Oklahoma Social Studies 4.C.4

Standard Cluster

Examine the United States of America’s economic system and its economic activities which support human development. Describe the features of a market economy and evaluate common benefits and tradeoffs. Define a market economic system, explaining how the United States of America’s market system encourages free enterprise, economic development, private property rights, and individual prosperity. Describe how production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services are economic decisions made by producers and consumers to satisfy their needs and wants. Compare the factors of production (e.g., labor, land, capital, entrepreneurship) and explain how they are used together to produce goods and services, as exemplified by contemporary American entrepreneurs. Describe how economic activities impact the nation’s economy. Identify the major economic activities in which people of each region work to satisfy their needs and wants (e.g., commercial agriculture, manufacturing, energy production, construction, and services such as healthcare and technology). Distinguish between renewable (e.g., water, soil, solar) and nonrenewable resources (e.g., fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, coal) and explain how they are used to produce goods and services, using examples from regional economies. Describe the relative location and importance of natural resources which support human development in each region (e.g., Mid-Continent oilfield, Appalachian and Rocky Mountain coal basins, Ogallala Aquifer, Imperial Valley, Outer Banks). Describe the patterns and networks of economic interdependence among regions and the world. Explain how transportation routes connect economic regions and support economic growth (e.g., St. Lawrence Seaway, Transcontinental Railroad, Route 66, Interstate Highway System). Describe reasons why people and nations trade, providing examples of major imports and exports produced and consumed by Americans.

Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)