Working in groups and as an individual, the students will create a marketing brochure for the purpose of providing a persuasive argument for one of the competing economic philosophies (utopianism, social democracy, socialism and communism) of capitalism in the 19th Century.
California Academic Standard(s)
- 10.3.5 - Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital in an industrial economy.
- 10.3.6 - Analyze the emergence of capitalism as a dominant economic pattern and the responses to it, including utopianism, social democracy, socialism and communism.
- Class Time - 90 to 140 minutes (Good for Block)
- Total Time - Two to four days
The students working in groups and as an individual will learn critical thinking skills to analyze the emergence of capitalism as a dominant economic pattern and the responses to it including utopianism, social democracy, socialism and communism.
Learning Styles
- Auditory
- Linguistic
- Social
- Physical
Anticipatory Set (15 min)
The instructor will bring in examples of marketing brochures and share them with the students. The instructor will ask a question "What type of words are being used in the marketing brochures? Provide examples!" The instructor will write the word examples on the board.
Direct Instruction (15 min)
The instructor will briefly explain the assignment and provide the students with a handout. The instructor will review the handout with the students
Handout
Economic Philosophy Marketing Brochure Directions
Part One
Working in groups of four, you will answer the following questions for socialism, communism, social democracy and utopianism.
- What is the definition?
- What is the major philosophy?
- What are the three advantages and disadvantages of this economic philosophy?
Part Two
You will complete a marketing brochure for either communism, socialism, social democracy or utopianism. Your main competitor is capitalism. You must convince the reader that your economic philosophy is better than capitalism.
The marketing brochure must be a minimum of three pages (including the cover).
How you design and write the brochure is completely up to you. Your goal is to to convince the reader (me) that your economic philosophy is better than capitalism.
Modeling (10 min)
The instructor will answer the questions in part one of the assignment for the economic philosophy of capitalism and write the answers on the board.
Guided Practice (25 min)
The instructor will place students in groups of four. The instructor will tell each group to assign an economic philosophy to each member. The students will answer the questions using their textbook, internet or smart phone. The students will have 20 minutes to complete.
Checks for Understanding (15 min)
The instructor will call on groups randomly to provide answers to the questions about economic philosophies. The instructor will write the answers on the board.
Modeling (10 min)
Using the board or an overhead projector, the instructor will briefly demonstrate an example of a marketing brochure for the economic philosophy of capitalism against either one of the other economic philosophies.
Guided Practice (50 to 100 min)
The instructor will tell the students to complete the marketing brochure independently. The students can complete the brochure with colored pens or via a computer. The instructor will walk around the room to assure the students understand the assignment and are on task. Depending on the class, the students can complete the assignment in class, computer lab or for homework.
Checks for Understanding (5 min)
The students will submit their marketing brochure to the instructor.
Direct Instruction (15 min)
The instructor will summarize the lesson by engaging the students in a discussion to compare the different economic philosophies.