Students should know and understand the basic principles of mercantilism. Students should know and understand the basic principles of capitalism. Students should understand joint-stock companies, how the stock market(s) work, and forces that cause fluctuations in the value of any given stock.

Investigate and apply expert systems, intelligent agents, and simulations in real-world situations. Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making in content learning.

Develop and use successful strategies for location of information. Select information appropriate to the problem or question at hand. Share knowledge and information with others.

Mercantilism is a significant development in modern history and is relevant not only on that basis alone, but it is the cornerstone for understanding capitalism, which needs to be understood to function in our society as well as for content area needs in US History and Economics courses.

-Teacher evaluation of submitted materials. -Teacher evaluation of student presentations. -Peer evaluations of student presentations. -Quiz/test on principles of mercantilism.

Lesson #1: Introduction Students read and review textbook as usual. Incorporate traditional classroom activities i.e. worksheet, discussion, lecture, note-taking, etc. Lesson #2: Principles of Mercantilism After reading about the principles of mercantilism, students work in groups using the internet to research information or examples that can be deciphered and shared with the class via a group presentation. Topics to research and the corresponding principle include: *Fort Knox - (accumulation of wealth) *Find last year's dollar value for the trade surplus or deficit of Germany, U.S., Japan, and China (balance of trade) *Find trade deficit or surplus of other nations. Make as many lists as groups you have. (balance of trade) *research the British East India Company. (trade with colonies) *research the Dutch East India Company. (trade with colonies) *compile a list of 10 large public companies, the markets on which they are traded, and their current value. (joint-stock companies) *find a recent IPO. Tell about the company and its product or service, the initial price at which it was offered, and current value. (joint-stock companies) Lesson #3: Stock Market and Simulation Students read about joint-stock companies. They are broken into groups of 3. Each group goes into Hotmail.com and creates an e-mail address and password, which they submit to the teacher. They log on to Wall Street Sports (www.wallstreetsports.com) for a stock market simulation. They use their e-mail account to establish a portfolio. (Yes, it's free - both the email accounts and the simulation site.) Groups will buy and sell shares of famous athletes. The values fluctuate based on real-life performance, trade rumors, injuries, retirement speculation, sponsorship deals, contract negotiations, etc. Groups must turn in a weekly account summary of all transactions and portfolio value. Grading or extra points can be assigned based on increase of net asset value. Duration: 6-8 weeks.

http://

Students use numeric operations and concepts to describe, analyze, disaggregate, communicate, and synthesize numeric data, and to identify and solve problems. Students work cooperatively to successfully complete a project or activity. Students establish credibility with their colleagues through competence and integrity, and help their peers achieve their goals by communicating their feelings and ideas to justify or successfully negotiate a position, which advances goal attainment.