I teach 8th Grade RELA (Reading English Language Arts) at Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary in South Philadelphia. Although they are called Reading and Social Studies, I teach Literature and History. I would say my focus for both subjects focus on the 19th and early 20th century. In Literature, my class reads Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm and a unit of Edgar Allan Poe. In correlation with these titles, our American history units start in the Post-Revolutionary Era and end around the time of World War I.  As an 8th grade teacher, I believe my job is to provide initial exposure to historical events in a proper chronological order and their connection to literature and how these titles comment on the times and events of said period. For either subject, I want 8th grade students to ask the question “Why?” whenever studying, reading or researching any piece of literature or historical event. I don’t necessarily need students to memorize dates, persona and outcomes as much as I’d like them to attempt to understand the motivation behind the writer, the individual or group. Students will remember detailed information if some sort of emotion or feeling is attached to the topic. Students can develop an understanding of events and characters as well as developing a sense of empathy for a fictional or non-fictional subject.

A former coach once stated to me as a player, “You can’t play the game if you don’t know the rules.” I did research on who initially stated this, but it seems to be a universally known concept with a wide array of authors. Why I quote my old coach because I believe this concept applies to many things in life besides sport. The quote applies to government, personal relationships, math, and even economic systems. The theme of this curriculum unit is to introduce and explore the various economic systems from the inception of feudalism and its alteration to capitalism, which inspired the philosophy of Marxism/communism to 8th graders. Students will take a deeper dive with activities exploring the process of each system and their intent. Pupils will read the feudalist origins in Ancient Rome as well as the economic philosophies of Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Once these pieces of information are introduced and reviewed, students will be asked to participate in a class wide activity to help deepen their understanding of the systems outside of the literature.

Once students have been introduced to the concepts and workings of the systems, we can take a closer look through history and their applications. Did or do the systems work? What are their strengths and weaknesses based on historical events and data (Example: Capitalism- Roaring Twenties/The Great Depression)? Are there commonalities between the systems that aided to their strengths or weaknesses? The specific historical data and information will help students derive their own opinions or take on the systems in an educated fashion. The culminating assessment or assignment is for the students to state their own understanding of each system with either benefits/detriments or both based on their experiences and information within the curriculum unit.

The rationale for my unit curriculum is premised on the belief that any system (feudalism, capitalism, communism, etc.) leaves minorities in any nation or region as the most vulnerable to its lesser aspects. Those vulnerabilities can derive from the access to a fruitful education, learning capacity, as well as many other factors. At Fanny Jackson Coppin, 99% of our families are economically disadvantaged with 61% representing minorities. The largest socioeconomic minority group is 31% Hispanic. It is in my opinion as an educator to instruct my students in this age group on the systems and their “rules” and how a better understanding of the “rules” allow you to become more successful “playing the game”.

In my opinion, an underlying theme of this unit should be developing our students’ moral compass. Students will be exposed to the general rules of each system and their impact upon various societies throughout history. It is in my estimation to allow students to come to their own conclusion to the strengths and weaknesses of each and the commonalities between them. The commonality being humans. Humans dictate the system’s negative or positive impact based on free will and their decisions to submit to the ills of greed and corruption which inflict all economic/political systems.

It is not my intention to define these ideas for my students but for their skills of analysis and cognition to reach their own conclusions. Students may find the weaknesses or strengths of one system to be more impactful than another based on the readings. The culmination of the unit will simply ask the student, “What do these systems have in common?”

The unit’s purpose is to initially introduce the concept of basic economic systems having or had an impact upon society and their origin story. Students will understand the various roles and aspects of each system as well as the power brokers from various socioeconomic classes. Students will be provided basic texts and articles establishing the philosophy of each system and the chronological order in relation to another. How one system gave rise to another. Students will be introduced to other regions of the world as well as influential people and places during the unit. Students will be asked to actively engage in exercises exploring the systems to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The unit will culminate with examples of exploring the various systems and their application in history and if it met the original philosophies’ goals. The culminating assessment will be a project based on a prompt on the topic.

