and Skills **

 * Historical thinking begins with a clear sense of time – past, present and future – and becomes more precise as students progress. Historical thinking includes skills such as locating, researching, analyzing and interpreting primary and secondary sources so that students can begin to understand the relationships among events and draw conclusions.

Historians and archaeologists describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today’s norms and values.
 * Content Statement 1:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Development of historical thinking concepts began in earlier grades by having students look at primary source documents to understand that multiple sources and perspectives are needed to build a historical narrative.
 * Historians and archaeologists provide an accurate account and assessment of a historical event. This requires them to avoid the influence of current norms and values in interpreting and evaluating the past. They generally attempt to describe events through the perspectives of those living at the time. As students examine a historian or archaeologist’s interpretation of an event, students should look to see how they meet this standard.
 * By having students critically evaluate diaries, letters, eyewitness accounts, archaeological artifacts and architecture of particular moments in time, they develop an understanding that history is interpreted. They also become active participants in historical investigation.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time, avoiding evaluating the past in terms of today’s norms and values.

back to top




 * Topic: Early Civilizations **
 * The eight features of civilizations include cities, well-organized central governments, complex religions, job specialization, social classes, arts and architecture, public works and writing. Early peoples developed unique civilizations. Several civilizations established empires with legacies influencing later peoples.

The civilizations that developed in Greece and Rome had an enduring impact on later civilizations. This legacy includes governance and law, engineering and technology, art and architecture, as well as literature and history. The Roman Empire also played an instrumental role in the spread of Christianity.
 * Content Statement 2:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The legacy of ancient Greece and Rome is embedded in Western culture. The ideas on governance and law were impacted by the concepts of citizenship and democracy that originated in Ancient Greece. Greece developed a “direct democracy.”
 * The Greeks created the astrolabe, the pulley block, the wood screw, ore smelting and casting, and built faster ships. The influence of Ancient Greek art and building designs (e.g., rectangular temples with tall columns all around) can be seen in many cities today. Greek literature inspired the Romans and other writers over the centuries. Greeks also developed the study of history.
 * Rome influenced government and law by creating the first republic with elected officials and a system of laws that laid the foundation for many governments. It created a written constitution, a tripartite government (executive, legislative and judicial branches), a system of checks and balances, and a sense of civic duty.
 * Roman roads, basilicas, amphitheaters, aqueducts and layouts of cities continue to influence the modern world. Many modern government buildings have Roman styling that includes domes and arches.
 * Roman literature and poetry impacted future western civilizations. Rome’s contributions to art include frescoes and sculptures.
 * The spread of Christianity was aided by the network of roads built by the Romans. Although Christians were persecuted for centuries by the Romans, it eventually became the official religion of the empire.

back to top
 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Cite examples and explain the enduring impact that Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had on later civilizations.




 * Topic: Feudalism and Transitions**
 * Feudalism developed as a political system based on small local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from interactions between the Muslim world and European states. These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and institutions.

Germanic invasions helped to break up the Roman Empire and set the stage for the development of feudal and manorial systems. Later invasions helped establish Mongol dominance in central Asia and led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks.
 * Content Statement 3:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The breakup of the Roman Empire, hastened by Germanic invasions and the decline of Roman institutions such as a central government, led to the development of feudal and manorial systems.
 * Feudalism was the system by which medieval Europeans organized their power and governments. Vassals received land and protection from a lord when they worked and fought for him. It might be understood as a pyramid with the monarch presiding over a hierarchy of less important vassals.
 * The manorial system was related to feudalism. It was an economic relationship between the peasants and lord. The peasants worked on land owned by the lord in return for fixed dues in kind, money and services. The manorial system prevailed in many European countries.
 * By the 13th century, the Mongols had invaded and established dominance in Central Asia, China, Persia, Tibet, Iraq, much of Asia Minor and all of southern Russia.
 * The Byzantine Empire was invaded by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th and 15th centuries, and finally fell in 1453. Constantinople was the ultimate goal for the Turks since its physical position was very favorable economically, militarily and strategically.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe how Germanic invasions helped to break up the Roman Empire and set the stage for the development of feudal and manorial systems.
 * Describe how the dominance of Mongols in Asia led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks.

back to top




 * Topic: Feudalism and Transitions**
 * Feudalism developed as a political system based on small local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from interactions between the Muslim world and European states. These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and institutions.

