In this economics unit you will explore how buyers and sellers meet together in markets to trade. Also you will look at the process of how prices are determined. Next, you will take a special look at what equilibrium is in economics as well as how it responds to a change in certain factors that affect supply or demand. Finally you will be asked to judge the fairness and efficacy of how equilibrium is reached in current American markets.

Berkeley is opening a new retail business selling local products to tourists in the summer. She is an entrepreneur, someone who identifies a need and takes a risk by starting a business to fill that need. Entrepreneurs often have similar traits. They are self-starters, independent minded, hard working, and willing to take risks. What form of business structure should Berkeley choose for her new business? She has a number of business structures to choose from.

Over time, many tools have been developed by economists to monitor a nation’s economic performance. And while many of these tools can seem too large in scale and too overwhelming to apply to your daily life, looking at some of the same indicators that economists do can actually help you as an individual make decisions on how to make the most of your income.

Markets fail. That is to say free markets do not always offer all of the goods and services that people might want. In addition, free market economies suffer from that difficulties caused by the business cycle. Periods of growth that are too rapid are followed by periods of decline, recession, or even depression. Because of these factors, governments act or intervene in free market systems.

Scarcity means that individuals as well as entire countries have to make choices about what to do with their resources. How a country answers the three fundamental economic questions (What to produce? How to produce? Who receives what is produced?) determines what type of economy it possesses. These decisions are also made on a global level, meaning the coordination of the planet’s resources involves making decisions on what should be made, how it should be made, and to whom it will be distributed. Thanks to improved transportation and communication, demand in one country may be easily met by a country in the opposite hemisphere. Of course, this give-and-take has been going on for centuries, but international trade over the past half-century has reached new heights, resulting in globalization, or the growing interdependence of countries upon one another.

How do circumstances influence individuals in making sound and purposeful financial decisions ensuring personal economic success in both a national and global economy? Why is it important to create a budget and set goals?

The First Grade text is meant to be explored visually by students like a traditional “big book”. Some teachers may also want their students to have a copy of the book as a digital text on an iPad, Chromebook, or other digital device. Either way, the way students interact with this book is different from other MI Open Book materials.

This chapter is all about history. In future grades students begin to learn about the history of our state, our country, and our world. In the early grades however, students learn about history through a much smaller lens. In first grade it’s about families.

The First Grade text is meant to be explored visually by students like a traditional “big book”. Some teachers may also want their students to have a copy of the book as a digital text on an iPad, Chromebook, or other digital device. Either way, the way students interact with this book is different from other MI Open Book materials. Each short reading is meant to have some teacher interaction go along with it. We tell you what those are in each section. This chapter also requires construction of a small box. You may use the lid of a ream of paper for creation of this box, or have a sturdier one built for you. This same box will be used across all K-2 books. You may want to have one sturdy one built and shared between teachers.

Students further study the concepts outlined in the geography content expectations by discussing now how they are part of their environment. In this chapter important foundational concepts such as natural and human characteristics are discussed and explored.

When people live and work together, problems can occur. Classrooms and schools can have problems. A problem
is something difficult that needs to be solved. It can be hard to solve a problem because not everyone will agree on how to solve it.

What do you think makes Michigan special? You might be thinking that Michigan is special because it is your home. Maybe it is special because the people you care about live in Michigan. These are wonderful reasons. This resource will help you learn about many other ways that Michigan is special.

In the first chapter you learned about geography, one of the important areas of social studies. You explored the geography of Michigan and its many special natural characteristics. What do people do with the natural characteristics of Michigan? They put them to use! They plant crops in the soil. They use wood from trees to build houses. What do they do with water??? Lots and lots of things! There is a special name for things in nature that people find useful: natural resources. In this section you will learn how natural resources are important in another area of social studies: economics.

You have learned that there are different areas of social studies. You have learned about geography. You have also learned about economics. In this chapter you will learn about civics. You will discover that civics is the study of government. It is also the study of the role people play in government. But, wait! What is government?

You have learned that there are different areas of social studies. You have learned about geography. You have also learned about economics. In this chapter you will learn about history. You will discover that history is what happened in the past.

The Kindergarten text is meant to be explored visually by students like a traditional “big book”. Some teachers may also want their students to have a copy of the book as a digital text on an iPad, Chromebook, or other digital device. Either way, the way students interact with this book is different from other MI Open Book materials.

This chapter is all about history. In future grades students begin to learn about the history of our state, our country, and our world. In the early grades however, students learn about history through a much smaller lens. In first grade it’s about families.

This chapter on Geography is meant to introduce students to the world around them and begin building foundational geographic skills which will serve them well in later social studies courses. This chapter may look different than many geography units you’ve seen.This chapter was designed with close help from Dr. Phil Gersmehl and his wife Carol, both of whom have extensive geographic pedagogical knowledge and experience. In this chapter we invite students to the world of spatial thinking rather than simply nailing down and exploring the five themes of geography.

This chapter introduces students to history by exploring the ideas of past, present, and future. Students learn about timelines and eventually construct their own timeline of important events in their lives. Through it all they learn about how people learn about the past.