3rdGradeFull

United
MI OPEN BOOK PROJECT
States
Studies
Nancy Bucholtz, Mark Estelle, Jennifer Fairweather,

Maureen Klein, Ann Passino, Susan Welch
United States
Studies
The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons
NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) license as part of
Michigan’s participation in the national #GoOpen movement.
This is version 2.0.1 of this resource, released in August of 2016.
Information on the latest version and updates are available on the project
homepage: http://textbooks.wmisd.org/dashboard.html
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
ii
The Michigan Open Book About the Authors - 4th Grade United States Studies
United States
Project
Nancy A. Bucholtz
Harbor Beach Community Schools
Harbor Beach Elementary
Studies
Project Manager: Dave Johnson, Nancy Bucholtz earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Oakland University, and
then earned her masters degree from Saginaw Valley State University in Early Childhood Education. She
Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School
had the opportunity to teach 2 years in the Utica Community Schools District before moving to Huron
District County, and she is now completing her 13th year at Harbor Beach Community Schools. During her teach-
ing career she has taught the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, but 13 years of her career have been spent in the
4th grade. During her 15 years of teaching, she has been actively involved with many committees and initia-
4th Grade Team Editor: Lindsay
tive projects within her school district. Nancy received the honor of Walmart Teacher of the Year in 2007,
Brindley, Eastern Upper Peninsula and her students have been recognized by the state for their achievements on their standardized assess-
Intermediate School District
4th Grade United States Studies Authors

Mark Estelle
Laker School District
Nancy Bucholtz, Harbor Beach Public Elementary School
Schools Mark earned his undergraduate degree in elementary education from Central Michigan University with a major in
mathematics and a minor in child development. In addition to teaching, Mark is an adviser of the elementary un-
derwater robotics team as well as the recycling club. When not teaching fourth grade at Laker Elementary, Mark
Mark Estelle, Laker School District enjoys many hobbies that involve the outdoors and sports.
Jenn Fairweather, Oakridge Schools
Maureen Klein, Allen Park Public

Schools
Jenn Fairweather
Ann Pasino, Grosse Pointe Public Schools Oakridge Schools
Oakridge Upper Elementary
Jenn has been an ‘Eagle Proud’ Oakridge Schools employee for 16 years. She also includes Lansdowne
Susan Welch, Fenton Area Public Schools Primary School in Tilbury, England in her list of teaching adventures.
A self-professed ‘grammar geek’ and SAG member, she hopes to complete her Master’s in TESOL and a
Bachelor’s in Mortuary Sciences.
Book Version 1.5
Code Base: Bacon
iii
Maureen Klein
Allen Park Public Schools The Michigan Open Book Project
Bennie Elementary
Following a successful career in the corporate world, Maureen returned to college in 2005 to pursue a Master Team would like to thank the
of Arts in Education at Wayne State University. Like many career changers, Maureen realized that teaching
following individuals for their help
was her true passion. Following graduation, Maureen immediately put her early childhood ZA endorsement to
use as a kindergarten teacher in the Allen Park Public Schools, later moving to grade four. Maureen is active in in reviewing some content in the
both social studies and science endeavors throughout the state serving on the board of the Michigan Center
for Civic Education and a former presenter at the Michigan Science Teacher Association Conference. She was
book and guiding the development
named 2013 Jim and Annette McConnell Elementary History Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Council for process.
History Education. In the winter of 2013 Maureen returned to Wayne State, but this time as an adjunct faculty
member and university supervisor for pre-student teacher candidates. Maureen was recently recognized as
Jim Cameron, Michigan
Department of Education
Ann Passino
Grosse Pointe Schools
Trombly Elementary Phil Gersmehl - Michigan
Ann is an educator for 21 years having taught grades first - sixth in numerous subject areas. Ann has a pas-
sion for teaching, especially teaching History. This passion has led to her being the K-12 Social Studies Cur- Geographic Alliance
riculum Coordinator 2007-2009 for Grosse Pointe Public Schools. In addition to teaching, Ann is the Child
Study Identification Coordinator for GPPS. She is also a graduate of the Galileo Leadership Consortium while
completing her Education Specialist in Leadership from Oakland University. Meanwhile, Ann has become an Carol Egbo - Oakland University
Adjunct Professor of History for Wayne County Community College.
In addition to being an educator, Ann’s passions are to spend as much time Up North with her family and to
travel to recharge!
Susan Welch
Fenton Area Public Schools
State Road Elementary
Susan Welch currently teaches 4th grade at State Road Elementary in Fenton, Michigan. She has earned a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Central Michigan University and a Master’s De-
gree in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College with additional graduate work done at Arizona State Uni-
versity. While at CMU, Susan traveled to Perth in Western Australia to study their use of integration to deliver
instruction and meet the curriculum standards. Upon graduation, she started her teaching career in Arizona
teaching in the Casa Grande and Kyrene school districts. During this time, Susan taught in a fully inclusive
elementary classroom with students with many diverse learning needs including monolingual and bilingual
Spanish speaking students, as well as various physical and mental challenges. She also was able to learn
about the many different Native American cultures represented within her schools. Susan has taught both
3rd and 4th grade in the Fenton Area Public Schools for the past 11 years and also serves as Fenton’s Ele-
mentary Social Studies Department Chair. In addition, she teaches Social Studies courses to other educa-
iv
David A. Johnson
Project Manager
Michigan Open Book Project
Dave began his career teaching 8th grade United States History in Mesick, Michigan. After
almost a decade in the classroom, he took a job at Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School
District (WMISD) as an Instructional Consultant for Social Studies. He is shared across 11
ISDs in Northern Michigan that form the Northern Michigan Learning Consortium. He com-
pleted his Masters in Educational Leadership through Central Michigan University in 2011
and is Co-Project Director of the Performance Assessments of Social Studies Thinking
(PASST) Project in addition to his duties as the Project Manager for MI Open Book.
v
Chapter 1
What Makes the

United States
Special?
1. How do geographers study the United States?
2. What natural and human characteristics are

significant in the United States?
Section 1
What is Geography?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY In third grade you learned about the geography of the state of
1. How do geographers study the United
States?
Michigan. You may have studied the geography of Michigan

by learning about what makes Michigan special. This year, in
studying the geography of the United States, you will explore
a similar question. It is centered around what makes the
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE
country in which we live special.
geography - the study of the earth and how we,
the people who live there, interact with it.
Before we go any farther, take a moment to answer this
hemisphere - a region created when the Earth is
divided in half. question in the blue box below:
equator - An imaginary line going across the
center of the earth.
Prime Meridian - an imaginary line going across

What is geography?
the center of the earth.
GPS - a navigation system that allows people to

determine their exact location.
GIS - A geographic information system is a

system designed to capture, store, manipulate,
analyze, manage, and present all types of
geographic data.
7
You may remember that Geography is the study
of the earth and how we, the people who live
there, interact with it. In studying the earth,
geographers ask questions. Many of these
questions deal with “Where”. One of the first
questions that a geographer may ask in studying
a place is “Where is it?”
What Tools Do They Use?
Geographers study the world using a variety of

tools. Take a look at this map
of the world.
Most of the United States is

contained within the circled
area on the map. Using
simply this map, how might
you describe “Where” the
United States is located?
8
Image source: MGA Model Curriculum. Used with permission of Phil Gersmehl
The map on the previous page helps us locate the this map, how might you describe where the
United States on the continent of North America. United States is?
This next map shows the United States but does
not contain the circle. The horizontal line drawn
across the map represents the equator. Using
9
Adding to this map, we bring in another
imaginary line “The Tropic of Cancer”. Using this
map, how might your definition of where the
United States is located change?
The Northern and Southern Hemispheres are

created when the Earth is divided using the
equator, an imaginary horizontal latitude line.
This is the green line on the map above. The
U.S. is in the Northern Hemisphere. The
Interactive 1.1 The Global
Eastern and Western Grid
Hemispheres are created
The United States of America is located in the
when the Earth is divided by
continent of North America, but we can look
the Prime Meridian, the
even further than that. The U.S. is located in two imaginary vertical longitude
of Earth’s four hemispheres. Hemispheres are line that divides the Earth.
Confused by Latitude and
regions created when the Earth is divided in half. This is the pink line above. Longitude? Don’t be! Take a look
at this interactive to learn a little
The U.S. is in the Western more about the “global grid”
Hemisphere. 10
overall. However, a map is sometimes not the
best tool for studying the earth because of its
shape. While it’s easy to carry a map around
(ask your parents how they got from place to
place before their smart phones could tell them
where to go!) a map distorts an image. A good
way to think about this is to think about the
shape of our planet. Is it flat? No. The Earth is
On the map above you will see “lines” going east
a sphere. If you were to take another sphere like
and west, which are called latitude lines. As you
object (think of an orange) and draw a map of the
learned in the interactive on the previous page,
world on it you’d have a
you can use the degrees (numbers) on each line Interactive 1.2 Peel an
great representation of the Orange
of longitude and latitude to find exact locations.
planet we live on. What
Other Tools Used by Geographers happens when you peel the
orange however? You end
A map is a common tool that geographers use in
up with something that is
studying the Earth. A map is a great tool for
much harder to use.
showing information about a geographic area. What does peeling an orange and
reading a map have in common?
Maps can represent a place such as a A globe is a spherical See if you can determine the
problem with maps after watching
neighborhood, a town, a country, or the world representation of the earth this video.
11
and is much more accurate. Does your
classroom have a globe? Would a globe be
useful if you were taking a road trip? Why or why
not?
Geographers also use aerial photography and

satellite imagery to study the earth. The map in
the upper right hand corner of the page is a night
time satellite image of the United States. The
gold on the map shows major centers of
Image source: http://pixabay.com/p-92367/?no_redirect
population. As you look at this map what

questions might you come up with?
Study the map above that shows major population

centers of the United States. What questions do
you have as you study the map?
12
Have you ever been on a long road trip? When Another tool geographers Interactive 1.3 Simple GIS
your grandparents were kids they probably relied use to study a location is
heavily on a map to travel from place to place. with GIS (geographic
Your parents may have as well. As we have information system) A GIS
entered the information age, they probably got utilizes software and
from place to place using a GPS device. It also hardware to collect and Confused by GIS? Don’t be!
Spend a moment in this very
probably came on their smart phones. GPS display data. It can help simple simulation to learn a little
more about what a Geographic
stands for “global positioning system” and it you display forms of useful Information System does.
makes use of satellites in orbit to collect information for geographers

information about where a user is on earth. to explore. It is a computerized combination of
map making, data about places, and computer
technology. Someone using a GIS device is able
to create a representation of places by layering
How might a geographer use a GPS device?
information on top of the map and allowing
people to manipulate information.
Finally...you might not think of things like charts,

tables, stories, and even people as being a useful
tool that geographers use to study the earth.
Even with all the information gathered from the
13
tools we’ve already explored, sometimes more
knowledge is needed. Geographers may look at Location: Where is it?
historical data, interview people who were at a Place: What is it like there?
place a long time ago, and even read stories from Region: How might common geographic characteristics
help people understand a place?
the past to help study a place.
Movement: How is this place connected to other places?
The Five Themes of Geography Human/Environmental Interaction: How do people interact

with the environment?
Geographers came up with an educational tool to

help students explore geography. This tool is
known as the “5 Themes of Geography.” The
five themes are: location, place, region,
movement, and human/environment interaction.
Every section of this chapter will show you more
about each theme and the question or questions
that help explain it. This section dealt with the
first theme, location.
14
Section 2
Place - What is it Like There?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Physical Characteristics

States? Now that you understand more about how to define where the
United States is located, it’s time to tackle another question
that geographers ask in examining the United States – What
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE is it like there? Students around the
Interactive 1.4 Eight Major
physical characteristics - another term for United States study the major physical Physical Features of the
natural characteristics, parts of a place not made United States
by humans. features of the United States that help
special purpose maps - maps showing us answer this question. Take a
characteristics of an area such as elevation,
temperature, population, or the location of moment to take a look at this video
metropolitan areas
that describes some of the physical
features of the United States.
This short video highlights eight of
the major physical features from
the United States. .
15
As you can probably tell, the United States has expand upon your description about what it is
many different physical characteristics. The like here in Michigan?
United States has mountains, deserts, valleys,
Gallery 1.1 Physical Features of Michigan
canyons, mountains, plains, rivers, and gulfs (to
name a few!) Geographically it is very diverse
and depending on where you live in the country,
your answer to the question “What is it like
there?” may differ.
Describe what it is like in Michigan
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Grand_River,_Grand_Rapids.jpg
You learned a lot about what it is like in various

