Comparing Economies of the Middle East: A Color-Coding Activity

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

SS7E6 Describe factors that influence economic growth and examine their presence or absence in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

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. Explain how the distribution of oil has affected the development of

Southwest Asia (Middle East).

e. Describe the role of entrepreneurship.

SS7E4 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 Israel, Saudi Arabia, and

Turkey

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 Turkey, Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia), worksheets with full instructions for students, and a helpful key for teachers. In other words, this activity introduces new material, gives students a structured way to interact with the material, and provides a formative assessment all in one!