Mongol influence led to unified states in China and Korea, but the Mongol failure to conquer Japan allowed a feudal system to persist.
 * Content Statement 4:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The Mongols conquered and united most of present day China and Korea for approximately 80 years during the 13th and 14th centuries. This dynasty strengthened trade in China by exporting porcelain and silk.
 * Growing opposition to the rule of the foreigners led to the overthrow of the Mongols. Korea and China reverted back to dynasties in their respective countries.
 * The Mongols attempted to conquer Japan but were unsuccessful. Japan’s system of feudalism persisted and, over time, led to an insular and isolated society that continued to the 19th century.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain how the Mongol influence led to unified states in China and Korea and how their failure to conquer Japan allowed a feudal system to persist.

back to top




 * Topic: Feudalism and Transitions**
 * Feudalism developed as a political system based on small local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from interactions between the Muslim world and European states. These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and institutions.

Achievements in medicine, science, mathematics and geography by the Islamic civilization dominated most of the Mediterranean after the decline of the Roman Empire. These achievements were introduced into Western Europe as a result of the Muslim conquests, Crusades and trade, influencing the European Renaissance.
 * Content Statement 5:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * In grade six, students learned general knowledge about world religions, including Islam, as they relate to the overall culture of a region. This year, the study focuses on the impact of Islamic civilization as it spread throughout most of the Mediterranean in the period following the fall of Rome and its later impact on the European Renaissance.
 * Muslims made contributions in anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, and in medicine with the creation of a medical textbook. Islamic advances in astronomy aided their development of a calendar and improvement of the astrolabe.
 * They helped establish chemistry as a distinct branch of science and trigonometry as a distinct branch of mathematics. Muslims produced world maps and, later, served as navigators for European explorers.
 * Islamic achievements spread when Muslim rulers conquered most of the Middle East and parts of southern Europe, and from the trade that grew as a result of the Crusades.
 * As the golden age of Islam was waning in the 15th century, its impact on learning and culture was evident in the Italian Renaissance that began to flourish.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe achievements by the Islamic civilization and how these achievements were introduced into Western Europe.

back to top




 * Topic: Feudalism and Transitions **
 * Feudalism developed as a political system based on small local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from interactions between the Muslim world and European states. These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and institutions.

The Renaissance in Europe introduced revolutionary ideas, leading to cultural, scientific and social changes.
 * Content Statement 6:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Europe in the 14th through 17th centuries experienced a period in which a rebirth of Greco-Roman ideas impacted culture, science and society. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to other European countries. The social changes that took place during the Renaissance transformed every aspect of European society.
 * The rebirth that took place was most evident in the arts, literature and education. Painters and sculptors depicted naturalistic scenes and realistic details of individuals. Some experimented in the use of perspective. Many writers focused on ideas for reforming society.
 * It also was a period in which conventional scientific theories were challenged. The revolutionary ideas relating to the study of the earth and its place in the universe placed those who espoused them in conflict with the Roman Catholic Church.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Analyze how revolutionary ideas introduced during the Renaissance in Europe led to cultural, scientific and social changes.

back to top




 * Topic: Feudalism and Transitions **
 * Feudalism developed as a political system based on small local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from interactions between the Muslim world and European states. These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and institutions.