HINT: This is about physical features. Many of
parts of Michigan in third grade, but as a quick
the images have human characteristics such as
review take a look at these images from around
bridges or buildings. Ignore those for now.
the state. Using the images, how would you
16
Special Purpose Maps
There are many different kinds of maps, including

special purpose maps. These maps show
characteristics of an area such as elevation,
temperature, population, or the location of
metropolitan areas. Look at the maps on this
page and jot down what you see. What do they
tell you about the area? What does each map
represent?
17
Each of the maps on the previous page tells a part of the United States gets.
different story about “What it’s like there”. The
Below is a satellite image of the United States.
first map, for example, shows some of the
This map can be useful in many ways in studying
different physical features of the United States as
the United States.
a whole, while the second shows climate zones.
The third shows how much precipitation, the
What is it like in the United States based on the
amount of rain, snow, sleet, or hail that each map?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/USA-satellite.jpg
18
The United States is surrounded by two oceans Gallery 1.2 United States
and contains thousands of lakes and rivers of

different sizes. You’ve already taken time to
explain what it is like in Michigan, but lets now
take a look at how people from around the
country might answer the same question
regarding the United States.
You will begin to look at United States regions in

the next sections and reexamine the concept of
place and how these patterns are sometimes
used to create a region. For now however, Crater Lake Oregon: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Crater_lake_oregon_usa.jpg
focusing on the idea of what is it like there, look

at the gallery on this page. For each picture, ask
yourself: How is this place similar to Michigan?
What similarities to Michigan do the places in the gallery
What differences do you see? above have? What differences do they have?
19
Human Characteristics of Place Roads
Next, we will take a look at the human Roads are important! They help us travel from
characteristics of the U.S. Human one place to another. They are human
characteristics are the geographic features that characteristics because they were built by
were made by people such as roads, bridges, humans to help us get from place to place.
and cities or towns. Michigan has many special There are many different kinds of roads. Some
human characteristics which you probably people in rural areas live on old dirt roads.
learned about last year. Some of these include Others live on paved city or country roads which
lighthouses, bridges and locks. are maintained by local governments. Highways
are a common way to travel from Michigan to
another state. Some of the major highways in
Write about a human characteristic in Michigan that Michigan are I-94 which connects Detroit and
you learned about last year.
Chicago, US 131 which connects the northern
part of the Lower Peninsula to the southern part,
then heads into Indiana. I-96 and I-69 help
connect the western and eastern parts of the
state. These roads are important because we
can travel on them, but they are also a major way
we carry out economic activities. Trucks ship
20
goods from one part of the state to another, and west there are fewer and fewer. Here’s a
to other parts of the country. You’ll learn more geographic riddle for you...what reasons might
about trading between the states in a later there be for the smaller number of highways
chapter. connecting the eastern and western portions of
the United States?
Write about a human characteristic in Michigan that

you learned about last year.
The map above shows the major highways that

connect the different parts of the United States.
You can see that there are a lot of major
highways connecting us, but as you move farther
21
opportunity to look at two different maps and
overlay one on top of the other to see what
patterns you might observe. It is important to
note that the maps were made by two different
map makers and show two different things.
Because of that, they do not line up perfectly
with one another.
The satellite map you’re looking at on this page

and in the interactive shows another important
Cities human characteristic - cities. Cities are built by
humans and as such, are important human
Lets continue to explore Interactive 1.5 Solving the
Riddle - Part 1
characteristics of a place. The United States has
this. In the first section
many cities ranging from small to extremely
you saw the map of the
large. People who live in rural areas of Michigan
United States above,
might feel right at home in a place like Curfew,
which was taken at
Iowa. People who live in urban areas of
night. Interactive 1.2 -
Michigan such as Grand Rapids or Detroit might
Solving the Riddle In exploring maps, sometimes it is
useful to overlay one set of maps feel at home in a place like Chicago, New York,
Part 1 will give you the over another to see if you can
detect a pattern. or Los Angeles. You can see that while a lot of
22
the cities in the United States are centered in spanning the East River in New York City. It is
certain places, there are places on the map that one of the more famous bridges in the eastern
do not show very much in the way of “light at United States. One of the most famous on the
night”. Does that mean that no one lives there? west coast is the Golden Gate Bridge which
opened in 1937 and connects San Francisco to
Bridges
Marin County.
Let’s set aside our geographic puzzle for a
moment and talk about another major human
characteristic. You learned in third grade that
human and natural characteristics are often
linked together when you learned about a
famous bridge in Michigan known as the
Mackinac Bridge. The Mackinac Bridge was
built to solve a problem - how to quickly travel to
the Upper Peninsula. The Mackinac Bridge was
not the only time humans grappled with this
There are hundreds of bridges - some large like
problem.
Mackinac, Brooklyn, and Golden Gate, some
The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883 to connect smaller- all around the United States!
the island of Manhattan and Brooklyn by
23
Connecting Physical and Human areas that get a good degree of rainfall
Characteristics throughout the year (Look at the “purple” section
in the Pacific Northwest! Those areas get the
None of this helps us solve our geographic
puzzle. In going back to the main focus of
this chapter “What is it like there” let’s take
a look at two more maps and bring together
both physical and human characteristics to
come up with a reason why there might not
be as many highways connecting the East
and West.
The first map below shows the average

amount of rainfall in the United States. You
may be wondering what average rainfall has
to do with roads. Think about what you
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Average_precipitation_in_the_lower_48_states_of_the_USA.png
have discovered so far. Road are

connected to cities. Think about cities. Why Using what you have learned about the
colors on this map, answer the question
might there be fewer cities in areas where there is “What is it like there” about areas in the
little rain? The green areas on the map represent red and orange zones on the map.
24
Interactive 1.6 Solving the highest amount of rainfall another interesting pattern when all three maps
Riddle Part 2 in a year!) and the red are overlaid on top of one another. The final map
areas represent areas adds one more layer to the equation. It shows
that get the least amount elevation in the United States. If you take all four
of rainfall. maps and overlay them atop one another, can
you construct an explanation why the human
If you take this interactive
In exploring maps, sometimes it is feature - “The highway system” is constructed
useful to overlay one set of maps and do the same activity
over another to see if you can the way that it is?
detect a pattern. you did earlier in the Interactive 1.7 Solving the
Riddle Part 3
section, you’ll notice
In exploring maps, sometimes it is

useful to overlay one set of maps
over another to see if you can
detect a pattern.
What is it like in the United States?

Use everything you’ve learned in this
section do describe the diversity of
the geography of the United States.
25
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Usa_edcp_relief_location_map.png
Section 3
Movement - How is This Place Connected to Other Places?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY How Are Places in the United States Connected to Other
States?
Places in the United States?
“How is this place connected to other places?” This is the
question that the “Movement” theme of geography is mainly
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE about. To begin, let’s think of Michigan because that is a
push factors - the events that “push” people out “place” you have already learned a lot about in third grade.
of their place of living
pull factors - the reasons or events surrounding

a new location that encourage people to move
Take a moment and talk with some of your classmates about
migration - moving from one place to another
the questions on the next page. While the discussion is taking
place, have one member be the notetaker so that your ideas will
be ready to share with the bigger group when you are finished.
26
1) How is Michigan connected to the rest of Lets pretend you live at point 1 on the map on
the United States? this page and you and your family are moving to
point 2. Based just off of this map, trace your
2) Why might people move to Michigan?
finger over the route you might take to get there.
3) What kinds of goods are moved into
Michigan?
4) What kinds of goods are moved out of

Michigan?
In the questions above you weren’t just asked to

think about why people might move to Michigan,
you were asked to think about Michigan’s
connections with the rest of the United States.
If movement is about connections we

cannot just look at how people move. We
have to look at how the United States is
connected.
27
Did you draw a direct line that connects two Now trace your finger over the route you might
points? Did you first travel south and then move take to get from point 1 to point 2. Are you still
west? able to take your original route?
What’s the best way for you to move? It might

be expensive if you flew all of the belongings
in your house from one point to the other, so
driving with a moving van might be your best
option. To make certain you can actually
travel this route by car, you need to make
certain that there are actually roads to get you
there.
If you recall, we learned a little about this in

the previous section. This map of highways in
the United States shows the major highway
systems that connect places in the United
In looking at the map, what do you notice about
States. It doesn’t mean that there are not other
the number of highways in the eastern part of the
roads you could take to get places, but the
highway might be your fastest method of travel. map? What do you notice about the number in
28
the western part of the map? You already
learned that the highway system is a major
transportation system and it is on this highway
system that we transport many of the goods you
buy in the grocery store. You’ll learn more about
movement of goods in the next chapter on
economics.
This next map is a map that depicts the

major mountain ranges of the United
States. You can see that driving to this
point requires that you travel through
mountains. If you’re driving an old car or a
older moving van, you might not have
enough power to travel through the
mountains! Your journey could end up
being a little difficult.
29
What Causes Human Movement From One The Pushing and Pulling Puzzle
Location To Another?
If you were to take a survey of your classmates,
Perhaps it started with a dream. Perhaps it came you may be surprised as to how many of them
from hope, wishes, or a yearning for more. Or have moved sometime in their lives. If you were
did the idea of packing a suitcase and coming to to ask those classmates why they had moved,
America come from fear and a necessary escape what do you think their answers might include?
from a life of worry?
For hundreds of years, people have been on the
How many times have you studied the story of move, whether into the United States or into
the Pilgrims? What do you know about the Michigan. Situations in peoples’ lives, whether
sinking of the Titanic and the passengers that your friends’ or your relatives’, can lead to a need
sailed on that mighty ship? America has been the for a change.
beginning of a new life for thousands upon
The events that might lead to a person leaving
thousands of people who have sought change
one location for another are called either “push
for many reasons.
factors” or “pull factors.” Push factors are the
In this section, you will explore some of the events that “push” people out of their place of
causes of human movement into the United living. Some examples in history have included a
States of America. lack of freedom or choice, a shortage of jobs,
30
war or unsafe living, scarcity of resources, or a
high cost of living there.
Pull factors are the reasons or events

surrounding a new location that encourage
people to move. Opportunities like better jobs,
being closer to family, a greater sense of
safety, freedom are some of the pull factors
causing people to move today.
Migration, moving from one place to another,

is not a new event. When a person decides to
leave their home for another location, the
reasons for movement can be very personal.
What do you pay attention to first in this picture?
What story does this picture tell?
31
If you had to move today, what item would you carry with
you to demonstrate your sense of family or cultural pride?
Consider This..
Migration doesn’t just include the stories of the

people who have entered the United States in
hope of a better life. Migrating individuals also
moved across this land by choice or by force. For
instance, during the 1800s, many settlers and
pioneers chose to move across the United States Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument
for greater chances at land ownership and better The movement of people, and the import and
economic opportunities. The thrill of new export of goods, have all played major roles in
adventure was also an incentive for settlers to shaping our country. People everywhere interact
travel west. through movement. They travel from place to
place and they communicate.
32
A Breakfast Example Activity - Use the internet and find out the
ingredients in one breakfast cereal of your
If you had cereal for breakfast, it’s possible you
choice. Then, pick any three ingredients (such as
used a brand that was created in Michigan.
rice, sugar, or salt) to find out where in the United
Kelloggs foods has their headquarters in Battle
States these materials might come from.
Creek, Michigan, and their cereals are
manufactured and sold world wide. The factory The journey of an ingredient for cereal could
in Battle Creek, as well as others around the begin hundreds or thousands of miles away from
country and world produces many kinds of cereal your house. If you live in Michigan, however, it is
which you may have eaten this morning. quite possible that they made their way to Battle
Creek to be made into your breakfast this
Some might be tempted to say that the journey
morning.
of the product from the store to a home begins at
the factory, but that is still not the case. All of the It doesn’t necessarily matter where your cereal
parts of a product, such as ingredients for was created. Often times after production it is
making cereal, come from places outside of the taken to centralized warehouses which deliver
factory. It could come from local sources, or the products to many regional stores. The goods
much farther away - across a state, the country, travel over land and by air depending on the
or even the world. distance they must travel.
33
All goods and products move in this way. If your very slow. To communicate across vast
family goes to a local farmers market and distances people either had to travel to a place
purchases apples, the journey from the farm to themselves or send a letter which could take
you may have been a relatively short one, but the days, weeks, or months to arrive at its final
product still moved. If your family purchases an destination.
American made car from Ford, GM, or Chrysler,
Fast forward many years and communication has
the parts came from all over the world, and it’s
gotten much faster. The telegraph was invented
possible that it wasn’t even assembled in the
in the 1830s. People could now send a message
state that you live in.
to someone across a large distance much faster,
From apples to cars, to the breakfast you ate this though it still required people to both send and
morning, the theme of movement is taking place receive the transmission, decode it, and deliver it
all across your town, your state, the country, and to a recipient. The telegraph did however make
the world. the spread of information and ideas much faster.
Moving Ideas Just forty years later, the telephone was

invented. For the first time people could
People and products move constantly, but a third
communicate with their voice over large
major type of movement also exists. The third
distances. This also helped ideas and
type of movement is the movement of ideas.
information spread faster.
Prior to the 1830s, movement of ideas could be
34
As faster methods of travel became available,
this also led to a faster spread of information.
Today many people carry a phone in their pocket
which allows them to communicate with people
all over the world instantaneously.
That phone isn’t just used to send your voice.

