Combining reading, language arts, and economics, this interdisciplinary project involved fifth grade students in studying three units dealing with (1) an auto liner named the Karinita; (2) the port of Wilmington (Delaware); and (3) international trade. Specific unit lesson plans are provided in this project description. In unit 1, students learned about collecting and processing information and about competition, specialization, and productive resources, as they applied to the auto liner and the auto liner company. Students toured the ship, interviewed longshoremen on strike at the time, wrote letters, and listened to guest speakers. It was the students' interest and curiosity that led to a study of the port of Wilmington and international trade. They learned about the labor and capital resources of the port, supply and demand, competition, specialization, why countries trade, the costs and benefits of interdependence, the function of money in world trade, and the effects of trade restraints. In the unit activities, students read material published by the port of Wilmington, studied maps, role played, set up an assembly line, conducted surveys, and participated in debates. Posttest scores on the Test of Elementary Economics indicated an increase in knowledge of over 300%. (RM)