Feudalism

Students will be introduced or reintroduced to the economic system of feudalism which was established by aristocratic elites after the Fall of the Roman Empire towards the latter half of the 5th and early 6th Century within Europe (Feudalistic systems also presented itself within China and Japan). Students will be exposed to how social order was established between the Aristocracy, the peasantry and the role of the Catholic Church in its development. The class will understand how the roles of these three groups were defined and their responsibilities within the system. Students will comprehend the system’s limitations of social mobility within each group and how the limitations led to the feudalism’s eventual demise or metamorphosis into the system known as capitalism due to certain events.

Capitalism

Classes will review the birth and origins of capitalism within Europe amidst the natural events ‘The Plague’ or man-made via the Hundred Years’ War assisting in the degradation of the monarchy and the birth of ‘The Renaissance’. Students will be introduced to the establishment of capitalism in the wake of the numerous political revolutions within the scope of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations as well as its modern version our pupils currently take part in.

Communism/Socialism

The last section of the unit will introduce the system of Communism derived from the philosophical edict by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels entitled The Communist Manifesto and its core beliefs in reply to the capitalist system. Students will be exposed to the Communist Manifesto and how it instilled a revolution within Russia and its following amidst many peoples around the world.

Feudalism Lessons:

Students will be provided basic history texts to reintroduce or introduce the concept of feudalism to the students and its inception. Students will be exposed to the system’s strengths and weaknesses and its impact on all aspects of society. As an interactive portion of the feudalistic themes, students will be confronted with the board game ‘Monopoly’. The instructor can ask the class if they are familiar with the game and its rules? Do they understand the premise of the game and the economic system it is associated with? Then based on the information provided on feudalism, can they deconstruct the game to mirror if the game was based on feudalism instead of capitalism. The instructor can lead the students through the process if struggles abound. Students will be asked if they can see how capitalism may have come about based on the deconstruction process. What were feudalism’ limitations? What were its strengths? Who did it work for and who did it not work for? This will culminate in an assessment for students to gauge their understanding of the system’s concept and historical events.

Capitalism Lessons: 

Students will be exposed to the transition from feudalism to capitalism within the political revolutions, but the primary focus will be reading aspects of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Again, students will be interactive participants in the game of ‘Monopoly’ to understand the process of capitalism in a basic form and how people can win but also what happens to those that lose. After the interactive portion of the lesson, the students will be provided two brief text chapters from the Creating America to explore the strengths and inherent weaknesses of capitalism and how it lays the groundwork for the growth of communism. The two historical events for students to be reviewed will be the ‘Roaring 20’s’ followed by ‘The Great Depression’. The events will be reviewed and it will be incumbent upon the students to understand the allure of communism/socialism based on what occurred within these two major historical events.

Communism Lessons:

The last part of the unit will explore the rise of communism and socialism amidst the numerous historical events within our country and others that forged communism’s appeal. The focus again will be based on excerpts from Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto and its contrary beliefs compared to the Wealth of Nations. To aid in the comprehension, students will again take part in an activity using the game ‘Monopoly’. Students will be asked to construct the game based on the principles within The Communist Manifesto. Again, the instructor can aid in the construct of the game for students. Students will be introduced to historical aspects of communism/socialism within Russia and what would become the Soviet Union. The two articles will provide an overview of the system’s strengths and weaknesses.

Final Assessment: 

The final assessment can be a culminating project in the form of an essay, google slide/ PowerPoint presentation, or a physical installation focused on a prompt. The teacher can decide on the prompt at their own discretion but in alignment with my unit, my prompt is below.

The class has researched and reviewed three economic systems impacting world history for thousand/s of years. Students have been studying each system’s strengths and weaknesses and their transformation over time due to numerous circumstances. For your project, please find a common characteristic or trait amongst the three systems. What is the common trait and explain its representation in each system based on historical events?

Lesson #1 Feudalism

Learning Goal: Students will understand the basic tenets of the economic system: Feudalism. Students will be exposed to the aspects of Feudalism and its workings in Medieval Europe.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of the Middle Ages or Medieval Era. Students should have an understanding of the terms: Monarchy, peasants, knights, and aristocracy. Read the chapter as a whole group, pausing to ask questions that track comprehension of the text. Students should be able to comprehend the basic traits of Feudalism.

Feudalism

What is Feudalism?

Key Terms:

• Feudalism: political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Lord: A ruler or powerful landholder
• Knights– Armed warriors who fought on behalf of their lords.
• Peasants- folks who worked the land (agriculture).