Many phones come equipped with cameras
allowing easy face to face communication. You
can text a message, a picture, or a video to
friends almost anywhere in the world and they
can receive it within seconds.
The movement of people, goods, and ideas is

constantly taking place.
35
Section 4
Region - What Relationships Do We Use To Think

About and Organize Places?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Imagine for a moment that your parents have asked you to
States?
clean up your room. To help you organize things a little better,

they have given you three boxes to sort all of your toys into.
How do you pick what toys go in which box? Do you sort
them by color? By shape? By size?
region - an area of land that has common Use this interactive game “Too Many Toys” to sort toys into
features
one of three boxes. When you are
Interactive 1.8 Too Many
finished, share how you sorted your Toys
toys with another classmate and
provide reasons that support why
you sorted them the way that you
did.
To explore the idea of “regions” try

this interactive sorting game.
36
A region is an area of land that has common
features. A region however is an imaginary
division. If you think back to third grade you may
remember discussing how Michigan could be
divided into regions. While something (either real
or imaginary) creates a region, you wouldn’t
necessarily know in driving across the state when
you’ve come to the end of one region and the
beginning of another. When you sorted toys into
the boxes in the Too Many Toys activity, you
probably sorted them based on shared
characteristics. Geographers do this too!
Our state can be divided into many different

regions as well. If you start with our cities and
towns which are regions of Michigan, and then
How is this map organizing regions in Michigan? How could
we move into the eighty-three counties of
the Upper Peninsula be divided further into regions? Why
our state, Michigan can be divided might the Southeast part of the state have more regional
boundaries than other parts of the state?
geographically in many ways.
37
Geographers do look for relationships among Using the embedded Interactive 1.9 Draw
Regions
places to organize a state, country, or continent widget where would you
into regions. The map shown below is a political create regional boundaries
map which shows only the United States and the in the United States? Be
borders between each state. prepared to justify your
response.
Create regional boundaries by
drawing on this map.
Regions in the United States are grouped by

geographic relationships. Each region has
something unique and special about it. Some
regions have mountains. Some regions are very
flat. Some regions are very hot in temperature
and some are very cold.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Blank_US_map_borders.svg/1280px-
Blank_US_map_borders.svg.png
38
The map shown below is a map showing some of Using the embedded widget where would you
the physical geography of the United States. create regional boundaries in the United States?
You’ll notice that this one does not have state Be prepared to justify your response.
borders.
Interactive 1.10 Draw

Regions

drawing on this map.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Usa_edcp_relief_location_map.png
39
Having just created some of your own regional
boundaries, here is one way the United States
has been divided by geographers. You’ll notice
that Michigan is located in the Midwest region.
You may have chosen in dividing your own map
up to use the entire mountain range in the east
as one boundary. How has this map categorized
the region differently?
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3936/15416129687_df0cb4a466_b.jpg
40
Another simple way the
United States can be
divided is by looking at
climate zones in the United
States. This map contains
a lot of additional
information in its legend
that describes the various
climate zones. If you look
simply at the colorings,
however, do you see
distinctive patterns that
could be used to divide the
United States into regions?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Climatemapusa2.PNG
41
Interactive 1.11 Draw
It can also be difficult using some of these Regions
patterns to try and create a distinctive region.
This next map shows the United States average
temperatures. If you compare it to the climate
zones in the previous map, can you easily create
just a few distinct regions that the United States
could be divided into? drawing on this map.
At the start of this section you had to organize

toys into boxes based on characteristics that the
toys shared. Geographers “sort” the United
States into regions based on shared
characteristics as well. We will explore this in
more detail in the next section.
https://www.arborday.org/media/images/zones-2015.png
42
Section 5
How do Environmental Conditions Influence Human
Activities in a Place
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have already learned that geography is the study of the earth
1. How do geographers study the United and how we, the people who live there, interact with it. We have
States?
already discussed the study of the earth itself. In the previous
significant in the United States? section we spent time talking about how the United States can be
divided into regions. It is now time to use regions to discuss how we
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE live and interact with the environment.
agriculture - the growing of crops
When learning about how humans and the environment interact with
irrigation - taking water from a local water
source and moving it for farmers to use to grow
one another it is important to think about some of the questions a
their crops geographer would ask. Several questions will guide this section:
reservoir - a large natural or artificial lake used
as a source of water supply. 1. What is it like there?
2. How is the answer to "What is it like there?" an influence on

what humans do there?
3. How does what humans do in a place influence the

environment?
43
4. Are the consequences of human actions different
from place to place?
We've talked about natural resources in a previous

section. What are some activities we do with the
natural resources in Michigan?
What is it Like There? Interactive 1.12

Regions for Human
In the previous section we talked about regions and Environment
Interaction Examples
how it can be difficult at times to agree on what an
actual region is. If we revisit this idea one more time
using an activity created by Dr. Phil Gersmehl, a
geographer who lives in Michigan, we'll divide the
United States into four regions which we will use in
This activity, adapted from
this section. Take a moment to view this interactive a lesson by Phil Gersmehl
will divide the United
content as it will frame your study of environmental States into four regions
which will be used for our
interaction in this section. studies in this section.
44
Western Mountains - What is it Like There?
In the first region, which we're calling the Western

Mountain region, there is a lot of variety. If you focus
on a state like Oregon you could find trees as far as
the eye can see. This wood is used to make a lot of
different products. It could turn into buildings like
houses, furniture, and paper - just to name a few!
Large forests don't just exist in Oregon. Washington,
California, Idaho and Colorado all have a wide variety
of trees in their many large forests. Some of these
trees, called redwoods have grown so large they're
over 300 feet tall!
Stop and think: What are some things that people

surrounded by forests might like to do?
Travel further south to California and you'll encounter

some of the most diverse geographic characteristics in
the region. In California you'll find forests, mountains,
rivers, valleys, coastal plains, and even some areas of
45
desert. We're going to focus in on California as part of historically grown, foods that were important to their
our human/environment interaction studies. culture. It really became known for farming in the
1920s and 30s when large numbers of farmers began
Throughout history, cities have tended to spring up
to settle there because of its clean air, plentiful water,
around water. One of the main reasons for this is that
and cheap land. Today more than 1/3 of the produce
water is necessary for agriculture, the growing of
grown in the United States comes from California.
crops.
They are able to produce so much in the way of
Many early civilizations practiced something called
agriculture because many of the farms are located in
irrigation which takes water from a local water source
parts of the state that are warm year round, allowing
and moves it easily for farmers to use to grow their
for long growing seasons. Historically they have been
crops.
able to use the state's water supply to grow these
Fast forward several thousand years. With such a crops year round. Much of the water they use for
variety of geographic characteristics, it shouldn't be a agriculture comes from melting snow in the mountains
surprise to you that farming also takes place in to the north of the state.
California today. Farmers in California grow over 200
Recently however farmers in California have faced
different crops - everything from grapes, almonds, and
some difficulties. As of 2016, California has found itself
oranges to lettuce, tomatoes, and broccoli.
in the fifth year of a drought, a long period of low
California wasn't always the agricultural powerhouse. rainfall that results in a shortage of water. The
As people moved to the state throughout its history, snowpack from the mountains provides almost 1/3 of
people brought with them things that they had
46
the water used by cities and farms, but without wet The farmers who grow their food in California haven't
weather, this snowpack has not been replenished. been able to provide as much water to their crops,
which means that for the rest of the world, shortages
How Has the Drought Affected California and the
Country? of certain goods have resulted. While food from
California is still sold around the world, many
The farms in California send Interactive 1.13 California
Drought Infographic Americans have seen the price of these goods rise as
their products around the
fewer are produced.
entire world. Take a
moment to look at the A wet winter in 2015-16 had
interactive to learn a little made this problem a little better, Interactive 1.14 California’s
Severe Drought Explained
more about how you but because the water levels in
yourself are affected by reservoirs, a large natural or
How have people impacted the
conditions in California! California water supply? Learn artificial lake used as a source
more in this article.
(California Drought of water supply, have not
Infographic). returned to normal. Some think
it could take five more years of
Farmers who grow their crops further away from water Learn more about the drought in
wet winters like the last one to this video from the New York
sources have used irrigation to bring water to their Times.
refill all that has been lost! The
crops. But with the shortage of water available to
drought in California continues to be a problem that
everyone, this has been more difficult to do. There is
faces both the farmers in the region, and the rest of
less water available for everyone.
the country.
47
The Plains Region - What is it Like There?
Interactive 1.15 The Plains

Region
Stop and Think: Based on the

video above "What is it like
there?"
This map shows dots where 500,000 people or more

live in an area, and you can see that there are lots of
dots in the other regions, but fewer in this region. As
you probably saw in the video, the Plains region is
mostly dry grasslands. There isn't enough rain for lots
of trees to grow like they do in other parts of the
United States. The Plains region is responsible for
some major agricultural exports however. People
living in the region over time discovered that wheat
48
can thrive in a drier climate. This region became a How Does the Answer to "What is it Like There?"
major wheat producing area of the United States. Affect what People Do There?
The Plains region is the most fertile grassland in the

Agriculture brought a lot of people to the region as
country. However, in the 1930s, over farming
America grew and expanded. Unfortunately, however,
combined with extended drought caused massive
drought conditions are also a problem in the plains. It
problems. As a drought hit the area and high winds
took time for people to learn that in many parts of this
caused an effect known as the Dust Bowl. The dry
region corn couldn't survive a drought, but wheat
earth was carried by high winds across the plains
could. It is drought-resistant crops that have been the
region, sometimes causing large dust storms to reach
most successful as agriculture in the region grew.
over two thousand miles away. The national
Think for a minute…if there's lots of grassland government at the time organized a group known as
available, what else might this region be known for? If the Soil Conservation Service to help farmers in the
you guessed animals, you're correct! Because of the area plant trees and grass to keep the soil from
environment around them, people living in the plains blowing away. They also taught them farming
region don't just produce wheat, they also raise practices that allowed the farm land to rest by rotating
livestock. In fact, cattle ranching is one of the primary crops and crop location.
economic activities in the region.
Today people have begun exploring a way that they
can use the environment of the region in a new way in
the form of wind farms. You may have learned about
wind farms in Michigan last year as part of your
49
studies on the state. Parts of this region have been Great Lakes Farm and Factory Region - What is it
called the Saudi Arabia of wind energy because of the Like There?
potential to harness great amounts of wind power for We drew a line to separate the last two regions on the
energy around the whole country. Right now wind map for an important reason. If you think back to the
power is the fastest growing source of energy in the section on California, you'll remember that the climate
world. Because the turbines do not take up a lot of there allowed for a longer growing season for farmers.
room, farmers can still harvest wheat and other crops The Great Lakes
in the plains while also serving as "wind farmers". Farm and Factory
While this is an important part of their future, one that region typically has
they are able to explore because of the geography of a shorter growing
the region, manufacturing wind turbines is expensive. season than the
Another problem is that some people who live nearby Southern Plantation
report noise from the turbines and don't like them region. That isn't to
because of that. Some also feel that they are say that farming
eyesores. In some cases they've proven hazardous to does not take place
the local wildlife. Still, the potential is there for the there.
people living in the plains region to harvest wind
As people moved to
energy not just for themselves, but for the entire
this region, people
country!
learned how to grow
many types of crops
50
including cranberries, apples, strawberries, corn, The Great Lakes were a huge part of why
blueberries, and a very important one to Michigan - manufacturing took off in this region. Other reasons
cherries! These are some of the main agricultural included the abundance of paved roads and the
exports of places like Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, growth of the railroad system. Whatever the main
and other states in the region. reason was, the abundance of available ways to get
goods from one place to another is the primary reason
This region is also known for water - the five Great
why this entire region saw industrial growth.
Lakes are important to all the states that border one or
more of them. They provide fun activities for people of In 1825 the Erie Canal was completed and allowed
all ages, and are important for shipping and people to carry goods east easily. Over 100 years later
transportation of goods around the country and the the St. Lawrence Seaway was completed. The St.
rest of the world. Lawrence Seaway is a system of locks, canals, and
channels that lets vessels travel from the Atlantic
How Does the Answer to "What is it Like There?"
Affect what People Do There? Ocean to the Great Lakes. It is recognized as one of
the most challenging engineering feats in history, but
People in this region have always practiced some
one that has helped the factories of this region rely on
forms of agriculture. Throughout our nation's history
the environment around the region to expand their
however, as industry took off thanks to the industrial
reach.
revolution, this has always been an important region
for factories that make goods that are shipped out to The water of the Great Lakes is important for shipping,
other parts of the world. agriculture, recreation and daily life of the people who
live in the region. The amount of water in the Great
51
Lakes (6 quadrillion gallons) makes up 1/5 of the of the length of the
world's fresh surface water. Because the region is growing season and the
"water rich" there have been talks about the possibility amount of rainfall.
of sending water from the Great Lakes to places that
More recently, over the
do not have as much. For people in the region this is a
last 75-100 years, other
very touchy subject! If you think of it this way, the
economic activities have
water was a one time gift, the result of melting glaciers
become important in the
that would be nearly impossible to replenish once
Southern Plantation
gone. You'll have an opportunity to explore this issue
Region. Agriculture is
more in the last section of this book.
still important to the
Southern Plantation Region - What is it Like There? region but it has also
begun to see a rise in
As you learned int he last section, this region has a
industry, particularly in
longer growing season than the Great Lakes Farm and
the building of cars, communication technologies,
Factory region. Therefore, throughout its history, this
banking and oil production. For parts of this region
region has relied on agriculture. The growing season
such as Texas, oil is a very important natural resource.
is much longer there (over 200 frost free days in some
places each year!) Throughout its history, the south
relied on agriculture. Crops like tobacco, rice, sugar,
and cotton have all been grown in the south because
52
How Does the Answer to "What is it Like There?" The TVA began building dams to control the river
Affect what People Do There? water and the annual flooding that took place. A
The Southern Plantation Region has always relied on benefit of building these
Interactive 1.16 The TVA -
agriculture, particularly cotton as a large part of what it hydroelectric dams was that
Nature’s Power Unleashed
exports to the rest of the world. You have learned that they would also be able to
drought has affected agriculture in places like produce electrical power
California in the Western Mountains region. In the which could be sold to the
Southern Plantation region the opposite has been a people living in the region.
problem: flooding. In the 1930s, a governmental The construction of the dams
program called the Tennessee Valley Authority was would also put many of the This video from the History
Channel will let you explore the
created to try and help with the problem. It was people facing tough times history of the TVA and it’s effects
on the region.
initially begun to control flooding in the region from the back to work. This didn't
Tennessee River. But why was it needed? solve all of the problems of the area however.
The Tennessee Valley was prone to flooding which Other problems the TVA tackled included developing
washed soil and nutrients away making it difficult to fertilizers to help farmers regain the nutrients in the soil
farm in the area. The people living there were having a which had been lost due to over-farming and make
hard time surviving. their crop yields strong again. Many trees were
planted to replace those that had been lost due to
lumbering many years earlier. The TVA worked to
improve things for the local wildlife too, by improving
53
the habitats of fish and the other animals that lived in
the region.
The TVA is still around today as a publicly owned

power company. It not only generates and sells the
power created by the dams, but it maintains the
existing structure of what was created in the 1930s as
well.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
You’ve now taken a trip around the United States and

explored some regions in an attempt to answer the
question geographers ask.
Writing assignment: Pick one of the four

regions we used in this section and briefly write to
answer these two questions: What is it like there?
How does that answer affect what people do there?
54
Chapter 2
How Does the

