This inquiry is an initial exploration into the concept of interdependence through the lens of community economics and the idea of an economy as a diverse, mutually supportive web of needs and wants, workers and consumers, and problems and solutions. The compelling question “What makes me become we?” challenges students to consider interdependence among individuals and groups and think about how a community is not just a bunch of individual “mes” living in a shared space but also a collective “we” that interacts, grows and contracts, and tries to solve issues. This inquiry builds on students’ first-grade knowledge and challenges them to understand that through businesses, town organizations, and local governments, a community meets the needs and wants of its people, finding strength in collective efforts to address problems.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
What Makes Me Become We?
Staging Question
Discuss the meaning of the phrase “two heads are better than one.”
How do people meet their needs and wants?
Formative TasksBrainstorm categories of workers, businesses, and organizations that meet communities’ needs and wants and why they are important.
SourcesSource A: “Farmers Grow Corn”
Source B: “First in Her Family to Own a Home”
Source C: “Oranges from Tree to You”
What challenges do people face in meeting their needs and wants?
Formative TasksComplete a three-part T-chart describing the challenges communities may experience due to scarcity.
SourcesSource A: “Poor People Cannot Find Fresh and Healthy Food”
Source B: “Winter Usually Brings Snow and Water to California, but It’s Still Dry”
How can people work together to overcome the challenges of meeting their needs and wants?
Formative TasksWrite a claim to answer the supporting question and use examples to support it.
SourcesSource A: “A Fruit Farm in a City”
Source B: “A Playground Problem”
Source C: Alex’s Lemonade Stand
Summative Performance Task
Argument: What makes me become we? Write an argument that addresses the compelling question using specific claims and evidence from sources that discuss the relationship between individuals and groups of people.
Extension: Create a collage that shows people working together to solve a problem.
Taking Informed Action
Understand: Brainstorm a list of economic challenges in the local community.
Assess: Choose a challenge to address and brainstorm ways to overcome it.
Act: Write a letter to a local government official that suggests a new approach to overcoming the challenge and explains the reasoning behind that suggestion.