Activity: Break students into small groups/teams and play a general knowledge round-robin quiz game on the basic tenets of Feudalism based on the articles provided. Students are placed into teams and develop trivia questions for a specific part of one of the articles and in order to subtract other teams points if answered incorrectly. Teams have the choice to ask questions of the team of their preference (strategic).

Review and Concluding Activity:

Short answer discussion on game’s outcome and written response to question:

What part of Feudalism did you find difficult to understand? Explain.  

Lesson #2 Feudalism

Learning Goal: Students will understand the basic tenets of the economic system, Feudalism. Students will be exposed to the aspects of Feudalism and its workings in Medieval Europe.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of the Middle Ages or Medieval Era. Students should have an understanding of terms: monarchy, peasants, knights, aristocracy as well as capitalism and Monopoly (game play and definition).

Feudalism

Rules of Monopoly

Key Terms:

• Feudalism: political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Lord: A ruler or powerful landholder
• Knights– Armed warriors who fought on behalf of their lords.
• Peasants- people who worked the land (agriculture).
• Monopoly- the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Capitalism- an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

Activity: Students will review their prior understanding of the economic system ‘Feudalism’. Students will then be broken into small groups and provided a copy of the board game Monopoly. Students will review the idea ‘Monopoly’ is based on ‘Capitalism’. Their assignment as a group is to take the pieces of Monopoly and reconfigure the game to mirror ‘Feudalism’.

Example: The teacher may be deemed King or Queen of the country. One can take four of the player pieces (car, thimble, etc.) and they each act as a Lord and control a side of the board. The majority of students may be each given a different block on the board with one house on each, while one student acts as the military for the Lord/Monarch. The money can be divided up proportionally with the aristocracy controlling 80% while peasants divide the remaining 20%. For accuracy, the money may be described as goods: a peasant’s harvest instead of currency or can be replaced with other objects to avoid confusion. 

Students will then be given time to derive their own reconfiguration and the teacher will monitor to support with any inquiries. Once all teams have completed the task, a student representative from each team will explain their configuration and symbolic meanings. Students can then bounce ideas amidst questions and discussion.

Review and Concluding Activity: Short discussion on activity and written response to question:

What problems do you see with the feudalistic system and can you see where capitalism grew from it? Explain.

Lesson #3 Feudalism

Learning Goal: Students will understand the basic tenets of the economic system, Feudalism. Students will be exposed to the aspects of Feudalism and its workings in Medieval Europe.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of the Middle Ages or Medieval Era. Students should have an understanding of terms: monarchy, peasants, knights, aristocracy as well as the Bubonic Plague, the Hundred Years’ War and capitalism.

Middle Ages/ Bubonic Plague

Decline of Feudalism Text

Key Terms:

• Feudalism – political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Lord – A ruler or powerful landholder
• Knights – Armed warriors who fought on behalf of their lords.
• Peasants – people who worked the land (agriculture).
• Monopoly – the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Bubonic Plague – The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s.
• Hundred Years’ War – The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453.

Activity: Students will return to the reconfiguration of monopoly to explain the system’s inner workings. After the review the students will be prompted to answer the question of “What could go wrong with this system?” What are feudalism’s faults or weaknesses? What could go wrong. Student replies will go on a whiteboard until the conversation effectively ends. Students will read a history textbook chapter entitled, “The Decline of Feudalism” to understand the impact of the bubonic plague as well as the Hundred Years’ War enabling the transition to a capitalist system.

Review and Concluding Activity:

Students will read and discuss their opinions on the weaknesses or shortcomings of Feudalism. Students will then examine the decline of the economic system of ‘Feudalism’.

Lesson #4 Capitalism:

Learning Goal: Students will understand the basic tenets of the economic system, Capitalism. Students will be exposed to the aspects of Capitalism through the writings of Adam Smith through excerpts of his book, The Wealth of Nation.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of capitalism based on our society’s own economic system and its workings.

Capitalism Strengths and Weaknesses

Wealth of Nations – Chapter 2 (See PDF- Smith’s Description of the basic component of labor and the intrinsic traits of humankind to partake in a system based on compensation in correlation to the amount of labor provided)

Wealth of Nations – Chapter 4 (See PDF- Smith provides a brief history of the use of money and how value is established)

Wealth of Nations – Chapter 6 (See PDF- Smith explains the evolution of how price is settled)

Wealth of Nations- Adam Smith

Key Terms:

• Feudalism – political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Monopoly – the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Bubonic Plague – The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s.
• Hundred Years’ War – The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453.
• Adam Smith – was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and author who is considered the father of modern economics.
• The Wealth of Nations – The central thesis of Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations“ is that our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit.