United States
Economy Work?
1. What are the characteristics of a market

economy?
2. How does a market economy work?
3. How does specialization and division of labor

increase productivity?
4. How do changes in the U.S. economy impact

levels of employment?
5. How does global competition affect the national

economy?
Section 1
What is Economics?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY What is Economics?

economy? In previous grades you’ve learned a little about economics
and that economics deals with choices. We all make choices
3. How does specialization and division of
labor increase productivity?
every day. We make choices about what to buy. We make
4. How do changes in the U.S. economy choices about whether to save or spend money. You will
impact levels of employment?
learn in this chapter that economics is about more than just
5. How does global competition affect the
national economy? choices. Economics is the study of how individuals and
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE societies use resources to produce goods and services. It is
economics - the study of how individuals and about competition and prices and trade. As you learn you will
societies use resources to produce goods and
services be working as an economist, someone who studies
goods - an item that is traded in an economy economics.
services - an activity that a business or person
trades for payment A resource is a supply of something that can be useful such
producer - the person or business that creates, as money. To study economics we must talk about
sells or offers the good or service
resources, goods and services. A good is an item that is
consumer - a person purchasing the good or
service.
56
produced in an economy. If Interactive 2.1 simply to introduce you to Interactive 2.2
Bartering
you go to a store and buy an Goods or Services? economics as a whole.
apple, the apple is the good.
• What is produced?
You traded or exchanged
money in order to get it. A • How is it produced?
Learn more about the
exchange of goods and
service is an activity that a Is each picture showing a • How much is produced? services in this video from
GOOD or a SERVICE? School House Rock
business or person trades for See if you can pass this 6
question quiz! • Who gets what is
payment. If you’ve ever gotten
produced?
your hair cut by a professional and given them
money to do it, they’ve provided you a service. • What role does the government play in the
economy?
What other goods and services can you think of? Producers and Consumers
Pretend for a moment that you’re going to open a

lemonade stand. What resources will you need
to open one? You may need lemons, sugar, cups
Economists ask many questions to help them
and chairs to sit on. What other resources might
study their area of social studies. There are
you need?
many more than the ones listed here. These are
57
At your lemonade stand, you are the producer. A grow and are harvested. Finally, you’ll also be
producer is the person or business that creates, using capital resources. You might not want to
sells or offers the good or service. Simply put, stand all day, so you’ll bring a chair with you.
you produced the lemonade and offered it for That chair was probably purchased by your
sale to others. Your neighbors who purchased parents, so it cost money at one point. The
the lemonade were the consumers. A consumer pitcher you pour the lemonade from and the
is a person purchasing the good or service. cups your pour the lemonade into are also capital
resources, products purchased for use in your
Three Kinds of Resources
lemonade stand.
In building your lemonade stand you’ll be using
Interactive 2.3 How To Run
three kinds of resources: human, natural, and Your Own Lemonade Stand
capital. You probably learned about these in a

previous grade. You are the human resource -
you’ll probably be making the lemonade that you
Here’s a video on how to start a
sell. You’ll also have to set up and take down lemonade stand. What resources did
these children use to create their
your lemonade stand. You will probably be the lemonade stand?
person selling the lemonade. The natural

resources you’ll be using include the lemons, the
What is another resource that might be used
sugar and the water. These are resources that to set up and run a lemonade stand?
58
Section 2
What are the Characteristics of a Market Economy?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Scarcity and Choice

economy? In previous grades you learned that scarcity occurs when
there is not enough of something. Scarcity leads people to
make choices. In the previous section you read about
4. How do changes in the U.S. economy opening a lemonade stand. Imagine however that lemons are
scarce this year. What do you do when you have a problem
national economy?
like this? You have to make a choice. Maybe you choose not
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE to sell lemonade because the price of lemons is simply too
demand - the extent to which consumers want a high. You could decide that a glass of fresh squeezed orange
certain good or service
juice is just as refreshing on a hot day. People make choices
supply - the amount of a product or service in
the market like this every day.
incentives - something offered by a producer
that makes consumers more likely to purchase This short example dealing with lemonade is a scenario that
what they are selling
both businesses and people in the United States encounter.
economic system - the system a society uses to
answer the basic economic questions Scarcity forces people and businesses to make choices about
market economy - an economic system where
the consumer drives many economic decisions
59
what is produced based on what is (or isn’t) system where the consumer drives many
available. Resources in a society are limited, but economic decisions. In fact, in the U.S. it is
people’s wants are not. often said that “the consumer is king.” This
concept has the fancy name of consumer
When making an economic choice, people try to
sovereignty (a sovereign is a supreme ruler such
answer three important questions: What should
as a king or queen.)
be produced, how do we produce it, and who
gets what is produced? People develop In a market economy, almost all businesses are
economic systems when they answer these three privately owned by individuals or corporations,
important questions. An economic system is not the government. Therefore, businesses are
the system a society uses to answer the three free to make choices as long as they follow the
basic economic questions. law.
You may not realize it, but even kids help make
many economic decisions. You have probably
What Is an Economic System?
contributed to our market economy and its
Countries all over the world have different types economic decisions many times.
of economies. In the United States, we have a
certain type of economy called a market
economy. A market economy is an economic
60
The Silly Case of Silly Bands When demand is
high for a good or
If a market system is a system where the
service and the
consumer drives many economic decisions, you
supply is low, the
might understand how this works by looking at
price goes up. Silly
an example like Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz were
Bandz were
colorful bracelets that were shaped like animals.
expensive and did
Silly Bandz were so popular that when many kids https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/
not usually go on Shaped_Rubber_Bands.JPG
got to the store to buy them, the shelves were
sale. Many
empty. There was a lot of demand for them.
companies wanted to make things that looked
Demand is the amount of
Interactive 2.4 Supply and like Silly Bandz so that they could make a lot of
Demand in One Minute a consumer’s desire to
money.
pay a price for a good or
service. When demand is Soon, every store had more than enough Silly
high, sometimes supply is Bandz to go around. Soon after, Silly Bandz
low. Supply is the weren’t as popular so kids weren’t saving their
amount of a product or money to purchase them. When that happened,
Confused about Supply and
Demand? Check out this video to
service in the market. can you guess what happened to the price of
learn more.
them? The price went way down. Kids were no
longer buying (or asking their parents to buy) the
61
things that encourage you to purchase a certain
What other products can you think of that good?
have a similar outcome as the story of Silly
Bandz?
Your team has just won the league
championship! To celebrate you are all
going out to have a pop. How will you
product and as such, factories stopped decide where to go and buy your pop?
producing them. Kids demands in the case of

Silly Bandz played a huge part in factories You may have thought about the taste, size of
producing more when the demand was high, and portions, variety of flavors and price. Incentives
producing less when they were no longer could greatly influence your decision of where to
popular. purchase your pop and what flavor you buy.

Positive incentives are things offered by
How do Positive and Negative Incentives
businesses to increase the chance that a good or
Influence Behavior in a Market Economy?
service will be purchased.
You have learned that in a market economy like
we have in the United States, that the actions of
consumers drive the decisions. This includes
what is produced, how much is produced, and
the price of the good or service. Can consumer
decisions be swayed? What are some of the
62
You may decide to go to McDonalds because
they are running a special sale (incentive) and for
$1.00 (price) you can get any size you want. You
may decide to go to the grocery store because
you have a coupon (incentive) for fifty cents off a
$1.00 purchase (price). Or, you might go to the
candy store because even though the price is
high, they have a wide variety of unusual flavors
and they come in glass bottles (incentive).
Examples of Incentives
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Ice_cream_shop.JPG What incentives would
encourage you to buy some of the home-made ice cream pictured above?
An incentive is something offered by a producer
that makes consumers more likely to purchase The answer is –
Interactive 2.5 Incentives
what they are selling. Use the browser absolutely! Businesses
interactive to look at the listed incentives and and the government often
think about how or why each incentive provide negative
encourages consumers to use their business. incentives to encourage

you to behave in a certain
We have talked about positive incentives, but do
way. For example, many Select one of the incentives
shown on the first three pages of
businesses ever provide negative incentives? this online document and answer
the questions that follow.
63
credit card companies charge you a late fee if more customers from their competition. You’ll
you do not pay your bill on time. Your public learn more about competition in the next section.
library will charge you a late fee if you do not In this case, McDonalds, the grocery store, and
return your books on time. When you join a gym the candy store are all competitors. They are
to work out, you usually sign a contract. If you competing for your purchase!
choose to cancel your contract before the year is
What is Competition?
up, you may have to pay a large penalty. These
are all examples of negative incentives that were Have you ever played a game or a sport with
created to encourage you to pay your bills on someone? What was the major goal? If you
time, return your library book when it is due, or answered "to win" you've just described a
keep your commitment to pay the gym for a full
year.
Competition
Competition can drive incentives. If there are

many places in town to purchase the same item,
such as pop, businesses are likely to start
offering incentives such as coupons, additional
rare flavors, or larger sizes in order to attract
64
competition. Competition exists in economics as baked goods and they sell coffee. The entire
well. Consider this story: town loves your store!
You love to bake. You're really good at it, and

everyone loves your chocolate chip cookies
when you make them. You decide to open up a
bakery in the downtown area. Your small bakery,
which you called Egbo's Eatery (named after the
Unfortunately, on the day it opens you decide to
relative who originally taught you how to bake)
walk in and support the new business. You are
soon becomes a hit with people all over town.
shocked to discover that they don't just sell
Because there aren't any bakeries in town you've
coffee. They sell a wide variety of cookies,
fulfilled a need that the community had - a great
muffins, and sandwiches - just like your small
place to come together and eat delicious baked
shop! Even worse, you charge $1.00 for one
goods.
large chocolate chip cookie. They charge .75
Egbo's Eatery is a hit. After a year or so, cents. For TWO!
however, a large company purchases the building
You walk away from the store without buying
next to you. Within a few months a new store
anything and immediately rush to your kitchen to
has opened: "Johnson's Java" a coffee shop.
begin planning. How are you going to compete
Initially you're not worried because you sell
65
with the coffee shop next door if they sell the
same products at lower prices? Will your
beloved recipe be enough?
How does Competition Work?
Egbo’s Eatery enjoyed a short period of time

where your baked goods could sell at any price
you wanted. If the people of the town had
nowhere else to go to get homemade bread,
muffins, and cookies you were able to sell your
cookies at almost any reasonable price and still
make a profit. Unfortunately, the coffee shop
forced you to change your game plan.
Because economics is about choices, you have

What could you do to compete against the
some decisions to make. What might you do to new business next door?
compete against the new business next door?
66
There are many things you could choose to do to If you chose to sell your cookies at the same
compete against the business next door. You price as the competition it is possible that you
might choose to: won’t notice any difference in the number of
people that come to Egbo’s Eatery. People like
1. Sell your cookies at the same price as
to make the fewest number of stops possible
the competition.
however, so the fact that Johnson’s Java sells
2. Sell your cookies at a lower price than coffee AND baked goods might make customers
the competition. choose the store next door rather than yours.
3. Add additional items to your menu (like Selling your cookies at a lower price sounds like
coffee which you never sold before but the other a great idea but you didn’t just pick the price of
store sells) $1.00 per cookie out of thin air. When you
4. Admit defeat and close your business. figured out how much it cost you to make a
cookie, you set the price so you’d be sure to
You probably shouldn't choose to admit defeat
make a profit. The consequence of selling your
and close your business at this stage of the
cookies for a lower price means you might attract
game, and there are many other potential options
people to your building but you might not make
you might come up with beside the ones listed
as much money.
above. All of them are part of competition in
economics.
67
Adding additional menu items could be a good 2.What types of incentives might your business
idea. If people are attracted to Johnson’s Java offer to increase your sales?
for the great coffee they have there, and then
3.What time of year would there be the highest
they stay for the baked goods, you might be able
demand for ice cream? Why? How might this
to win some of those customers by making a
affect your business plan?
mean cup of coffee yourself. The equipment to
do that however will require money, and you may
also need to hire another worker to help you run Now you can see it isn’t easy running your own
your business - you have a hard enough time business!
baking all the bread and cookies and keeping up
with the food orders as they come in.
Putting It All Together
Lets pretend that your family owns an ice cream

shop in your hometown.
1.What resources would you need to run your ice

cream shop?
68
Section 3
How does Specialization and Division of Labor

Increase Productivity?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY What is Specialization?
economy? In other grades you've already learned a little bit about the
term scarcity. Scarcity is an economic problem that occurs
because people have unlimited wants but resources are
4. How do changes in the U.S. economy limited. Because some things are scarce, people have to
make choices. One of the choices people have to make
national economy?
relates to what goods or services they will produce. Based
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE on the resources they have, some people choose to be
specialization - When people concentrate their farmers. Other people choose to be teachers. In economics,
efforts on producing a limited variety of goods or
services. specialization is when people or places produce certain
division of labor - the breaking down of the kinds of goods or services.
production of a good into many small jobs.
productivity - the rate of production of a good or Different parts of the United States specialize in different
service. If productivity is high lots is being
produced. If it is low, it can mean that less is things. In the previous chapter you learned about the Plains
produced.
region. Wheat grows well in the Plains region but there is not
69
a lot of wood. It would probably be difficult for How Does Specialization and Division of
the Plains region to specialize in producing Labor Increase Productivity?
furniture for the rest of the nation (unless it was In the assembly line example, each person was
made out of wheat!) responsible for one part of the car making
process, often working in small groups on a
What Is Division Of Labor?
single task. A small number of people would be
A great example of people specializing deals with responsible for the bumper of the car. Another
a product made right here in Michigan! It small group might be in charge of placing the
happened a long time ago when people began headlights on the vehicle. Yet another might be
making cars in the Detroit area. Henry Ford, a in charge of tightening bolts on the wheels.
car maker, improved upon the idea of an While it might seem like a boring task to do the
assembly line, and it allowed the people who same thing over and over again, for the car
worked for him to specialize in certain aspects of manufacturers it was great!
making cars. The assembly line is a great
If you were a person who specialized in making
example of division of labor which is breaking
the bumpers for a car and you had to stay home
down the production of a good into many small
sick, others also knew how to complete the task.
jobs. Each of these jobs is done by different
When workers specialize in a particular part of a
workers.
job the overall productivity increases. One
person isn't responsible for doing everything!
70
Overall both specialization and the division of while pressing it into that shape you’re probably
labor increases productivity in a company. familiar with. The cooled crayons are taken
(sometimes by machine, sometimes by people)
“Drawing” Conclusions - A Colorful Example
to the next phase in the production process.
Imagine for a moment that you’ve got a big,
Next, the crayons are moved through a special
beautiful box of crayons in front of you. How
machine which puts the labels on the crayons.
were they made? If you were to go to the
company that made them and take a tour, you
might see all of this in action. Here’s how a
crayon is created.
At a crayon factory, the first step is collecting the

