| |
SUMMARY:
These three activities offer students the opportunity to explore
globalization through the concepts of resource distribution, free
trade, and specialization.
- The first involves an attempt to create a "wind farm" in
four different countries with unequal distribution of resources.
- The second allows students to experience free trade and discover
its effect on their level of satisfaction with what they have. It
also allows students to see how trade can affect their health.
- The third demonstrates through the clothes they wear and the
electronic devices they use that different parts of the world
specialize in different products. It asks them to think about why
this is so.
Finally, students are asked to apply their learning from these three
activities together, along with material from this EcoHealth website to
research, discuss, and debate today’s globalization.
Estimated class time:
3-4 class periods (50-minute blocks)
OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
- Explain how availability of resources and lack of resources
(natural and human) can affect whether countries can serve the
needs of their citizens
- Identify reasons why free trade can both improve the quality
of life for some and not improve it for others, including potential
health risks
- Explain the pros and cons of specialization in the global economy
- Relate how globalization is tied to resource distribution, trade, and
specialization
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Part I:
- Straws or thin dowels
- Small brads (type of nail)
- Paper cut into squares
- Pinwheel. Click
here
for complete directions.
- Sharpened pencils
- Scissors
Part II:
- Lunch-size paper bags, with a red dot (using a marker or stickers)
on the inside bottom of one-fourth of the bags
- An assortment of small objects, one for each student (these can be
bought at a dollar store, for example, and should all be different and
appeal to different students, including objects that mostly girls would
prefer, objects mostly boys would prefer, and off-beat objects that
only a student or two is likely to prefer)
- A calculator
- Prepared charts for each student to fill out during the activity
such as the following:
Round No.
Object Name |
I kept my object |
I traded my object to
(student's name) |
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
Part III:
- Maps or atlases
- Internet access
PROCEDURES:
Introduce the topic of globalization by asking students what they
think it means. Then brainstorm with them ways in which they see that their part of
the world is connected to other parts of the world. Create a concept web on the
board to organize their ideas into different categories, asking them to identify
useful categories. If the students do not identify resources as a category, be
sure to point it out to them.
Part I: Resource Distribution
- Divide the students into four groups, telling them that each group
represents a different country and that each country has different resources.
However, all of the countries are facing energy shortages. Engineers in one
of the countries have developed a new technology for harnessing wind power,
suitable for use in all four countries. Now all they have to do is build the
wind farms.
- Distribute to Country A enough straws for all
the students in the class.
- Distribute to Country B enough brads for all the
students in the class.
- Distribute to Country C enough square pieces of
paper for all students in the class.
- Distribute to Country D enough directions for
making pinwheels for all students in the class, as
well as enough sharpened pencils and scissors for
groups to share later on.
- Ask them, using the resources they have, to make pinwheels for a wind farm.
Obviously, they can’t. Lead a discussion on why they can’t: No country has all
the resources needed; every country lacks some needed resources. Ask why this
might be so. Also ask them what kinds of resources each country has, and be sure
they understand that all but one lacks educated innovators and technology.
- Next, have the students distribute the materials so
each student has a straw, a brad, and a square piece of
paper, and each group has enough copies of the
directions, sharpened pencils, and scissors to share.
- Allow each student to make a pinwheel, so that each
country can have its own "wind farm."
- End the activity by asking students how uneven
distribution of resources (natural resources, as well as
opportunities for people, such as education) might be
addressed in the real world. In the simulation, the
resources were shared equally so everyone had enough. Is
this realistic? These questions lead to Part II.
Part II: Free Trade
- Start by reviewing the ideas shared at the end of Part I, and tell
students they are going to explore how people share resources and goods.
- Divide the class into four groups. Randomly give
each student a paper bag in which there is an object,
EXCEPT all students in one of the groups should be given
the bags with the red dots inside. However, do not
mention the dots to anyone at this point. Direct them to
look inside without revealing to anyone else what object
they see inside.
- On the board, create a simple chart on which you
have Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and Round 4 written in a
column down the left side and a place for a total for
each round written in a column down the right side. Ask
students to determine how satisfied they each are with
the object they have in their bag on a scale of 1 to 5,
five being the most satisfied. Next ask students
individually to tell you what number they have awarded
their object, and record them horizontally in the Round
1 row. Have a student with a calculator adding the
numbers as you write them so that at the end, you can
write the "satisfaction total" for that round.
- Give each student a copy of the chart for recording
trades. Tell them it is important to keep a record of
their trades. Then, in each of the four groups, students
should show each other what they have in their bags,
without letting other groups see. Tell students that
they can trade within their groups if they like, but
tell them they must keep their own bags and trade just
the objects. All trades must be agreed upon by both
parties. All items should be kept inside the bags except
during actual exchanges so that other groups can’t see
them.