The Reformation introduced changes in religion including the emergence of Protestant faiths and a decline in the political power and social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
 * Content Statement 7:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The Reformation was an outgrowth of the Renaissance. It was a period in the 16th and 17th centuries that led to the decline in the political power and social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
 * The Reformation began in Germany and was an attempt to bring reform to some of the policies and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church (e.g. use of indulgences, practice of nepotism). Reform efforts were met with resistance from the Roman Catholic Church and led the creation of a new Protestant denomination (Lutheran). Soon, other Protestant denominations developed across Europe over different issues and under different circumstances (e.g., Anglican, Presbyterian, Anabaptists).


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Analyze how the rise of Protestant faiths during the Reformation resulted in the decline of the political power and social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

back to top




 * Topic: First Global Age **
 * The transoceanic linking of all the major regions of the world led to economic, political, cultural and religious transformations.

Empires in Africa (Ghana, Mali and Songhay) and Asia (Byzantine, Ottoman, Mughal and China) grew as commercial and cultural centers along trade routes.
 * Content Statement 8:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Trade was central to the economic and cultural development of the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay. Their wealth was primarily from the gold they mined, which attracted traders from Europe and the Middle East. These traders brought goods (e.g., salt, tools, cloth), and introduced Islam to the West African empires. Timbuktu became a leading commercial and cultural setting. It attracted scholars from many places due to its long and rich history of learning in religion, mathematics, music, law and literature.
 * Important commercial and cultural centers also developed in Asia. The Byzantine empire flourished when it held the seat of the eastern Roman Empire and continued as an important trade center along the Silk Road. At its height, the Ottoman Empire encompassed much of North Africa, the Middle East and parts of eastern Europe.
 * The strong empire of the Mughals in northern India enabled art, architecture and culture to flourish. The Khyber Pass served as an important trade route.
 * China’s great commercial and cultural centers grew as a result of its link to the western world through the Silk Road where culture and goods were exchanged.
 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe how empires in Africa (Ghana, Mali and Songhay) and Asia (Byzantine, Ottoman, Mughal and China) grew as commercial and cultural centers along trade routes.

back to top




 * Topic: First Global Age**
 * The transoceanic linking of all the major regions of the world led to economic, political, cultural and religious transformations.

The advent of the trans-Saharan slave trade had profound effects on both West and Central Africa and the receiving societies.
 * Content Statement 9:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Slavery existed in Africa long before the arrival of Europeans. Africans became slaves through debt or from being captured in warfare. For centuries, Africans were sold by their rulers to Arab traders who moved them across the Sahara to North Africa to sell in Mediterranean countries. Many Africans died during the transport across the desert.
 * Unlike the Atlantic slave trade that began the 16th century, this form of slavery was not race-based. Slaves were more like indentured servants and there was more assimilation of slaves into the culture of North Africa due to the large number of integrated marriages. Slaves generally served as servants or soldiers in contrast to the harsh conditions for slaves in the Americas.
 * The trans-Saharan slave trade contributed to the development of powerful African states on the southern fringes of the Sahara and in the East African interior. Rulers who sold slaves grew wealthy.
 * This content serves as a foundational understanding of the slave trade as students will study the trans-Atlantic slave trade in grade eight. The trans-Saharan slave trade in Africa contributed to the European rationale for the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe the trans-Saharan slave trade and explain the effects on both West and Central Africa and the receiving societies.

back to top




 * Topic: First Global Age**
 * The transoceanic linking of all the major regions of the world led to economic, political, cultural and religious transformations.

European economic and cultural influence dramatically increased through explorations, conquests and colonization.
 * Content Statement 10:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * As the European powers gained new territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia, they impacted their own economies as well as the areas they claimed. The European powers (e.g., England, France, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain) gained new wealth from the resources they acquired through their explorations, conquests and colonization.
 * The Europeans transformed the cultures of their new territories by establishing similar European governmental structures, converting the indigenous peoples to Christianity, and introducing their languages and technology. They also weakened and supplanted established cultures.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe how European economic and cultural influence increased through explorations, conquests and colonization.

back to top




 * Topic: First Global Age**
 * The transoceanic linking of all the major regions of the world led to economic, political, cultural and religious transformations.