supplies. Wax is delivered (by truck or train) to
the factory and heated so that it becomes a
liquid. It is then brought into the plant where one
set of workers add the colorful dyes that make https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Crayones_cera.jpg
the colors so bright and beautiful! While this is usually done quickly by machines,
Next, workers transfer the colored wax over to a people are trained to use the machine. They
special mold which rotates and cools the mixture switch labels when a different color comes
71
through and help inspect Other people make certain that the
the crayons to make machine that sorts the colors is loaded
sure the labels are put with the right boxes. The machine loads
on properly and that them up into boxes which it then closes
there are no broken tips and moves to the next step in the
or crayons. The same process.
people also pick up
Another machine bundles the crayon
large stacks of the
boxes up and transports them to a final
crayons and place them
set of people who take the crayon
in boxes which are
bundles and place them in boxes to be
transferred to the next
shipped out to stores.
stage in the process.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Retired13.jpg
Why is it important that both the factory
People transfer the large
workers and machines are broken out into steps?
boxes of a single color into a new room. Many
All of these things are happening at the same
different colors are brought to this same place.
time. If one person were responsible for all of the
Several people then feed the different colors into
steps it’s quite possible something could go
another machine. This machine has the
wrong somewhere along the way. If the machine
important job of putting one of every color into
that labels the crayons gets jammed (and you’re
each box.
72
the only one working) you’d have to shut down
the other machines while you worked on fixing
the problem.
In a place where division of labor such as this

takes place, if the label machine breaks down,
the people boxing up crayons are still able to do
their jobs. The people who transfer the wax are
still able to transfer it. It not only increases
productivity by having people work at a limited
number of stations, but it also ensures that
production can continue even if one step of the Interactive 2.6 Crayon
Factory
process has to stop.
See the production of crayons in

action! How do you see division
of labor practiced in this video?
73
Section 4
How Does A Market Economy Work?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY When studying the market economy in the United States, it is
economy?
helpful to understand how money is moved around within the

system. The dictionary defines a model as “a standard or
3. How does specialization and division of example for comparison.” Economists use a circular flow
model to help explain how goods and services are exchanged
4. How do changes in the U.S. economy
impact levels of employment? for money. Take a look at this video that helps explain how
5. How does global competition affect the goods and services flow from producers to consumers.
national economy?
Interactive 2.7 The Circular

TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE Flow Model
circular flow - a diagram used to represent the
movement of money throughout an economy.
Learn more about the Circular

Flow Model in this video from the
Economic Lowdown Video Series.
The first half of the video is the
most important. 74
The video you watched used Alice’s Diner as an We can explore the circular flow model using a
example to describe how producers and variety of businesses. For example, using a toy
consumers behaved in the circular flow model. store in our circular flow model, workers there
sell their labor to the store owner. In turn, the
Your turn: Use the interactive below to go
owner pays his/her employees money for their
through a simple simulation of the circular flow
labor. The employees then take the money they
model.
earn and uses it to buy goods and services in the
Interactive 2.8 Circular Flow Model
market, perhaps buying the newest video game.
Each sector of the economy feeds into another.

Households provide businesses with payments in
exchange for goods and services (think back to
the diner example from the video!)
Now it is your turn to design a circular flow

model based on a business in your community.
Choose one business or store in your town such
Still a little confused about the Circular Flow Model? This simple
animation will break it down into simple terms. You’ll continue to as an ice cream shop, clothes store, or pet shop,
learn more about this economics concept in later grades.
and create a simple model of circular flow Trace
what happens from when you spend money at
75
the store. Can you complete the cycle and get
the money back to you?
If you’re having a hard time coming up with an

idea for this, do something simple like a video
rental store or a restaurant.
76
Section 5
How do Changes in the U.S. Economy Impact Levels

of Employment?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Change is a fact of life. You change your clothes every day.
economy?
You change the channel when you don't like what you're

watching. Your tastes change. Over time you may have even
3. How does specialization and division of seen your school change. Do your parents have a smart
phone? It might surprise you to know that in 2007 very few
impact levels of employment? people had these. Now they're in the hands of many middle
5. How does global competition affect the and high school students!
national economy?
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE Change can be exciting and challenging. If you've ever
employment - having a job stayed home sick from school before you might appreciate
unemployment - being without a job the ability to use the internet and your phone to get some
medical services. No one likes leaving the house when they
don't feel well! Today, some people have access to doctors
online and over the phone. A doctor is able to listen to you
describe your symptoms, run some simple tests (or refer you
out for more) and give you a diagnosis right there without you
77
ever having to leave your living room. A long What Causes Economic Change?
time ago a doctor may have made house calls.
There are many factors that cause an economy
That largely went by the wayside. This is a new,
to change. Three of the biggest are changes in
growing opportunity for the medical field.
technology, changes in demand for natural
Change is all around us. It shouldn't be resources, and changes in competition. You will
surprising that economies change as well. learn about changes in technology and
competition in this section.
Changes in the economy can be just as exciting
and challenging as changes in our daily lives.
Changes in technology, demand for natural Stop and Think: How might a change in technology
lead to unemployment?
resources, and competition can lead to changes
in the economy which can lead to employment
and unemployment. If people are employed, it
means they have a job. If they are unemployed, Changes in Technology
it means they do NOT have a job. To illustrate
If your teacher has been teaching for a long time,
this point we're going to take a look at certain
they may remember keeping a paper grade book.
changes in the economy and how it has affected
(Maybe they still do!) At the end of a marking
both employment and unemployment numbers.
period they would have to total up all the grades
for each student individually and turn a report in
78
to the office. Now it's all done on the computer. read about a crayon factory Interactive 2.9 Crayon
This is one example of how changes in and learned that many of the Factory
technology have made the lives of teachers jobs in the factory are done by
easier. (Some would argue it hasn't!) Digital people. Review the video here
grade books have not led to teachers losing their if you need to. How much of
jobs. It may have caused people at companies the work is being done by
who make paper grade books to lose theirs! At people, and how much of it is See the production of crayons in
action! How do you see division
the same time, companies that make the digital being done by machines? A of labor practiced in this video?
grade books may need to hire more people to long time ago, very few
keep the software up to date. machines did the work. That meant the crayon
factory may have employed more people to work
Could a factory employee who helped make

there than they do now.
paper grade books get a job writing software for
digital grade books? Why or why not? Over the last 100 years in particular, many
factories have increased productivity by bringing
in new machines to replace certain steps in the
process. Those crayons in the previous section
Advances in technology always change our
were once made entirely by hand. Over time it
economy. Sometimes those changes are good.
became apparent that machines could do certain
Sometimes they are not. In the last section you
parts of the process faster. If you were the
79
person who used to pour the wax into the mold at the factory that have traditionally been done
by hand, the machines may have caused you to by people.
lose your job. At the very least you might have
The factory system is one place where
had to specialize in a different step in the
technology has changed our economy. Other
process.
jobs have also begun to feel the effects of
The crayon factory still relies on people to do technological advances. The Internet has made
much of the work however. The machines don't it easy for people to sell things online. Many
load themselves. The machines cannot easily people appreciate how easy it is to shop online.
check and make sure the crayons don't come to People in rural areas who may not have access
you broken or mislabeled. While people are to some of their favorite stores can go to a place
needed to run the machines, fewer people are like Amazon, an online store, buy something they
needed in the factory overall. That means that want or need, and have it delivered to their door
some who worked in the factory doing certain the next day!
kinds of work remained employed, while others
This is great for the consumer, but it is
may have ended up unemployed. The same
sometimes bad for stores. Over the years,
thing happened in the car industry. As the
Amazon has become a powerhouse in the world
technology has changed and more jobs can be
of online sales. You can buy everything from
automated by machines, people lose certain jobs
books to electronic devices to clothing here. As
80
more people buy products here, the physical getting highly specialized training in how to keep
store you had to go to in order buy them in the it working and running.
past has had a harder time competing. In some
There are fewer unskilled Interactive 2.10 The
cases, like the case of Borders Books (which Assembly Line Turns 100
factory jobs all over the world
began as a small bookstore in Ann Arbor) online
today (and not just at
stores like Amazon have led to physical stores
Amazon). Much of this is to
closing, which once again creates
work on special equipment
unemployment. Borders (the company) finally
that does much of the work
went out of business a few years ago. How
that used to be done by the See some of the changes in how
cars are produced in factories
would that affect jobs? over time.
unskilled workers.
Amazon still uses people in some of its factories,
Changes in Competition
but more and more of the process has become
automated by machines. In the past, most Another way that an economy can change is
factory work was completed by unskilled through competition. A great example of this is
workers. People could come in with little to look at the United States automotive industry
advanced education and be trained to work in a over time.
certain part of a factory job. Skilled labor has
The United States led the way in development of
increased over the last few decades. Skilled
cars for a long time. For the longest time the "Big
labor often involves operating machines and
81
Interactive 2.11 The Oil
Three" (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) dominated the Meanwhile, most of the Crisis
industry. cars imported from other
countries were smaller,
Automakers began to make cars bigger which
weighed less, and used
wasn’t a problem in the 50s and 60s. At the time
less gasoline. As people
gas prices were very low, and the people buying
began to look at
cars didn't mind that a bigger car often used Learn more about the Oil Crisis
replacing their cars, they from the 70s in this video.
more gasoline. While some Americans did buy
began to look at smaller,
smaller cars that were imported from other
more fuel efficient cars.
countries, many Americans continued buying
As people bought more Interactive 2.12 Cars of the
large, gas guzzling cars through the 1950s and 50s and 60s
imported cars and fewer
1960s.
American-made vehicles,
This became a problem in the 1970s. Because the Big 3 had to make
of some events going on around the world, the their labor force smaller
price of a gallon of gas in the United States several times in the 70s
almost doubled. It also led to shortages, where and 80s. People were As you view this video showing
cars from the 50s, 60s, and 70s,
people could drive up to gas stations hoping to not buying enough of
what do you notice about their
sizes over time?
fill their tanks only to be turned away because their cars because they
there wasn't any left. couldn’t afford to put gas in them!
82
The Big 3 automakers had to quickly work to
redesign their models to make them smaller and
more fuel efficient. It took time. It led to many
great advances in the technology that made cars
run as well. By the late 70s production of the
larger vehicles that had been the standard in the
50s and 60s had slowed considerably.
This competition continues today. While cars

that consume gas are still the most purchased
vehicles in the world, just a few years ago gas
prices edged over $4 a gallon. Because of this,
some automakers have investigated cars that run
on renewable sources like hydrogen. Others
continue to investigate hybrid and electric
vehicles. As you've already learned however,
changes in both competition AND technology
have replaced many of the unskilled jobs that the
big three used to offer.
83
Unemployment Today
Unemployment can be a tricky problem to

understand. It can happen across the country
and can be studied from the local, state, and
national levels. National unemployment trends
rise and fall based on a variety of factors. The
graph on this page shows a 10 year period of
time beginning in 2006 and ending in 2016. It
covers the unemployment rate of the United
Image 2.1 National Unemployment Data
States. The higher the number on the graph,
the higher the percentage of people who are
able to work but don't have a job. This gives
you the unemployment rate. If you look at
January of 2006, you'll see that the
unemployment rate is between four and six
percent. As you look at this graph, what do
you notice? How does the number change in
2007? 2008? 2009?
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
84
You probably noticed on the previous graph that period of time. As you look at unemployment in
unemployment was relatively low in 2006 and the Midwest and compare it to the national
2007. During 2008 it began to rise. It rose to unemployment levels, what do you notice about
one of its highest points in 2009 before beginning the graphs? Are the trends similar or different?
a slow trend downward.
As you learned in the geography

Image 2.2 Midwestern Region Unemployment Data
chapter, Michigan can be
classified as being part of the
region labeled "Midwest". The
Bureau of Labor Statistics
includes the states of Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, South
Dakota and Wisconsin as all
being part of the Midwest. This
new graph shows you the
unemployment rate of the entire
Midwest region for the same http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASRD920000000000006?data_tool=XGtable
85
When looking at unemployment trends you can You may have noticed that the graph for
also look at trends at a smaller level. This graph Michigan looks similar to the graph for the nation
shows Michigan's unemployment rate for the and our region. There is one key difference.
same 10 year period of time. In looking at all Look at the numbers on the side. The numbers
three graphs, what do you notice? Are the indicating unemployment percentages go higher
trends similar or different? How so? What might on this graph. From the years 2006-2016,
be the reason for any differences you noticed? Michigan had a higher unemployment rate than
the country overall. The first
Image 2.3 Michigan Unemployment Data graph shows that the whole
nation was affected by
something in 2008 and 2009
when the unemployment rate
began to soar. In Michigan,
the unemployment rate was
above the national average.
During this period of time, the

big three automakers once
again faced a big crisis. As
gas prices rose (much like
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST260000000000006?data_tool=XGtable 86
they did in the 70s) the demand for big vehicles crayon factory however, there will always be the
decreased. In addition, other problems around need for some people! These people will need
the country led to higher unemployment rates. It the skills to perform the factory work of the
also became more difficult to get a loan for a new future.
vehicle. If people aren't working they probably
It may be a long, long time before machines
aren't buying new cars!
perform surgery on people without any
As demand for vehicles fell, factories began assistance from humans, but the invention and
cutting back on production which meant fewer growth of the "Dial a Doc" has the potential to
workers. While this happened in many industries impact the medical field as well. There is no
for a variety of reasons at the time, it does help substitute for reviewing your health with an
explain one of the reasons why Michigan's actual person who can do things like take your
unemployment rate was much higher. temperature and check your heart rate. As the
service becomes available to more and more
What About the Future?
people however, it might mean fewer people
Changes occur over time, and we might never heading in to see the family doctor when they're
see a day where the unemployment rate hits sick. Will this mean there will be fewer jobs for
"zero". Changes in technology and competition doctors?
mean that people in some industries may need to
seek other employment opportunities. Like the
87
The more people are employed, the more likely
they are to be using money to purchase their
needs and wants. As more people purchase
goods, the likelihood that employment will also
rise, as stores hire people and purchase goods
themselves to meet demand will. As
unemployment rises however, the likelihood of
people using money to get the goods they need
and want falls. People will stick to the basics.
This will mean that businesses and producers
may have to cut their workforce which again…
leads to more unemployment.
88
Section 6
How Does Global Competition Affect the National
Economy?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY In this section, you will be accessing your basic knowledge of
economy?
economics and putting it to good use. Using that knowledge

will help you to think like a businessperson and answer the
3. How does specialization and division of inquiry question below at the end of this section:

How does global competition affect the national economy?

