LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Neolithic Period
• The Neolithic period was the latest part of
the Stone Age, beginning about 10,700
years ago and ending with the beginning
of the Bronze Age in about 3500 B.C.E.
• During the Neolithic period, settled
agriculture began in the Middle East as
people started to plant grain, breed and
herd animals, and use agricultural tools.
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Important Terms
• Scarcity: The condition that exists
because human wants are greater than
the capacity of available resources to
satisfy those wants. The problem of
scarcity faces all individuals and
organizations throughout time.
• Standard of living: How well off people
are, as measured by the quantity and
quality of goods and services that they
have.
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Important Terms
• Consumer goods: Goods that give you
direct satisfaction.
Examples from the simulation: Wheat, clothes, and
houses
• Capital goods: Human-made goods that
are used to produce other goods and
services and that do not get used up in
the production process.
Examples from the simulation: Pointed sticks, hoes,
sickles, and irrigation canals
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Important Terms
• Investment: The purchase of
capital goods that are used to
produce goods and services.
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Your Goal in the Simulation
• Your goal in the simulation is to raise your
standard of living by acquiring consumer
goods. You want to have:
20 units of wheat
10 woolen garments
1 mud-brick house
Note:
You do not win the simulation by accumulating capital goods. However,
capital goods can help you produce wheat in less time, which will give you
the time you need to make woolen garments and build a mud-brick house.
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Information for the Simulation
• Your family must have 20 units of wheat
each year to survive.
• 1 woolen garment costs 2 units of
wheat. (You want 10 woolen garments.)
• 1 mud-brick house costs 20 units of
wheat. (You want 1 mud-brick house.)
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Information for the Simulation
• 1 hoe costs 3 units of wheat. Each hoe
you own increases wheat production by
8 units per year.
• 1 sickle costs 2 units of wheat. Each
sickle you own increases wheat production
by 5 units per year.
• 1 irrigation canal costs 20 units of
wheat. It costs only 15 units per family if
two families produce it together. A canal
system increases wheat production by 20
units per year.
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Family Record Sheet: Part 1
YEAR ____
Units of wheat stored from prior years:
______
Units of wheat produced this year without
capital goods:
______
Units of wheat produced this year from
capital goods:
______
Total wheat you have (sum of the above):
______
(announced by teacher at beginning of year)
(number of hoes times 8; plus number of sickles
times 5; plus 20 if you own an irrigation canal)
Total wheat that you have _____ minus 20 units
consumed = _____ extra units this year
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Family Record Sheet: Part 2
DECISION ABOUT EXTRA UNITS OF WHEAT THIS YEAR:
o
o
o
o
o
o
units stored in case of drought
2 units exchanged per woolen garment
20 units exchanged for a mud-brick house
3 units exchanged per hoe
2 units exchanged per sickle
units exchanged for an irrigation canal
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WILL OWN
_____ WOOLEN GARMENTS AND
_____ MUD-BRICK HOUSES
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Debriefing the Simulation
• How could Neolithic farmers increase the
overall production of consumer goods?
• How did producing capital goods lead to
an increased standard of living?
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Debriefing the Simulation
• Labor productivity is the amount of
goods and services produced per worker
in a given time period.
o Did your family size change during the simulation?
o By the end of the simulation, could your family
produce more wheat in a year?
o Did wheat produced per person increase?
o Why did productivity increase in the simulation?
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY
LESSON 2 – HOW NEOLITHIC FARMERS INCREASED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING
Debriefing the Simulation
• Economic growth is an increase in the
output of goods and services per person.
o How did using capital goods affect economic growth?
o How does economic growth affect the standard of
living?
FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY