Divergent
Time Required: 2-3 class periods
Suggested Grade Level: 9
Arkansas Standards of Learning – Social Studies
EDM.1.E.1: Evaluate the roles of scarcity, incentives, trade-offs, and opportunity cost in
decision making (e.g. PACED decision making model, cost/benefit analysis)
EM.2.E.1: Identify various allocation methods used in different circumstances, countries, and
economies (e.g. price, auction, lottery, fiat)
GE.7.E.1: Analyze the role of comparative advantage in trade and global markets using
available data and a variety of sources
PFM.8.E.1: Analyze the impact of education, training, and other factors on productivity and
income potential (e.g. interpersonal skills, workforce readiness skills, ethics)
Common Core State Standards – Reading, Literature and Writing
CCSS.ELA – Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple
or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text,
interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA – Literacy.RL.9-10.7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two
different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or
absent in each treatment.
CCSS.ELA – Literacy.CCRA.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of
conversations and collaborations with diverse partners,
building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly
and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA – Literacy.CCRA.SL.5: Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of
data to express information and enhance understanding of
presentations.
CCSS.ELA – Literacy.W.9-10.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and
well-structured event sequences.
Economic Concepts:
Allocation method – method by which goods and services are distributed in an economy
Comparative Advantage – ability to produce an item at a lower opportunity cost than another
producer
Fiat – Allocation method in which an authority figure decides how resources will be distributed
Opportunity cost – next best alternative foregone when a choice is made
Production possibilities curve – diagram showing production possibilities for an economy
Scarcity – result of an inability to satisfy unlimited wants with limited resources
Specialization – production of a limited variety of products by a person, firm or region
Tradeoff – a choice that involves giving up of one thing to have more of another
Voluntary Exchange – process of trading that occurs in markets
Activity #1: Which would you join?
There are 5 social factions in Divergent. The 5 factions include:
Abnegation – selfless faction that emphasizes humility and selflessness
Amity – agrarian faction emphasizing hard work and harmony with the surrounding environment
Candor – faction emphasizing truth, honesty and integrity
Dauntless – militant faction known for violence, fearlessness and weaponry
Erudite – faction valuing logic and scholarly obtainment
Question: What faction would you join? What characteristics do you have that would signal
your membership in the group? Why would that be your chosen faction? Please explain in your
own words.
(cards on wall – go stand by your choice)
Activity #2: Allocation Methods
There are many ways in which resources can be allocated. These allocation methods include:
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First Come, First Served
Lottery
Contest
Auction
Personal Characteristic
Authority/Fiat
Voting/Majority Rules
Question: Assume you were designated as the central planner for society. Resources such as
food, water, clothing, housing and medical supplies must be allocated among the population (5
societal factions). What allocation method would you employ for distributing these resources
among the people? Please explain your answer by referencing the text.
Activity #3: Faction Productive Possibilities
Assume inter-factional trade exists between the various societal factions. The Dauntless and
Amity factions produce two goods: knives and apples. A table showing their current output
levels is provided below. The table shows us, for example, that the Dauntless faction can either
produce 4 knives AND 1 apple or some combination in between.
Knives
Apples
Dauntless
4
1
Amity
2
10
Opportunity Costs
1. Draw the Production Possibilities Curve for each faction given the information shown
above.
2. What is the opportunity cost of Dauntless producing 1 knife? Amity? _______________
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3. What is the opportunity cost of Dauntless producing 1 apple? Amity?_____
4. Which faction has a comparative advantage in producing knives? _________________
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5. Which faction has a comparative advantage in producing apples? __________________
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6. Now, the faction with the comparative advantage in knives should specialize in this
activity. Likewise, the faction with the comparative advantage in producing apples
should specialize in this activity and devote their working hours to apples only. The
factions would then engage in voluntary exchange and trade knives for apples and vice
versa. Draw a new table, like the one above, showing the new levels of production
among the 2 factions.
Knives
Apples
Specialization
Apples
Trading Scenario
Dauntless
Amity
Knives
Dauntless
Amity
7. Assume the 2 factions trade half of their (specialized) output with each other. Draw a
new Production Possibilities Curve showing the benefits of specialization in terms of
increased productivity, consumption, and economic growth.
***For additional practice with production possibility curves, see the Federal Reserve lesson at
www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources/production-possibilities.
Activity #4: Groupwork and Presentation
Split the class into 5 groups and create collages to describe the social role and/or characteristics
of each faction. Students must present these collages to the class explaining their selected
decorations as well as their reasoning. Materials needed for this activity include:
Posterboard
Diverse selection of magazines/mailings
Markers/Pens
Scissors
Glue
Glitter/stickers/accessories
Construction paper (various colors)
Part b. Consider a longer project where groups illustrate the same concepts/themes using a
digital platform of their choosing.
Activity #5: Improving One’s Human Capital
Tris undergoes a training period in which she acquires new skills. What are some of these skills
she acquires? How do they help her to be a more productive member of Dauntless?
SKILLS
IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
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Part b. What skills have you acquired in school to become a more productive member of
society?
SKILLS
IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
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Activity #6: Media Platforms
Watch Divergent on video. Does the video portrayal of Tris differ from the one illustrated in the
book? Please explain in your own words.