Global Economy
national economy?

The global economy is the economy of the world and the
global economy - the economy of the world; the exchange of goods and services that take place worldwide.
exchange of goods and services that take place
worldwide.
When you think of imports you know those are the goods
that are brought into our country. The exported
Look at clothing tags either from your own clothes or by looking at the
tags on a classmate’s shirt. Record your discoveries about where
articles of clothing were made here.
89
goods are the goods that we ship to other Clothing isn’t the only thing that we import from
countries. other countries. Take a minute to jot down some
other items that you know are imported. You
To help you understand this concept a little more,
learned about specialization in the previous
do a little investigating in your classroom or at
section. Individuals and businesses, and states
your house. Check the labels on things like your
specialize. Many electronic devices (like the one
shirt, a box of markers, etc to find out where they
you may be reading this on!) are often designed
came from.
in the United States but built in other countries.
What did you notice? What did you find That is because the cost to produce them in
interesting? Were your clothes made in the some countries is often cheaper.
United States? Were they made in another
Impact of Global Trade
country? Did you share your results with your
classmates? Were there places in the world How does being involved in global trade impact
where lots of clothing items were coming from? the variety of goods available to consumers in
our country?
You possibly noticed that the some of the brands
your friends are wearing are typically from If we make clothes in the U.S., then why do we
another country. Other countries are providing still import clothing from other countries?
many of the articles of clothing we wear every
day.
90
What do you think would happen if we stopped it affect our employment in the state of
all global trading? Michigan?
These questions really get you thinking, don’t If businesses in Michigan that made car parts
they? closed because car companies were choosing to
get their parts somewhere else, a lot of people in
Now that you have had a chance to look at some
Michigan would become unemployed, or lose
of the things that we import from other countries,
their jobs. That is what competition is all about.
let’s discuss an item that Michigan exports out to
Businesses are competing with each other every
others.
day, and not just here in the United States!
Did you know that Michigan exports a lot of car
Lets take an even closer look at some of our
parts all over the world? Our state makes a lot of
trading partners.
money from this export. Of course we have to
compete with other companies that sell car • Do some research and choose one
parts. country that the U.S. trades with. You might
choose to look at this article to get an idea of
What would happen when companies in other
what we export and what we import. http://
countries began selling what we make in
useconomy.about.com/od/tradepolicy/p/Imports-
Michigan? Would it affect our economy? Would
Exports-Components.htm
91
• On a separate sheet of paper, list that Culminating Activity
country, along with three items that the U.S.
Now it is your turn to prove you really understand
exports to the country; then list three items that
the effects of global competition. Read and
the U.S. imports from that country.
reflect on the scenarios below; then, create a
• While you are doing your research, chart like the one on this page.
continuously think of our inquiry question: How
does global competition affect the national Country M doesn’t inspect their products for quality assurance (how
economy? well they are made), which allows them to keep production costs
down by using cheap materials. They are successful and sell many
goods to the U.S.
• When your research is complete, share your
inquiry process and your findings with your
Country P has a huge population and many people need jobs. They
classmates.
choose to pay very low wages because they know people are
desperate for any job they can find.
How does global trade affect the United States?
Create an argument for or against global trade by using

this chapter as a resource.
What are the possible effects

Scenario What are the possible What are the possible
on the U.S.
#1: Country M effects on quality of goods: effects on price of goods:
Jobs:
Scenario What are the possible effects What are the possible What are the possible
92
#2: Country P on the U.S.: effects on quality of goods: effects on price of goods?
Jobs
Chapter 3
How Does the

United States
Government Work
For You?
1. Why do people form governments?
2. What kind of government do we have?
3. What powers does our federal government have?
4. How is our federal government organized?
5. Why does our federal government have a system

of checks and balances?
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of

citizens?
Section 1
Why Do People Form Governments?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the only
1. Why do people form governments? object of good government.
2. What kind of government do we have? - Thomas Jefferson

3rd U.S. President
3. What powers does our federal government
have?
5. Why does our federal government have a You have learned that there are different areas of social studies and
system of checks and balances?
different kinds of social scientists. You learned that geographers
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of
study geography and economists study economics. This chapter is
citizens?
about civics, another important area of social studies. Civics is the
study of government and the role people play in government. But
Civics: The study of government and the role people
play in government who studies civics??? Civicsers? Civicsists? It’s a little more
Government: a system that people use to provide complicated this time. Political scientists study civics! Politics is just
order, distribute power, make decisions and regulate
the conduct of people another name for government. But wait, what is government?
Federal Government: the government of our country Government is a system that people use to provide order and make
Framers: the people who helped write the decisions. It is also a system for distributing power like the power to
Constitution
make laws and the power to enforce laws. It is also a system for
Constitution: the written document that created the
system of government for our country
94
Preamble: the introduction to our Constitution
regulating the conduct of people, or how people
behave.
You have learned that social scientists like

geographers and economists ask a lot of questions.
The same is true of political scientists. They ask
questions like these:
• Why do people form governments?
• On what kind of values are governments based?
• What do governments do?
• How are governments organized?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/US_Capitol_from_NW.JPG
• What role do citizens play in governments?

Thinking Back
In this chapter you’ll be working as a political scientist.
In second grade you learned about local government
You’ll be investigating our federal, or national,
and the role it plays. Local government provides
government. You’ll be trying to find answers to these
safety and order in communities. It provides valuable
questions.
services such as community parks, libraries, and snow
plowing in the winter. In third grade you studied the
government of Michigan. State government provides
95
safety and order for the whole state. It also provides How did the United States get the government it has?
valuable services such as roads, state parks and Who formed it? Why did they form it? Those are tough
testing the water in our lakes in summer. questions. Maybe it would be best to begin with a
story.
So what does the federal government do? It provides
safety and order for the whole country. It also provides A Story
valuable services like interstate highways, National
Once upon a time there was a small
Parks and the National Weather Service.
island country called Dnalgne where
the people were ruled by a king. The
king pretty much had all the power on
the island. He was clearly in charge
and made the rules and decisions. Since the island
was small, some people decided to leave the island
and sail far across an ocean to live in a new place.
When they got there they settled on a large piece of
land much larger than the island. The king, however,
sent a message reminding them that even though they
were far from his island he was still their ruler. For a
while this didn’t seem to matter because the king
pretty much left them alone. They began to make
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Michigan_state_capitol.jpg
some of their own laws and decisions. They liked

96
being on their own without the king telling them what
to do. This made the King angry! He told them they Think about the story you just read.
couldn’t make their own laws and they couldn’t make Then, find two partners and work
together to answer the questions below.
their own decisions. He was in charge! He would make Make sure to choose someone to write
the laws and he would make decisions for them. This for your group.
made the people angry! They had learned to enjoy the • Do they need a government? Why or why not?
freedom of the new place away from the king. They • Do you think they will choose a king for their new
country? Why or why not?
sent a message to the king that they wanted to be
• What will they want the government to do?
their own country. When he read the message he
• What will they want to make sure the government
nearly exploded with anger. He sent his soldiers across does not do?
the ocean to where the people had moved. But the
people were ready for them and ready to fight for their
freedom. There was a long, hard conflict but in the end
the people won. The king gave in and allowed them to
have their own country. But now they were on their
own! They had their own country! Should they form a
government? Do they need one?
97
So, what did your group decide? Would they decide to after the conflict. People decided there needed to be a
have a government? Probably so. Just imagine what a change. You’ll find out lots more about this in fifth
community or state would be like without a grade!
government. Things would be pretty crazy in a country
In 1787 a group of leaders gathered together in
without a government. Did you think they would want
Philadelphia to design a new government. They
a king to be in charge? Probably not! They had had
decided the best way to do that was to write a
problems with a king. What did you decide they would
Constitution. A Constitution is a written document
want their government to do? Since they had just been
that describes how a government is organized. This
in a long conflict they probably wanted the
group of leaders is often called the Framers because
government to keep things safe and orderly. Did you
their job was to frame, or design, a new government.
think of things they would not want the government to
do? They had been enjoying freedom in the new place. Interactive 3.1 Who Were
They probably wouldn’t want a government that took the Framers?
away that freedom.
The story of how our country began is a lot like the

story you just read. It is more complicated but we
broke away from a king and became our own country
also. Just like in the story, one of our first challenges Click here to find out more about
the people who wrote the
was forming a new government. We had a government Constitution.
during our fight with the king but it wasn’t working well
98
describes what they thought the purposes of
government should be:
We the People of the United States, in order to form a more

perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
That’s a lot of big words in just one sentence. To

Writing the Constitution, 1787 understand it better click the Interactive to study it one
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/ part at a time.
Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States.jpg
They decided they needed to begin by writing a

Interactive 3.2
Preamble to the Constitution. A Preamble is just a Understanding the
Preamble to the
fancy word for ‘introduction’. But what should it say? Constitution
How would you begin? Would you simply write: Here is
our Constitution. Probably not and they didn’t begin
that way either. They began by thinking about why
they were even forming a government. Why did they
need one? What was its purpose? They answered
these questions in the Preamble they wrote. It Click here to find out more about
what the Preamble means.
99
The Framers had Interactive 3.3 The Writing Assignment: Imagine you were
Preamble
written the Preamble. It able to take a trip in a time machine back
described what they to the time when the Framers were writing the
thought the purposes Constitution. Make a list of questions you would ask if
of government were. you had the opportunity to interview one of the
Now, came the hard Framers.
part! Now they had to
Click here to see a video about
design a government the Preamble. Make sure to sing
along! https://www.youtube.com/
that could carry out watch?v=GxVUpBukACk
those purposes. One

that would unite people and keep them safe. One that
would guarantee freedom and fairness.
Civics is the study of government and the role of

people in government. Communities, all fifty states
and our country all have governments. People
sometimes complain about ‘the government’ but we
all agree that we need governments. Without them
things would quickly turn unsafe and unfair.
100
Section 2
What Kind of Government Do We Have?

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
-Abraham Lincoln
16th U.S. President
5. Why does our federal government have a system of In the last section you learned that after we earned our
checks and balances? Independence from the King we decided to form a new government.
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens? Leaders gathered in Philadelphia to take on this job. They decided to
TERMS, PLACES, PEOPLE write, or frame, a Constitution that would describe how the
Core Democratic Values: ideas people believe in that government would be organized. These
bring people together as Americans
Interactive 3.4 Quotations
Framers began by agreeing on the purposes
The Common Good: people working together for the
benefit of everybody of government. They described these
Popular Sovereignty: the power of the government purposes in the Preamble, or introduction, to
comes from the people
the Constitution.
Representative Government: a form of government where
people choose representatives to make decisions for them
The Framers did a lot of discussing during
Limited Government: the government can only do what
the writing of the Constitution. What were Quotations –What did they talk
the people have given it the power to do
about while writing Constitution?
Click here to find out..
Republic: a government where people hold the power of
government and choose leaders to make decisions 101
some of the things you think they talked about?
Freedom? Kings? Rights?
Core Democratic Values and the Constitution
The Framers talked a lot about what they valued and

what they believed in. These were ideas like freedom
that were very important to them. We now often refer
to these values as Core Democratic Values. They are
at the heart, or core, of who we are as Americans.
They are the values and beliefs that unite us. Some of
these values were described in the Preamble. For
example, the Preamble mentions freedom. It mentions
justice, another word for fairness. It also mentions ‘the
common welfare.’ We often use the term the common
http://www.usconstitution.net/gifs/docs/cpage1.jpg
good to mean the same thing. This core democratic
value relates to people working together for the benefit power of the government comes from the people.
of everybody. When the king was in charge the people had no say in
the government. They hadn’t elected him to be their
As they began to design the government itself the
leader. The Framers wanted a government where the
Framers talked a lot about another core democratic
people elected their leaders. We call this a
value: popular sovereignty. This is the belief that the
representative government. This is a form of
102
government where Interactive 3.5 “…and to the Republic for Which it Stands”
Representative
people choose Government
Recognize that phrase??? You should! It comes from
representatives to make
the Pledge of Allegiance. It describes the form of
decisions for them.
government the Framers choose. A republic is a
People transfer their
government where people hold the power of
power of government to
government and choose leaders to make decisions. It
these representatives.
is based on the values of popular sovereignty,
Click on the Interactive to How does representative
government work? Click here to representative government and limited government. A
see how this works! find out
republic has these characteristics:
The Framers thought that a government based on

popular sovereignty and representative government
was a good idea. However, they still worried about the
government becoming too powerful. So they wanted
to make sure it was based on the value of limited
government. This means the federal government
does not have complete power. It can only do what the
people have given it the power to do. There are limits
on its power.
103
Welcome to the Republic of Berwagana! has decided to punish anyone who doesn’t send her
candy bars by making them move out of Berwagana.
The Republic of Berwagana is a small country ruled by
Queen Bertha. She became queen when her What did you decide? Is the Republic of Berwagana
father, King Bert, died. Queen Bertha is a really a republic? In order to be a republic the country
pretty nice person. She feeds the wild birds would need some form of representative government.
at her castle, sends food to poor families in Does it have that? The people would need to elect
the country and is friendly when people their leaders. Are they able to do that? There would
come to visit her. She tries to make fair laws need to be some limits on government? Does Queen
for her country and enforce them in fair ways. When Bertha have limited power?
people break her laws she tries to give them a fair
punishment. Recently, however, she made a law that a Is the Republic of Berwagana really a republic??? Why
or why not? Write a paragraph taking a position on this
lot of people in the country don’t like. Because she has question. Give three reasons to support your position.
an incredible love for chocolate, she made a law that
requires everyone in the country to send her two
candy bars each week. She feels this is fair because
candy bars are not that expensive. In addition, she is
their leader. They should be nice to her. A lot of people
in Berwagana are speaking out against this new law.
Some say they will not send her any candy bars. She
104
The Framers did not want a government like the one in