Activity: Students will review and comprehend one or more of the excerpts (Instructor’s choice) and discuss the theme or main idea of the piece and its description of capitalism. Instructors can then correlate the excerpt to the traits of our current economic system.

Review and Concluding Activity: Informal discussion of specific lines of text and quotes from the chosen excerpts via the chapters or pages.

Lesson #5 Capitalism

Learning Goal: Students will gain a better understanding of the tenets of capitalism while playing the famous board game ‘Monopoly’. Students should be able to see its practical application with its strengths and weaknesses.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of capitalism based on our society’s own economic system and its workings. Students should have a basic introduction of the game ‘Monopoly’.

Capitalism Strengths and Weaknesses

Rules of Monopoly

Rules of Monopoly (Written)

Key Terms:

• Feudalism – political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Monopoly – the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service (also an economics-based multiplayer board game).
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Bubonic Plague – The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s.
• Hundred Years’ War – The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453.
• Adam Smith – was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and author who is considered the father of modern economics.
• The Wealth of Nations – The central thesis of Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations“ is that our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit.

Activity: Students will see the philosophical tenets of Adam Smith in application when they are broken up into groups and play the game ‘Monopoly’. Students should be given full time to see the game through to the end for students to comprehend the results. The results will be applied in either a written prompt or discussion on Adam Smith’s philosophical application and/or real- life consequences.

Review and Concluding Activity: Students can discuss the results of their game of ‘Monopoly’ and can verbally or within a written prompt explore whether they can see Adam Smith’s philosophy in application during the game? Students may also be prompted to take the results and translate them into ‘Real-Life’ consequences for the players of the game.

Lesson #6 Capitalism:

Learning Goal: Students will study capitalism in action taking a deep dive into two historical events: The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. The intent is for students to look at the positive and negative moments of capitalism’s application in the United States and eventually assess its effectiveness.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of capitalism and application based on our society’s own economic system and its workings via the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression.

Capitalism Strengths and Weaknesses

The Roaring Twenties

The Great Depression

The Roaring Twenties Text

The Great Depression Text

Key Terms:

• Feudalism – political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Monopoly – the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service (also an economics-based multiplayer board game).
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Adam Smith – was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and author who is considered the father of modern economics.
• The Wealth of Nations – The central thesis of Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations“ is that our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit.
• The Roaring Twenties – a surging economy created an era of mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers flouted Prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.
• The Great Depression – Worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world, sparking fundamental changes in economic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic theory.

Activity: Students will study the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression using a common text. Students will be provided a written TDA prompt asking students to assess capitalism’s effectiveness based on the texts.

Review and Concluding Activity: Students will assess the economic policy of capitalism based on the historical events of ‘The Roaring Twenties’ and ‘The Great Depression’. Students will answer a written prompt for a text dependent analysis asking their assessment or evaluation of capitalism based on the historical texts.

Lesson #7 Communism

Learning Goal: Students will be introduced to the Karl Marx and Frederich Engels doctrine, “The Communist Manifesto” born from the disillusionment of capitalism. Students will be exposed to suggested excerpts for comprehending the basic ideas surrounding Communism.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of capitalism and application based on our society’s own economic system and its workings via the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. Students can be provided background knowledge on communism through brief introduction of the Russian Revolution.

Communism

Manifesto of the Communist Party Book 1 p. 18

Manifesto of the Communist Party p. 22-23

Manifesto of the Communist Party p. 24

The Communist Manifesto

Key Terms:

• Feudalism – political and economic system where people pledged loyalty to a lord or powerful landholder
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Communism – a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
• Bourgeoisie – the capitalist class who own most of society’s wealth and means of production.
• Proletariat – workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).

Activity: Students will read and discuss excerpts of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ to grasp an understanding of the communist concept considering its derision of capitalism as exploitative.

Review and Concluding Activity: Students will attempt to comprehend suggested excerpts from ‘The Communist Manifesto’ to gain a better understanding of the philosophy of Communism. Students will discuss why and how the concept of communism may have come about based on our prior lessons on capitalism.

