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6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 9

Economies of the World

Factors of production, systems and development

What your child practices

The factors of production, free enterprise, socialist, communist and traditional economies, agricultural, retail, manufacturing and service industries, measures such as GDP, GDP per capita, literacy and life expectancy, and trade between countries.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 6.4(A); 6.4(B); 6.6(A); 6.6(B); 6.6(C); 6.7(A); 6.7(B); 6.7(C); 6.8(A); 6.8(B) · factors of production, economic systems including free enterprise, kinds of industry, measures of development and trade

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Factors of production: land (resources), labor (work people do) and capital (tools).
  2. Industries: agricultural (farming), manufacturing (factories), service.
  3. In free enterprise, private people own most businesses. GDP per capita is GDP divided by population.

Example: Is a car factory part of agriculture or manufacturing? A factory makes goods from parts. Making goods is manufacturing. Answer: manufacturing

Economies of the World in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 3 of 9 in 6th grade Social Studies, after Trade Routes & Beliefs and before Governments & Citizens.

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.

Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    If a country has too few skilled workers, one likely problem is…

    • prices always fall
    • there is too much capital
    • factories cannot produce enough
    • nobody needs jobs

  2. Question 2

    In a socialist economy, the government owns or controls…

    • only small shops
    • many major industries and services
    • only farms
    • nothing at all

  3. Question 3

    In a traditional economy, what to produce is decided mostly by…

    • big corporations
    • a stock market
    • customs and habits passed down
    • a central government plan

  4. Question 4

    In a communist economy, such as North Korea's, the means of production are mostly owned and controlled by…

    • religious leaders
    • foreign companies
    • private individuals
    • the government

  5. Question 5

    GDP, or gross domestic product, measures…

    • the total value of goods and services a country produces
    • the size of a country
    • how many schools a country has
    • how many people live in a country

  6. Question 6

    A mountain range between two countries can limit their trade because it is a…

    • market
    • trade agreement
    • transportation barrier
    • natural resource

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