Berwagana. Therefore, they chose a republic for our
form of government. Their decision was based on
ideas they believed in and valued. These included
popular sovereignty, representative government and
limited government. Now they had to figure out how
the government should be organized. What powers
should the federal government have? What powers
should the state governments have? Did they even
need state governments? Read on to find out how
they answered these questions.
105
Section 3
What Powers Does Our Federal Government Have?

If men were angels no government would be necessary.
-James Madison
4th U.S. President
3. What powers does our federal government
have?

So far you have learned how the Framers of the Constitution
5. Why does our federal government have a
system of checks and balances? described what they believed to be the purposes of government in
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of the Preamble to the Constitution. Next, they chose a republic as our
citizens?
form of government. That choice was based on ideas they valued
such as popular sovereignty, representative government and limited
Levels of Government: federal, state and local
governments
government. The next big job was describing what powers to give
Shared Powers: powers granted to both the

the federal government.
federal and state governments
Levels of Government and You
You already know we have three levels of government in our

country: local, state and federal (or national). Have you ever thought,
106
however, about how the different levels affect your life? The Problem of Power
Do all three levels affect you? Take the Interactive
There were 13 states when
Challenge to answer this question.
we became a country. They
each had their own state
Interactive 3.6 Thank You Interactive 3.7
Government Government and Me government. People didn’t
want their state governments
to be gobbled up by a new
federal government that was
too powerful. The Framers
knew the federal government had to have some
How is your life affected by all Here’s another place to learn powers. For example, the federal government had to
three levels of government? Take about how government affects
this challenge to find out. you! It uses Flash though so it have the power to make laws. Laws are one of the
might not work on an iPad
main ways governments keep people safe and
maintain order. But what about the states? People
Each of the three levels has its own responsibilities wanted the states to have the power to make laws
and its own powers. But how was this decided? Who also. But, why? Why couldn’t the federal government
decided what powers state governments would have make all the laws?
and what powers the federal government would have?
Were there arguments over this? The Framers What do you think? Do we need state laws and
federal laws? Turn to a partner and discuss or if you
grappled with the problem of power as they wrote the
are alone type your answer here.
Constitution and there were plenty of arguments.
107
People argued that the states had different types of What if the State Governments Became Too
geography, different problems and different needs. The Powerful???
small state of Rhode Island was very different than the You have learned that some people worried about the
large state of South Carolina. Because of that Rhode federal government becoming too powerful. There
Island was likely to need some laws that were different were others who worried that the state governments
than South Carolina. The same is true today. Michigan might become too powerful. They felt this could
has a lot of laws that deal with water. Many of those weaken the country and make it less unified.
laws would be useless in a state like Arizona. The Therefore, the Framers added something to the
Framers decided, therefore, to give the power to make Constitution that protected the country from control by
laws to state governments and the federal individual states. This is caused the Supremacy
government. Powers like this are called shared Clause. This part of the Constitution means that:
powers because they are granted to both levels of
• States cannot make laws that are in conflict with the
government. What other
U. S. Constitution.
Interactive 3.8 Who Should
powers do you think the Get The Power?
Framers made shared • States cannot make laws that are in conflict with
powers? What powers laws made by the U.S. Congress
do you think they gave How does the Supremacy Clause work? The
just to the federal Constitution gives the state governments the power to
government? Click on this make laws Imagine that a state passed a law banning
interactive to find out. Who Should Get the Power? - women from voting. Can the state do that? Why or
Click here to find out.
108
why not? According to the Supremacy Clause the governments. They gave some powers like the power
state cannot pass this kind of law. In would be in to make laws to both! By spreading the powers out the
conflict with the Constitution which guarantees women Framers hoped to limit the power of government. They
the right to vote. When it comes down to a state also hoped that neither the federal government nor the
government versus the federal government, the U.S. state governments would get too powerful.
Constitution wins!
Read the quote at the beginning of this
section again. Then, explain what it
means in your own words.
In writing the Constitution the Framers gave some

powers like the power to maintain an army to the
federal government. They gave some powers like the
power to create public schools to the state
109
Section 4
How Is Our Federal Government Organized?

1. Why do people form governments? Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an
2. What kind of government do we have? alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are
not a President and senators and congressmen and
3. What powers does our federal government have? government officials, but the voters of this country.
4. How is our federal government organized? -Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. Why does our federal government have a system of 32nd U.S. President
checks and balances?
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens?

You have probably figured out by now that the word
‘power’ was used a lot by the Framers of the
Separation of Powers: power is separated, or divided, among three
Constitution! They were trying very hard to limit the
branches of government
powers of government. One way they did this was to
Branches of Government: the three different sections of government
clearly state what powers were granted to the federal
Legislative Branch: the branch of government that makes laws
government. In this section you will discover that they
Executive Branch: the branch of government that enforces laws
also tried to limit the powers of the federal government
Judicial Branch: the branch of government that decides what laws mean
by organizing it into three different sections.
Senate: one of the two parts of the Legislative Branch
Senator: a member of the Senate
House of Representatives: one of the two parts of the Legislative Branch
Representative: a member of the House of Representatives
President: the head of the Executive Branch and the leader of our country 110
Supreme Court: the highest court in our country

A Return to the Republic of Berwagana! punishment. Recently, however, she made a law that a
lot of people in the country don’t like. Because she has
When you read about the Republic of Berwagana
an incredible love for chocolate, she made a law that
before you discovered that despite its name it was not
requires everyone in the country to send her two
a republic! Read about the little country again. This
candy bars each week. She feels this is fair because
time think about how the government is organized.
candy bars are not that expensive. In addition, she is
their leader. They should be nice to her. A lot
of people in Berwagana are speaking out
against this new law. Some say they will not
send her any candy bars. She has decided to
punish anyone who doesn’t send her candy
bars by making them move out of
Berwagana.
The Republic of Berwagana is a small country ruled by

Queen Bertha. She became queen when her father,
King Bert, died. Queen Bertha is a pretty nice person. How is the Republic of Berwagana
She feeds the wild birds at her castle, sends food to organized??? Write a simple description. Then,
make a drawing to show how it is organized.
poor families in the country and is friendly when
people come to visit her. She tries to make fair laws for
her country and enforce them in fair ways. When
people break her laws she tries to give them a fair
111
Who makes the laws in the Republic of Berwagana? Draw this diagram on a piece of paper. Then, click on
Who enforces the laws? It seems that Queen Bertha is the Interactive to create a graphic organizer that
in charge of everything. She has all the power. She shows the three branches and what they do.
makes the laws and she enforces them. How is the
government organized? It has one person with all the
power who does everything.
Three Branches of Government
The Framers of the Constitution did not want a

government like that of the Republic of Berwagana.
They did not want a government where one person or
even one small group had too much power. That is
why they decided to separate, or divide, power among
three groups or branches of government. They
Interactive 3.9 Three
hoped that in this way no one person or group would Branches of Government
get too powerful. Each branch would operate on its
own and have its own special powers. They hoped this
separation of powers would help limit the power of
government.
click here to create a graphic

organizer that shows how our
federal government is organized 112
You can see how the organization of our government is Learning More about the Three Branches
very different than that of the Republic of Berwagana.
Time to learn more about the Interactive 3.10 Learn
In that country Queen Bertha had all the power. She about the Branches of
three branches. You’ll need to do
made the laws and enforced them. No doubt she Government.
some research this time! First,
interpreted them also and told people just want she
choose one of the three branches
meant by a law. In our federal government different
you’d like to know more about.
branches with different people are in charge of making,
Then, enter the Google Doc to
enforcing and interpreting laws. Why??? You know the
make a copy and fill in the
answer! To limit the power of government!
organizer.
Find out who your U.S.

Representative is by
clicking here: http://
www.house.gov/
representatives/find/
INTERACTIVE: Take an interactive tour

Who are Michigan’s two of the U.S. Capitol and other buildings
Senators???? Click here and grounds of Capitol Hill by clicking
to find out: http:// here! http://www.capitol.gov/
www.senate.gov/
index.htm
113
In order to limit the power of government power is

separated, or divided, among three branches of
government. These branches consist of the
Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches. The
main power of the Legislative Branch is to make laws.
The main power of the Executive Branch is to enforce
laws. The main power of the Judicial Branch is to
interpret laws. Our government was organized in this
way to prevent one person or even one small group
from having too much power.
SUMMARY ACTIVITY: Pick one of the following:

President, Supreme Court Justice or Senator. Then,
create a list of the characteristics you think a person
should have in order to have this position. Give a
reason for each characteristic. Make a chart like this to
record your ideas.
114
Section 5
Why Does Our Federal Government Have a System of

Checks and Balances?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not
seek to fix blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
-John F. Kennedy
2. What kind of government do we have? 35th U.S. President
5. Why does our federal government have a system of You have learned that our country is a Republic. That means we
checks and balances?
have a government where people hold the power of government.
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens?
They give their power to people they elect such as the President and
members of Congress. These people make the laws and decisions
Checks and Balances: the way in which the different
branches of government keep each other from having too
for our country. To limit the power of these elected officials our
much power government is separated, or divided, into three branches. Each
Bill – what a law is called until the President signs it and turns branch has its own responsibilities and powers. The Framers of the
it into a law
Constitution, however, did not stop there. They took additional steps
Veto: when the President turns down a bill or refuses to sign it
into law to try and limit the power of government.
Override: when the Congress votes to cancel a President’s
veto
Unconstitutional: in conflict with the U.S. Constitution
115
Should Percy the Plumber be
Appointed a Supreme Court Justice?
Imagine that the President’s brother,

Percy, is a plumber. He’s a very good
plumber but he’s tired of fixing pipes and
drains. He would like a job in the government. In fact,
he would like to be a Supreme Court Justice. He
admits that he didn’t pay much attention in social
studies classes when he was in school. Therefore, he
doesn’t know much about the Constitution. However,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Supreme_Court_US_2010.jpg
he thinks he will look very good in the black robe that
Supreme Court Justices get to wear. He also thinks he The Framers were worried that something like this
can be fair in making decisions. Since the President might actually happen. The President might make a
cares a lot about his brother he decides to appoint him poor choice for a government position like a Supreme
to the Supreme Court. Court Justice. Therefore, they gave the President the
power to choose someone but they gave the Senate
the power to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Presidential
What is your opinion? Should Percy be appointed a
appointments for positions such as federal judges and
Supreme Court Justice? Yes or No? Write your
position and support it with two reasons. Then, find Cabinet members also have to be approved by the
a partner and share your positions.
Senate. This was a way to keep the President from
having too much power or abusing power. But what
116
about the Congress? This branch has a very important
What is your opinion? Should Congress be allowed to
power, the power to make laws. What if the Congress pass a law making it illegal to email a member of
Congress? Yes or No? Write your position and support
made an unfair law?
it with two reasons. Then, find a partner and share your
positions.
Should People Be Banned from
Emailing Members of Congress?
Imagine that members of both the Just like the example of Percy the Plumber, the
House of Representatives and the Framers were worried that something like this
Senate have been receiving a lot of complaints in their might actually happen. The Legislative Branch
email. Some people have complained that members of might pass an unfair law. Therefore, they gave
Congress argue too much. Others complain about the the Congress the power to make laws but the
laws they are making. This has upset the members of President the power to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
Congress and made them angry. They think they are
A law is called a bill until the President signs it and
doing a good job. They are tired of getting these
turns it into a law. If the President disagrees with the
negative email messages. Therefore, the Congress has
bill he or she can refuse to sign it. This Presidential
decided to pass a law making it illegal to email a
power is called a veto. It means the President has
member of Congress. After all they are important
turned down a bill and refused to sign it into law. In the
leaders of the country. They shouldn’t have to put up
email example, the President would most likely veto
with email complaints.
the bill because it would be an unfair law.
117
But, wait… think about this. What likely declare it unconstitutional, or in conflict with the
if the President was angry with U.S. Constitution. We’d be free of the unfair email law!
Congress and started vetoing
everything even the really good
bills? The Framers had a solution Checks and Balances
to this problem also. They gave Congress the power to
The examples you have just read are
override a Presidential veto. This means that Congress
examples of checks and balances.
can vote to cancel a President’s veto. If two-thirds of
This is how the Framers kept any one
the members of Congress vote to do this than the bill
branch from having too much power.
becomes a law without the President’s signature!
This is how they balanced power. This is
But, wait… think about this. What if the Congress was how they designed a government where the branches
determined to pass their law making it illegal to email could check, or challenge, each other. This was
members of Congress? Therefore, they voted to another way the Framers hoped to further limit the
override the President’s veto. Would we be stuck with power of the federal government. This is why a
an unfair law? The Framers had a solution to this plumber who knows little about the Constitution is
problem also. They gave the Judicial Branch the unlikely to be appointed a Supreme Court Justice. This
power to declare a law unconstitutional. The is why we are free to email members of Congress,
Constitution guarantees that people have the right to even if we are complaining.
say and write what they want. Therefore, after the
email law was passed the Supreme Court would most
118
Interactive 3.11 Checks Interactive 3.12 I’m Just a Bill
and Balances
Click here to see how this system To learn more about how a bill becomes a
of checks and balances works! law watch this short video
Time for a Change in the Republic of Berwagana

You’ve discovered that the Republic of Berwagana is
Separating power by creating three branches of
NOT a republic. The people do not have any power in
government was one way the Framers hoped to limit
the government. There is only one branch of
the power of the government. Using a system of
government, Queen Bertha! She makes the laws and
checks and balances was another. This system
she enforces them. There are no limits on her power.
allowed the branches to check, or challenge, each
There are no checks and balances in the government.
other. For example, Congress can pass a bill but the
Imagine the people have chosen you to design a new
President can veto the bill and keep it from becoming
government for them. They want a country that is
a law.
really a republic! Work alone or in a small group to
design a new government. Create at least one
diagram to go along with your plan.
119
Section 6
What are the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens?


