4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 8
Maine at Work
Lobsters, blueberries, ships and saving
What your child practices
Maine's economy (lobster, wild blueberries, potatoes, forest products, shipbuilding and tourism), goods and services, scarcity and opportunity cost, producers and consumers, and how banks and credit unions help people save.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Economics; Personal Finance · scarcity and choices in Maine's economy, and how financial institutions help people manage money
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Maine is known for lobster, wild blueberries, potatoes, forest products, shipbuilding and tourism.
- Producers make goods and services. Consumers buy them.
- Scarcity means choosing. Opportunity cost is what you give up. A budget plans spending and saving.
Example: Why do people trade with other places? No place can make or grow everything. Trade brings what is missing. Answer: to get things they cannot make or grow themselves
Maine at Work in Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 7 of 8 in 4th grade Social Studies, after Governing Maine and before The Wabanaki Nations.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 4th grade guide for Maine parents
- Printable 4th grade Social Studies sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Trees from Maine's forests are made into…
- lumber and paper
- plastic and oil
- glass and steel
lumber and paper
Hint: Forest products have long been part of Maine's economy.
Question 2
Lobster fishers must return lobsters that are too small. This rule helps…
- keep enough lobsters for the future
- make lobsters cheaper
- close the ocean
keep enough lobsters for the future
Hint: Small lobsters can grow and have young.
Question 3
People trade with other places to get…
- only money
- things they cannot make or grow themselves
- nothing at all
things they cannot make or grow themselves
Hint: Maine trades lobster for oranges from warmer states.
Question 4
Many visitors come to Maine for its coast, parks and lakes. This industry is…
- tourism
- mining
- oil drilling
tourism
Hint: Tourists spend money at inns, restaurants and shops.
Question 5
Goods are…
- things you can touch that people make or grow
- money in a bank
- work people do for others
things you can touch that people make or grow
Hint: A potato and a boat are goods.
Question 6
Why do many Maine coastal towns have more jobs in summer?
- it snows more
- schools are open
- tourists visit and buy more
tourists visit and buy more
Hint: Some jobs are seasonal.