Production, Distribution, and Consumption in the Mississippi River Area

Grade Level: 7th Grade

Time Period: 45 minutes

Description:

Today we are going to begin with a brief review of the lesson on individuals, groups and institutions. Then we will move on to our study of production, distribution, and consumption. We will begin by doing an activity in which the students will read articles about the Watkins Company and then share what they have learned with their peers. The students will then get into their groups and create their own business relative to their topics.

Materials:

4 articles from Winona Historical Society
Appropriate number of copies of each article (see teacher preparation)
Handout with business instructions and requirements
Paper
Pencils

Teacher Preparation:

The teacher will make copies of each article, enough that the students can be broken up into groups evenly and each student in the group gets one copy of their group’s article. The teacher will then need to number each article in the group. Ex- If it is a class of 25, the teacher will need to make 5 copies of each of the 5 different articles and number them 1-5. One of the articles is four pages long and this article will be split into two separate articles, one group reading pages one and two and the other group reading pages three and four.

Goals for Today’s Lesson:

Today we will touch on several standards:
- We will touch on a Minnesota History standard that covers the industrial era.
- We will also touch on several historical skills standards, including using historical resources, concepts of time, and analyzing evidence and drawing conclusions.

Objectives for Today’s Lesson:
1) The students will be able to share knowledge about the Watkins Company.
2) The students will be able to create a product relevant to their topic.
3) The students will be able to conceptualize the needs for their new business.
4) The students will create a business plan.

Procedures:

1) Introductory Experiences: (1-2 minutes)
a. Review yesterday's talk about different types of institutions and the differences in rules and norms from one institution to the next. Ask if there are any more questions that students have about the assignment. When all have been answered, move on. (1-2 minutes)
2) Developmental Experiences: (15-20 minutes)
a. Students will be broken up into five groups (different than their project groups) this can be done by simply numbering off. Each group will read a different article about the Watkins Company. They will be instructed to become experts on their article. (5 minutes)
b. When all groups have read and become experts on their articles, they will be instructed to look at the number on the top of their article and get together with members of other groups to share what they learned from their article. Before having them get with their groups, the teacher will show the students where each group will be meeting. Ex- “Group 1 will meet in the front of the room.” The students will then find their new group and, one at a time, share what they learned from their article with their peers. The teacher should be circulating constantly to ensure that students are on task. (10-15 minutes)
3) Culminating Experiences: (18-24 minutes)
a. The students will get into their project groups and create a business that relates to their topic. They will need to think of a product, title, method of transport, and figure out the costs to run the business. From their figures on the costs of running the business, they will have to decide how much they will sell their product for. Make sure that you emphasize that money has not always been used as currency, so the price of their product may have to be deer pelts. Hand out instructions and let them begin. Teacher should circulate the room the whole time helping groups, answering questions, and providing guidance. (18- 24 minutes)
b. If students finish before class is over, they should be working on completing the other portions of their project that were assigned last week. If all of these are finished, they should read quietly from their references about their topic to learn more information for their presentation.

Assessments:

Informal Assessment:
Teacher will gauge how well students understand the story of the Watkins Company by observing their contributions to discussions about the articles read in class.

Formal Assessments:
The students will create a product relative to their group topics.
The students will create an intricate business plan laying out all the details of their new business.

Resources:

The Winona Historical Society-
4 Articles about the Watkins Company- found in the manila folder of Watkins artifacts.