The Columbian Exchange (e.g., the exchange of fauna, flora and pathogens) between previously unconnected parts of the world reshaped societies in ways still evident today.
 * Content Statement 11:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The Columbian Exchange had a global impact culturally and biologically. The arrival of Columbus in the Americas set in motion the exchange of fauna (animal life), flora (plant life) and pathogens (microorganisms that cause diseases) between Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world.
 * Europeans introduced horses, pigs, sheep and cattle to the Americas. Foodstuffs that were transported included bananas, beans, citrus fruits, coffee, grapes, olives, rice and sugar cane. Europeans brought communicable diseases (e.g., measles, small pox) that ravaged the American Indian population.
 * American Indians introduced Europeans to turkeys, as well as cacao beans, maize, potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, pumpkins, peppers and tobacco. Diseases also were carried back to Europe, but with a less devastating impact than those brought to the Americas.
 * The cultures in both continents adapted to these exchanges. For example, the horse became central to American Indian life, while the potato became an integral part of the Irish diet.
 * The Columbian Exchange impacted societies in ways still evident today. Many countries in the Americas are major producers of foodstuffs and products from animals introduced by the Europeans. Likewise, Europeans are producers and consumers of foodstuffs introduced to them by the American Indians.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain how the Columbian Exchange reshaped previously unconnected societies in ways still evident today.

back to top



**Geography** 

** Topic: Spatial Thinking and Skills **

 * Spatial thinking examines the relationships among people, places and environments by mapping and graphing geographic data. Geographic data are compiled, organized, stored and made visible using traditional and geospatial technologies. Students need to be able to access, read, interpret and create maps and other geographic representations as tools of analysis.

Maps and other geographic representations can be used to trace the development of human settlement over time.
 * Content Statement 12:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Maps and other geographic representations such as aerial photographs, satellite-produced imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to trace the development of human settlement from the past to the present.
 * These tools can be used to show the spatial relationships within and among regions and how these relationships have affected human settlement over time. For example, maps can be used to show trade routes and transportation networks between regions as well as changing political boundaries.
 * Maps and other geographic representations can be used to illustrate how population density varies in relation to resources and type of land.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Demonstrate how maps and other geographic representations can be used to trace the development of human settlement from past to present.

back to top




 * Topic: Human Systems **
 * Human systems represent the settlement and structures created by people on Earth’s surface. The growth, distribution and movements of people are driving forces behind human and physical events. Geographers study patterns in cultures and the changes that result from human processes, migrations and the diffusion of new cultural traits.

Geographic factors promote or impede the movement of people, products and ideas.
 * Content Statement 13:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Geographic factors (e.g., climate, bodies of water, mountains, deserts, proximity to natural resources) can contribute to or impede the movement of people, products and ideas. This includes the ability to engage in trade and war, to explore and colonize new lands, to find new places for settlement, and to spread religion and frameworks for governing.
 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe how geographic factors can promote or impede the movement of people, products and ideas.

back to top




 * Topic: Human Systems **
 * Human systems represent the settlement and structures created by people on Earth’s surface. The growth, distribution and movements of people are driving forces behind human and physical events. Geographers study patterns in cultures and the changes that result from human processes, migrations and the diffusion of new cultural traits.