We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are
bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commit-
2. What kind of government do we have? ment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding
ideals, and those who died in their defense.
3. What powers does our federal government -Barack Obama
44th U.S. President
have?

You have learned that the Constitution describes how our federal
5. Why does our federal government have a
system of checks and balances? government is organized. You have also learned that it is based on several
6. What are the rights and responsibilities of important ideas including popular sovereignty, separation of powers; and
citizens?
checks and balances. Despite the fact that the Constitution set up a
limited government based on these ideas, some people still had concerns.
Individual Rights: things an individual person is
They worried that the government might end up limiting, or even taking
entitled to have or to do
away, their individual rights. Remember that they had been once ruled by
Amendment: a change, or addition, to the
a king who had done just that! Some people insisted that these rights be
Constitution
added to the Constitution. They wanted that done before they would
Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments, or
agree to accept the Constitution as a plan for government. Therefore, it
additions, to the Constitution which give people
important rights such as freedom of speech was decided to add ten amendments, or additions, to the Constitution.
These ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
Civic Responsibilities: the responsibilities people
have as citizens
120
You have seen that the wording
of the Bill of Rights is not easy The Bill of Rights - More
to understand. It was written in Information
the language of the times. Here is an illustrated version

of the Bill of Rights: http://
People now may interpret it in www.crf-usa.org/
different ways. Therefore, it is elementary-school/
http://constitutioncenter.org/images/uploads/heros/bill-of-rights-hero-lg.jpg
illustrated-bill-of-rights
wise to read more than one
The Bill of Rights interpretation. Choose one of
Here is a video explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/
The Bill of Rights was one more way the Framers tried the links below and compare it watch?v=yYEfLm5dLMQ
to limit the power of the federal government and to the interpretation you have Click here to see
descriptions of each of the
protect people’s rights. It lists important rights such as just read.
10 amendments in the Bill of
freedom of religion. This right allows people to have Rights and the actual
language from the
any religious beliefs they want or no religious beliefs at Constitution http://
all. It also includes freedom bensguide.gpo.gov/j-bill-
Interactive 3.13 The Bill of rights-1789-91
of speech. This right allows Rights
Here’s another good
people to say what they explanation of the rights
want and to talk about their guaranteed in the Bill of
Rights: http://
beliefs, ideas, and feelings.
teacher.scholastic.com/
To learn about the other scholasticnews/indepth/
constitution_day/inside/
rights in the Bill of Rights
index.asp?article=billofrights
click here: Click here to learn about the Bill of
Rights!
121
Writing Assignment: You have learned limit on this right? There is a limit. Your group must
about the First Amendment which gives protest peacefully. You cannot throw rocks or bottles.
you the right to petition the government. This means You cannot destroy property Why? These actions
you can write to the government and complain. You could infringe on the rights of others.
can write to the government about a change you want
Freedom of speech has limits also. For example, you
to see happen. People often write a petition and then
can’t lie about someone in a court trial. You can’t
get other people to sign it who agree with it. That way
stand up in a crowded movie theater and scream
it is not just a single person asking for change. Imagine
“Fire!” if there is no fire. These actions could infringe
you are a citizen of the Republic of Berwagana. You
on the rights of others.
are not happy about Queen Bertha’s law which says
you need to send her two candy bars each week. You Rights Come With Responsibilities
have decided to write a petition and get other people
Rights are a very important part of our Republic.
to sign it. What will you write?
People care a great deal about their freedom and their
Limits on Rights rights. However, rights come with responsibilities.
Imagine a republic where citizens had rights but no
The Bill of Rights gives you many
responsibilities. Would this work? Why or why not?
important rights. But are these rights unlimited? You
Imagine a republic where a legislative branch made
have the right to freedom of assembly. This means you
laws but citizens did not have the responsibility to
can meet in any group you want. You can even meet in
obey them. Imagine a republic where citizens had the
a group to protest the government. Does that mean
right to vote but most of them didn’t bother to vote.
your protest group can do anything it wants? Is there a
122
You can easily see that our Republic needs to PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
guarantee rights but citizens need to accept some
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution as
responsibilities. We often refer to
one more way to limit the power of government and
these responsibilities as civic
protect the individual rights of people. It includes many
responsibilities. Click here to
important freedoms such as freedom of speech,
match rights and responsibilities.
freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. It
includes important protections such as protection
against unreasonable searches of your property. It
includes important rights such as the right to a fair
Interactive 3.14 Rights and
Responsibilities trial. With rights come civic responsibilities. These
include the responsibility to obey laws, the
responsibility to serve on a jury and the responsibility
to vote knowledgeably. Balancing rights and
responsibilities is what makes a Republic work!
Click here to match rights and

responsibilities
123
Chapter 4
Great Lakes
Water
QUESTION TO GUIDE INQUIRY
1. Should water be diverted from the Great Lakes to dry places

in other parts of the United States that need water?
Section 1
A Performance Task
QUESTION TO GUIDE INQUIRY Should water from the Great Lakes be used in other places?
1. Should water be diverted from the Great The question of “who owns the water?” and “should it be
Lakes to dry places in other parts of the
United States that need water? used to help other places in the country that need it?” is
one that our nation has been wrestling with for years.
You will be responsible for writing an opinion essay on this

very topic. You will be introduced to the topic of decreasing
water levels in the Great Lakes by watching two videos and
reading a short passage.
Finally you will compose an opinion essay on the public issue:

Should water be diverted from the Great Lakes to other
parts of the United States that need water?
125
Directions for beginning: agree that the town of New Berlin has some
serious problems! Especially when it comes to
You will now watch two videos and read one
having access to safe, clean drinking water. The
article. Take notes because you may want to
first video mentioned however that this is a very
refer to your notes while writing your essay. You
sensitive issue, particularly for those living in the
can refer to any of the sources as often as you
Great Lakes.
like while you are taking notes. Your notes and
sources will be your basis for writing your final Think back to the unit on Geography. Remember
draft. that one of the ways that the theme of
“movement” takes place is over the water. Ships
The first video will introduce you to a town called
travel around the Great Lakes carrying cargo that
New Berlin in Wisconsin. New Berlin is very
will be used in the production of goods. If we
close to the Great Lakes,
divert the water this Interactive 4.2 Lake
Interactive 4.1 The Great but the ground water Superior is Disappearing
Lakes Water Battle might become difficult.
that they have access to
This second video will
is not safe to drink.
explain the struggle for
Learn about this topic in
those who depend on
the first video.
the Great Lakes to
There are many in carry out their Next, watch this video which talks
about what is happening to our
Watch this video first to learn Michigan who would business. While many Great Lakes
more about the issue overall.
126
Michiganders feel for those who do not have will tell you a little more about what scientists are
access to water, some will argue that sending the thinking.
water from the Great Lakes to other parts of the
country will have disastrous effects here at home.
According to the article, what are some of the
ecological effects of water diversion from lakes?
According to the videos, what factors contribute to

decreasing water levels in the Great Lakes and what
are the effects of those decreasing water levels?
This is not a problem that is easily solved. It is,
however, a public issue that affects people living
in Michigan, people in the Great Lakes region,
It’s not just about the economy either. Scientists
and people all over the United States. Because
caution that every ecosystem (like the ones
of that, it is an interesting problem to study and
found in the Great Lakes)
develop an opinion on.
has a very delicate Interactive 4.3 Why Water
Diversion is an Ecological
balance. Changes in the Problem for Lakes The first step in tackling an issue of public policy
water levels could cause is to identify and clearly state the issue. In this
lasting damage to the particular case, the issue comes in the form of a
species that live in the question. Our question “Should water be
Great Lakes. This article diverted from the Great Lakes?” is a special kind
127
of question known as a “Compelling question” they might say? Think about the people who are
Ask any adult in your life and they’re probably “for” sending the water to other parts of the
going to argue one way or another about their country. What is something they might say?
answer. They’re either against sending water
from the lakes, or for it.
A great way to argue however is to think about

both sides of the issue. Even though you may
have a strong argument for one side over
another, when outlining what your major points
it’s a good idea to think about what the people
who do NOT think the same way might say.
Interactive 4.4 Google
The final activity in this section requires you to do Docs
just that. As you open the Google Document,
identify first what the level of this issue is. Next,
take a moment to figure out what a position on
either side of this might be. Think about the
people who are “against” sending the water to
Complete the Public Issue
other parts of the country. What is something Analysis Chart on sharing the
water of the Great Lakes
128
Section 2
A Performance Task
By watching the two video clips in the previous section, as

QUESTION TO GUIDE INQUIRY
1. Should water be diverted from the Great

well as reading the short article, you have had time to learn
Lakes to dry places in other parts of the
more about the issue: Should water be diverted from the
United States that need water?
Great Lakes to places in other parts of the United States
that need water?
You will now be asked to review your notes and sources, plan,
draft, and revise your essay. While you may use your notes
and refer to the sources, you must work on your own. You
may also refer to the answers you wrote to the earlier
questions, but you cannot change those answers. Now read
about your assignment on the next page, as well as the
information about how your essay will be scored. Once you
have done so, you may begin your work.
129
Your assignment effective transitions and how well you stay on
topic throughout the essay
You have read one informational article and
watched two videos about water in the Great 3. Elaboration of evidence – how well you
Lakes. provide evidence from sources about your
position and elaborate with specific information
Write an essay defending your position on the
public issue: Should water be diverted from the 4. Language and Vocabulary – how well you
Great Lakes to places in other parts of the United effectively express ideas using precise language
States that need water? In your essay, be sure that is appropriate for your audience and
to use evidence from the articles and video to purpose.
support your position.
5. Conventions – how well you follow the rules
How your essay will be scored: of usage, punctuation, capitalization, and
spelling.
1. Statement of purpose/focus – how well you
clearly state your position on the topic and
maintain your focus.
2. Organization – how well your ideas logically

flow from the introduction to conclusion using
130

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United

MI OPEN BOOK PROJECT

Nancy Bucholtz, Mark Estelle, Jennifer Fairweather,

This is version 2.0.1 of this resource, released in August of 2016.

4th Grade United States Studies Authors

Jenn Fairweather, Oakridge Schools

Maureen Klein, Allen Park Public

What Makes the

1. How do geographers study the United States?

2. What natural and human characteristics are

2. What natural and human characteristics are

Prime Meridian - an imaginary line going across

GPS - a navigation system that allows people to

GIS - A geographic information system is a

What Tools Do They Use?

Geographers study the world using a variety of

Most of the United States is

The Northern and Southern Hemispheres are

Geographers also use aerial photography and

population. As you look at this map what

Study the map above that shows major population

makes use of satellites in orbit to collect information for geographers

Finally...you might not think of things like charts,

The Five Themes of Geography Human/Environmental Interaction: How do people interact

Geographers came up with an educational tool to

Place - What is it Like There?

QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Physical Characteristics

Describe what it is like in Michigan

You learned a lot about what it is like in various

There are many diﬀerent kinds of maps, including

and contains thousands of lakes and rivers of

You will begin to look at United States regions in

focusing on the idea of what is it like there, look

Write about a human characteristic in Michigan that

The map above shows the major highways that

The satellite map you’re looking at on this page

The ﬁrst map below shows the average

have discovered so far. Road are

In exploring maps, sometimes it is

What is it like in the United States?

Movement - How is This Place Connected to Other Places?

pull factors - the reasons or events surrounding

4) What kinds of goods are moved out of

In the questions above you weren’t just asked to

If movement is about connections we

What’s the best way for you to move? It might

If you recall, we learned a little about this in

This next map is a map that depicts the

Pull factors are the reasons or events

Migration, moving from one place to another,

What do you pay attention to first in this picture?

What story does this picture tell?

Migration doesn’t just include the stories of the

Moving Ideas Just forty years later, the telephone was

That phone isn’t just used to send your voice.

The movement of people, goods, and ideas is

Region - What Relationships Do We Use To Think

2. What natural and human characteristics are

To explore the idea of “regions” try

Our state can be divided into many diﬀerent