On November 23, the third and seventh graders took part in a collaborative activity to tie together their social studies units. The seventh grade classes would be finishing their unit on Government & Economics just as third grade was starting theirs, so the middle school students chose a topic and created a presentation designed to be taught to third grade. Some of the topics included Capitalism, Communism, Economic Freedom, Monarchy, Different Types of Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Totalitarianism. 

The middle school students summarized their topics, shared examples from history and our world today, and created an analogy for the young learners to make connections. Many of the seventh graders also embedded group discussion time and games into their lessons, making them interactive and fun. The third graders then asked questions to their seventh grade teachers, which they expertly answered.

Many seventh grade students commented that they truly grasped the concept once they had to teach it, and though they were originally apprehensive, they greatly enjoyed teaching the young learners.

Here, Olivia L. plays a Market Economy review game with Ms. Hawkin’s students.

Here, Zia L. uses a cake analogy to teach Ms. William’s class about Parliamentary Democracy.

Here, Seunghun L. teaches Ms. Yi’s class about Federalism in the United States.

Here, Jayne K. teaches Mr. Moore’s 3B class about Economic Freedom.

Here, Emily J. helps students to understand Capitalism and how it works.

Here, Emily N. shows students an example of Parliamentary Democracy in the United Kingdom.