Trade routes connecting Africa, Europe and Asia fostered the spread of technology and major world religions.
 * Content Statement 14:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Trade routes connecting Africa, Asia and Europe not only provided the exchange of technology, but also helped spread religious ideas.
 * The spread of technology took place when caravans from the East brought products such as glass, paper, the magnetic compass and gunpowder along the Silk Road. Caravans from the West brought gold, precious metals and stones, ivory and textiles. Islam expanded as Muslim traders travelled along the Silk Road to Asia and along trade routes connected to African kingdoms. They exchanged goods such as ornamental weapons and utensils.
 * Christianity spread into Europe from the Middle East along the trade routes established by the Roman Empire, mainly through the network of roads built by the Romans. It also penetrated China through the Silk Road, the major trade route connecting Europe and Asia.
 * Buddhism spread throughout the eastern half of Asia through trade routes that evolved over time, including the Silk Road.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain how trade routes connecting Africa, Europe and Asia fostered the spread of technology and major world religions.

back to top




 * Topic: Human Systems **
 * Human systems represent the settlement and structures created by people on Earth’s surface. The growth, distribution and movements of people are driving forces behind human and physical events. Geographers study patterns in cultures and the changes that result from human processes, migrations and the diffusion of new cultural traits.

Improvements in transportation, communication and technology have facilitated cultural diffusion among peoples around the world.
 * Content Statement 15:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Cultural diffusion refers to the spread of the traits, ideas and products of a culture. Diffusion has increased over time with improvements in transportation, communication and technology.
 * Improvements in transportation and technology facilitated cultural diffusion. For example, the roads built by the Romans allowed for the spread of Christianity. The invention of the astrolabe and magnetic compass plus improvements in shipbuilding allowed Spain to explore new lands.
 * Improvements in communication and technology facilitated cultural diffusion. For example, the inventions of paper and the printing press both led to mass productions of maps, pamphlets and books. The printing of the Bible hastened the Protestant Reformation.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Select examples of improvements in transportation, communication and technology and explain how they have facilitated cultural diffusion among peoples around the world.

back to top



=Government= 


 * Topic: Civic Participation and Skills**
 * Civic participation embraces the ideal that an individual actively engages in his or her community, state or nation for the common good. Students need to practice effective communication skills including negotiation, compromise and collaboration. Skills in accessing and analyzing information are essential for citizens in a democracy.

The ability to understand individual and group perspectives is essential to analyzing historic and contemporary issues.
 * Content Statement 16:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Individuals and groups often hold differing perspectives on issues, both historic and contemporary. As students investigate issues, they should be challenged to understand the multiple perspectives that individuals and groups may have.
 * For example, to reach an understanding of the dynamics of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, one should analyze the perspectives of those who justified it and those who opposed it, including the slaves. An understanding of the dynamics of colonialism should include an analysis of the perspectives of the colonial power and the colonized.
 * It also is essential that one understands what may influence the perspective of an individual or group. These influences can be based on cultural, ethnic, religious or geographical contexts.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Demonstrate how understanding individual and group perspectives is essential to analyzing historic and contemporary issues.

back to top




 * Topic: Roles and Systems of Government**
 * The purpose of government in the United States is to establish order, protect the rights of individuals and to promote the common good. Governments may be organized in different ways and have limited or unlimited powers.

Greek democracy and the Roman Republic were radical departures from monarchy and theocracy, influencing the structure and function of modern democratic governments.
 * Content Statement 17:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * The Athenian form of democracy invested power with its citizens, not an individual ruler. It was a direct form of democracy since all of the citizens (i.e., males over 18 with Athenian fathers) participated.
 * The Roman Republic expanded the Greek model of democracy. It was a representative government with elected officials, division of powers and an emphasis on civic duty. The powers of the Roman government were divided among the Senate, the Consuls and the Assemblies. Roman citizenship was granted to males if they had a parent who was a citizen, was a freed slave or made a huge payment. Citizens had rights and were expected to vote, register for the census and perform military service.
 * Many governments today were influenced by the Greek and Roman models. For example, the United States is a representative democracy with a written constitution that limits the powers of the government by dividing them among three branches.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Describe how Greek democracy and the Roman Republic were radical departures from monarchy and theocracy.
 * Explain how they influenced the structure and function of modern democratic governments.

back to top




 * Topic: Roles and Systems of Government**
 * The purpose of government in the United States is to establish order, protect the rights of individuals and to promote the common good. Governments may be organized in different ways and have limited or unlimited powers.

