Civics 200 Shipwreck The Problem The year was Several families were sailing from England to the New World to find a new home. The ship was attacked by pirates. After the battle was over, a group of children were the only ones left on board. No one in the group knew much about sailing, so the ship drifted aimlessly for what seemed like weeks, until a storm blew up and the ship hit a sandbar. It began to sink. The children boarded the lifeboats and made it to the nearby island. The island seemed uninhabited. They claimed it for themselves and named it Terra. The island was very beautiful, with plenty of food – coconuts, bananas, and other fresh water to drink. The average daytime temperature was 30 degrees. At night it rarely dropped below 15 degrees. Can You Live on Terra? Suppose that the students in your group are the young people on Terra. You have escaped the wrath of the pirates, but you have a lot of work to do if you want to survive. Every day brings new problems. As you work through this simulation you will encounter and solve these problems over an imaginary six day period.

Civics 200 Day One Larry: Now that we are all together, we must choose a leader. We need someone to make decisions and someone to tell us what to do so that we don’t all die here. Sarah: But Larry, we know hat we have to do. We know we all have to work together to build homes, find food, and everything. We don’t need a leader to tell us that. Sam: We need a leader who can tell us what our jobs will be. We won’t get anything done without a leader. Alice: We are all the same here on Terra. We don’t want some people to be leaders and some people to be followers. Why don’t we choose a new leader every day, or every week? That way, one person won’t get more powerful than everyone else. Kent: Sarah and Alice, I like your ideas partly, because sometimes I think I am a good leader and other times I don’t. Larry: That’s no good. I want to be leader. Anyone who wants to be leader follow me. This is a serious problem. Do you need a leader or not? You must decide. Make two lists. On one list, write down all the reasons you can think of for having a leader. On the other list, write down all the reasons for not having a leader. If your group decides you need a leader, then you must decide how to choose one. Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Two There is much work to do to keep your group together, and to stay alive. For example, some sort of shelter must be built. What other jobs must be done during your first months on Terra? Make a list of these jobs. Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Three Bill: I am marking off the beach. This is my land Larry: If you’re taking part of the beach, I want that hill over there. I claim it. It’s mine. Allan: I want that hill. I have just as much right to it as you do. Alice: Wait a minute! Stop! We own this whole island together. Let’s not divide it up. There isn’t enough good land to give everyone an equal share, so some people won’t get any land at all. That will only lead to fights and trouble. Bill: No. I want my property. I may have kids some day. I want something I can call my own, something I can be proud of. Allan: And I’m going to be sure I get that hill. Sarah: But the whole island is yours, and ours. Let’s all enjoy it together. You must decide what to do about property. Should everyone own the entire island together? Should you divide it up? If you divide it up, how will everyone get a fair share? Will some people have to work for others if they do not get good land, or, will they have to rent land. You must decide how to solve this problem. Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Four Kristi: Mmm those oranges you picked look great, Larry. May I have one? Larry: I’ll trade you an orange for one of those coconuts you pulled down. Kristi: Are you kidding? One coconut is worth al least four oranges. Larry: I’ll give you two oranges for one coconut, no more. Bob: Does anyone want this rope I made? I’ll take 10 coconuts for it. Kristi: Ten coconuts! How about 5 coconuts and one of these bowls I made? Bob: I don’t want bowls. I want coconuts. Pete: You know what we need. We need MONEY. It’s too tough to trade stuff all the time. Sarah: Oh no! I’m glad we don’t have to worry about money here. Bob: We have to have money, Sarah. If I made a rope, I should get paid for it. Then I’d have the money to buy Kristi’s bowls. Sarah: No. We all work for the fun of it – because we have to do something. We don’t need money to buy Kristi’s bowls. Larry: I don’t agree. Money isn’t a reward. It’s a way to help us trade the things we grow and make. The person who works the hardest should get the most money. It’s only fair. If we share everything, some people won’t work. Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Four Sam: Money only leads to stealing. We don’t want rich people and poor people on our island. Everyone should be the same. Ben: That’s stupid, Sam. If we don’t have money, people will just steal the goods we grow and make. We need money. I won’t work unless I get paid for it. Allan: I should have the opportunity to work hard and become rich if I want to. What will you do about this problem? Should you have money or not? What problems would you have with money or without money? If you decide to have money, who will get it? Will everyone get the same amount? What will you use for money? Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Five Alice: Someone has been leaving banana peels by the main campfire. We need a law against people who leave their garbage all over. Bob: That’s right. We don’t want garbage all over our island. We should have a law against it. Sarah: Are you crazy? We don’t want laws like that. We don’t want any laws at all. Once you start making laws, you can’t stop. First thing you know, everything is against the law. Alice: We have to have laws. But the problem is, how will be enforce them? Maybe we need police. Ben: No, we don’t need police. Not here! If we draw up a list of laws, we all must promise to obey them. Those who don’t obey will be punished by us all. Sarah: Maybe we just need laws about important crimes, like murdering or stealing. Maybe we should have a few laws about big crimes. Now you must solve this problem. Do you need laws or not? If so, what laws? Who will make them? How will you enforce the laws? You must decide. Shipwreck

Civics 200 Day Six You have been on Terra for nearly 20 years. Your population has more than doubled. Everything have been going smoothly. Then one day, two boats appear. A group of 15 people has come to Terra. You greet them. “We hare going to live on this island,” their leader says. “But we do not wish to live with your group. We want to stay by ourselves. We can live in peace. Just give us half of the island.” “No,” you say, “we don’t think there should be two groups living on Terra. We welcome you, but you must live and work with us. We have worked hard here. We don’t want to give away half of our island. Stay with us … “ How will you resolve this issue. Should you divide the island between the two groups or should everyone live together in one community on the island. Shipwreck