Comparing Economies of South & East Asia: A Color-Coding Activity

Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) addressed with this activity:

SS7E9 Describe factors that influence economic growth and examine their presence or absence in China, India, Japan, South Korea and North Korea.

a. Evaluate how literacy rates affect the standard of living.

b. Explain the relationship between investment in human capital (education and

training) and gross domestic product (GDP per capita).

c. Explain the relationship between investment in capital goods (factories,

machinery, and technology) and gross domestic product (GDP per capita).

d. describe the role of natural resources in a country’s economy.

e. Describe the role of entrepreneurship.

SS7E7 Analyze different economic systems.

b. Explain that countries have a mixed economic system located on a continuum

between pure market and pure command.

c. Compare and contrast the economic systems in China, India, Japan, South

Korea and North Korea.

Activity Length: Approximately 3 days, depending on how fast your students read (60-70 min. classes)

Student Materials needed: blue, yellow, red, and green colored pencils/markers/highlighters/crayons

Activity Background: In my opinion, the economics standards listed above are some of the hardest to teach in 7th grade Social Studies. There are vast amounts of information out there on each country’s economy, but very few of them are completely aligned to the Georgia standards, and even fewer are written on a 7th grader’s level. In this lesson on comparing economies, students will practice close reading by underlining parts of the text in colors that are coded by topic. This activity helps students chunk the material so they don’t become overwhelmed, and it also forces them to engage in metacognitive exercises as they read for information. Best of all, it covers tons of economic topics within one comprehensive text, giving them a complete picture of the countries' economies. In the final step, the activity concludes by asking students to evaluate the countries' economies from strongest to weakest, support their final answer with evidence from the text, and explain their reasoning. The activity includes the complete text (covering China, Japan, India, North Korea, and South Korea), worksheets with full instructions for students, and a helpful key for teachers.

If you enjoy this activity, you should check out the companion activities for SW Asia and Africa! Or, save money by purchasing the bundle of all three.