With the decline of feudalism, consolidation of power resulted in the emergence of nation states.
 * Content Statement 18:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * There were many causes of the decline of feudalism in Western Europe, including the impact of trade that developed as a result of the Crusades, the transition from a land-based economy to a money-based economy, the growth of towns and the increase in centralized governments.
 * Kings began to consolidate power, lessening the power of nobles. This led to the rise of nation states (i.e. sovereign territorial units characterized with defined borders, common languages, culture and values).
 * As England emerged as a nation state, the lesser nobles limited the authority of the king by forcing him to sign the Magna Carta. The document placed limits on the power of the king and led to the development of democratic principles that influenced the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain how the decline of feudalism in Western Europe and consolidation of power resulted in the emergence of nation states.

back to top



=Economics= 


 * Topic: Economic Decision Making and Skills**
 * Effective economic decision making requires students to be able to reason logically about key economic issues that affect their lives as consumers, producers, savers, investors and citizens. Economic decision making and skills engage students in the practice of analyzing costs and benefits, collecting and organizing economic evidence, and proposing alternatives to economic problems.

Individuals, governments and businesses must analyze costs and benefits when making economic decisions. A cost-benefit analysis consists of determining the potential costs and benefits of an action and then balancing the costs against the benefits.
 * Content Statement 19:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Economic decisions, whether they are made by individuals, governments or businesses, are generally made by weighing the costs with the benefits. The desired choice is when the benefits of a decision exceed the costs. This decision-making process is referred to as cost-benefit analysis.
 * For example, individuals weigh the potential costs and benefits of purchasing expensive products or attending college. Governments do the same when making economic decisions such as erecting public buildings or funding military actions. Historical examples can be found in decisions of early civilizations and countries to establish trade routes, engage in slave trade, explore and colonize new lands. Businesses determine the potential costs and benefits of activities such as investing in research and development, expanding or changing production.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain why individuals, governments and businesses must analyze costs and benefits when making economic decisions.
 * Describe how a cost-benefit analysis consists of determining the potential costs and benefits of an action.

back to top




 * Topic: Scarcity**
 * There are not enough resources to produce all the goods and services that people desire.

The variability in the distribution of productive resources in the various regions of the world contributed to specialization, trade and interdependence.
 * Content Statement 20:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Productive resources are not distributed equally around the world. Productive resources (i.e., natural resources, human resources and capital goods) are the resources used to make goods and services. The abundance or lack of resources in a region contributes to specialization and trade with other regions.
 * Specialization is the concentration of production on fewer kinds of goods and services than are consumed. When regions and/or countries specialize, they trade to obtain goods and services they want but do not or cannot produce. As societies grew and trade expanded, interdependence increased.
 * For example, the availability of productive resources such as tea and spices in Asia, tobacco, cotton, coffee, gold and silver in the Americas, and ivory and gold in Africa, led these regions to specialize. They traded for goods they did not have and wanted. This exchange promoted global interdependence.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Discuss how the variability in the distribution of productive resources in the various regions of the world contributed to specialization, trade and interdependence.

back to top




 * Topic: Markets **
 * There are not enough resources to produce all the goods and services that people desire.

The growth of cities and empires fostered the growth of markets. Market exchanges encouraged specialization and the transition from barter to monetary economies.
 * Content Statement 21:**


 * Content Elaborations**
 * Markets grew with the development of cities and empires. The increased demand of goods and services by larger populations led to the growth of markets.
 * Consequently, growth of markets encouraged specialization and advanced a more efficient system for the exchanges of goods and services. The barter system limited market exchanges, so money-based systems were created.


 * Expectations for Learning**
 * Explain how the growth of cities and empires fostered the growth of markets.
 * Describe how market exchanges encouraged specialization and the transition from barter to monetary economies.

back to top