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Mercantilists and the Midas Touch ActivityMercantilists and the Midas Touch Activity
Publisher
Council for Economic Education
Resource Details
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Grade
5th - 8th
Subjects
English Language Arts
5 more...
Resource Type
Activities & Projects
Audiences
For Teacher Use
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Duration
1 hr
Instructional Strategies
Case Study
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Fine Print: Educational Use
Activity

Mercantilists and the Midas Touch

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What is the connection between greed and mercantilism? Historians consider this question by analyzing a fairy-tale like story about King Midas from the nineteenth century. The background information and excerpt help pupils understand the economics behind the historical concept. 

199 Views 23 Downloads
CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

mercantilism, gold, christopher columbus, spain, children's literature, england, the columbian exchange, trade imbalance, imports, exports, scarcity, economics

Additional Tags

social studies

Instructional Ideas

  • Ask students what other stories from literature or pop culture illustrate the concept of mercantilism
  • Extend the conversation by asking small groups to create a graphic organizer to show mercantilism's connection to the Columbian Exchange

Classroom Considerations

  • 22nd of 23 lessons from Council on Economic Education covering middle school world history
  • Readings presume class already understands colonialism

Pros

  • Background information and questions make the lesson plan ready to use
  • Readings break down sophisticated concepts for students of all levels

Cons

  • None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.3

View 47,015 other resources for 5th - 8th Grade English Language Arts

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