Lesson #8 Communism:

Learning Goal: Students will attempt to apply their understanding of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels’ ‘Communist Manifesto’ by reconfiguring the game of ‘Monopoly’ to mirror what communism may look like. Staff may also look into purchasing the Socialist version of Monopoly to aid in the student’s attempt to reconfigure the game.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of communism, capitalism and Monopoly (game play and definition).

The Communist Manifesto

Rules of Monopoly

Key Terms:

• Communism – a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
• Bourgeoisie – the social class that came to own the means of production during modern industrialization and whose societal concerns are the value of private property and the preservation of capital to ensure the perpetuation of their economic dominance in society.
• Proletariat – workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).
• Monopoly – the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Capitalism – an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

Activity: Students will review their prior understanding of the economic system ‘Communism’. Students will then be broken into small groups and provided a copy of the board game Monopoly. Students will review the idea ‘Monopoly’ is based on ‘Capitalism’. Their assignment as a group is to take the pieces of Monopoly and reconfigure the game to mirror ‘Communism’.

Example: The teacher may be deemed the government of the country. The students may be each given a different block on the board with one house on each. As communism eradicates the idea of private property, students will all be essentially renters. The money will lay in a pile in the middle of the board game and have the teacher redistributing the money equitably amongst all the renters, while a portion being retained by the government. At around 40% to put towards items such as the military or education. Students will then be given time to derive their own reconfiguration and the teacher will monitor to support with any inquiries. Once all teams have completed the task, a student representative from each team will explain their configuration and symbolic meanings. Students can then bounce ideas amidst questions and discussion.

Review and Concluding Activity: Students will reconfigure the game Monopoly into the economic system of ‘Communism’. Student groups will explain their reconfiguration to the class. Short answer written response to question:

What problems do you see with the capitalist system, and can you see where communism grew from it? Explain.

Lesson #9 Communism:

Learning Goal: Students will study communism in action taking a deep dive into two historical references in the Soviet Union: The Soviet emphasis on education or literacy rates and the Stalinist era. The intent is for students to look at the positive and negative moments of communism’s application in the Soviet Union and eventually assess its effectiveness.

Content Knowledge: Students should come in with a basic understanding of communism and application based on the Soviet economic and political system and its workings via the Soviet system of education and the Stalinist Era. 

Communism

Soviet System of Education

Soviet Social and Economic Data

The Stalinist Era- Library of Congress

Key Terms:

• Communism- a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
• Bourgeoisie- the social class that came to own the means of production during modern industrialization and whose societal concerns are the value of private property and the preservation of capital to ensure the perpetuation of their economic dominance in society.
• Proletariat- workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).
• Monopoly- the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Capitalism- an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
• Joseph Stalin- was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953.

Activity: Students will study the Soviet emphasis on education or literacy rates and the Stalinist Era using a common text. Students will be provided a written TDA prompt asking students to assess communism’s effectiveness based on the texts.

Review and Concluding Activity: Students will assess the economic and political policy of communism based on the historical events of ‘The Soviet system of Education’ and ‘The Stalinist Era’. Students will answer a written prompt for a text dependent analysis asking their assessment or evaluation of communism based on the historical texts.

“Capitalism”. Britannica Kids. https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/capitalism/273506. Accessed 12 April 2024.

“Chapter 25: The Roaring Twenties”. Creating America. McDougal Littell. 2005. p.706-722.

“Chapter 26: The Great Depression and New Deal”. Creating America. McDougal Littell. 2005.p.726-746.

“Communism”. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/communism/. Accessed 12 April 2024.

“Feudalism”. Britannica Kids. https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/feudalism/274299. Accessed 12 March 2024.

Engels, Frederich. Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. 1888. New York.

Harrison, Mark. “The Soviet Economy, 1917-199: its life and afterlife”, cepr.org/voxeu. 7 November 2017.

Simmons, Ernest J. “The Change in Soviet Schooling”, The Atlantic. October 1959.

Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Bennett, Jonathan, 2017.

Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2

Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.A
Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Lesson 1 Feudalism

Lesson 2 Feudalism

Lesson 3 Feudalism

Lesson 4 Capitalism

Lesson 5 Capitalism

Lesson 6 Capitalism

Lesson 7 Communism

Lesson 8 Communism

Lesson 9 Communism