Indiana Social Studies GE.2.3

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Global Economic Systems

The Standard

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various economic systems.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students compare how market, command, traditional, and mixed economies make decisions about goods and resources. They weigh strengths and weaknesses using examples, not labels alone.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a food shortage, a student can explain how different systems might distribute food. They can name a strength and a weakness of each approach and defend which fits the situation best.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think every country uses just one economic system. They may assume low prices make a system fair, or that any government rule makes an economy a command economy.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: A town has 100 meals for 150 people. Compare selling meals at market prices with using ration tickets. Give one strength and one weakness of each.

Lesson moves

Give groups 12 paper meal cards, request slips, and token bids; allocate meals by bids and ration tickets, then tally unmet requests.
Ask: After a flood, would price increases or ration tickets distribute food more fairly? Name one group helped and one left out.
Students sort price, quota, family trade, and subsidy cards into economic systems, then explain why subsidies can appear in market economies.
Compare a grocery receipt with a SNAP benefits flyer; students find market pricing and public support, then note one benefit and one limit.

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