- Ask students to again assess their satisfaction with
their object (new, if they did trade, or original, if
they didn’t trade), 1 to 5. Record their numbers on the
board next to Round 2, and again have a student find the
total. At this point, the total might have gone up or
down. Ask students to speculate why (e.g., people liked
what they traded for better; having seen what objects
other students had, they liked their original item even
better or less but they couldn’t make a trade).
- Next have two groups join together so you have half
the class trading with each other and the other half
doing the same for Round 3. Repeat the procedure for
recording the level of satisfaction.
- Finally, for Round 4, let the whole class trade, and
then record the final level of satisfaction. The total
at the end should be higher than at the beginning. Have
the students discuss why (e.g., when people have goods
to trade and are allowed to trade freely, their level of
satisfaction with what they have goes up). Ask whether
anyone’s level of satisfaction went lower or stayed low,
and why (e.g., they didn’t like what they had in the
beginning and neither did anyone else, so they could
never trade for anything better).
- Discuss with students how this new understanding of
trade relates to the previous activity about resource
distribution.
- Next, ask everyone to look inside their bags and see
whether there is a red dot in the bottom. Inform those
students who find a red dot that they represent a
country in which a serious new contamination has arisen,
one that is carried by microbes on its trade goods.
Write the names of those students in a column down the
left side of the board. All of these students were
exposed to the microbes. Ask whether they could have
passed on the contamination during the first round (no,
because they were trading with each other). Ask these
contaminated students to look at the charts they filled
out as they traded, and ask which of them traded with
someone else in the second round. Draw an arrow from the
name of each student who traded and connect it to the
name of the student with whom the trade was made. Next
find out which of those students holding contaminated
objects from Round 2 traded in Round 3, and draw arrows
to connect them with the newly contaminated. Be sure to
include any students from the original group who didn’t
trade in Round 2 but did in Round 3. Do the same for
Round 4. You will end up with a chart that shows how the
microbes spread and how many people were infected by the
end.
- Discuss with students how this new understanding of
trade might relate to the unforeseen sharing of microbes
(or invasive species).
- Ask:
Important: Tell students to be sure to wear shoes other than flip-flops to the next class
(don’t alert the students to the activity, but this is because flip-flops are rarely labeled with country of
origin) and to wear a watch if they have one and/or bring a calculator.
Part III: Specialization
- Begin by going over the understandings gained in the
previous two activities. Ask what might have happened if
everybody had had the same object in their bag (no
reason for trading). What if everyone had had an
assortment of objects but the assortment was the same
(some trading would have occurred because some people
would want more of a particular object and none of
another)? What if everyone had each had a number of the
same object, but of an object no one else had?
- Ask students to look at the labels on their shirts,
their shoes, and their watches or calculators. Students
can help each other look at their shirt labels. Have
them record where these items were made. (If a student
has an item that doesn’t have a label, they will just
not have a location for that item.)
- Then, starting with shirts, go around the room
asking students where their shirts were made. Write the
names of the countries on the board. Depending upon the
geographical knowledge of your students and how much
time you want to put into this aspect, you can list the
countries and then have students use maps or atlases to
locate the countries; or you can list continents on the
board, and, as students give you their countries, have
them also tell you which continents they are on.
- Discuss why the shirts come from the countries they
come from. Most will probably come from the Caribbean,
Central America, and South Asia. Ask why this would be
so (e.g., natural resources, level of technology,
workforce, production costs, outsourcing).
- Repeat for shoes (most will be from China) and for small
electronics (most will be from Asia).
- Ask:
- What regions are most represented by each item?
- Why do you think these regions specialize in
these items?
- Why doesn’t the U.S. produce many of these
items?
- How can the clothing come from so far away and
still be relatively inexpensive?
- What other regions of the world are missing and
why?
- What do the items produced in a region tell us
about a region (e.g., natural resources, technology,
production costs, workforce)?
- What effects might countries and regions
specializing in certain products have on the
relationships between countries and regions?
- What might be the advantages of this
specialization? The disadvantages? Think back to the
trading activity to help you think about these
questions.
Part IV: Putting It All Together
- Direct students to the
"Our Small World" section on this EcoHealth website,
in particular the section on
"What in the World is Globalization?"
- Students can read these sections in class or as
homework. They can work individually, in pairs, or in
small groups. Using whichever procedure works best for
your class, have students create a list of the pros and
cons of 21st century globalization. From individual or
group lists, create a class list on the board.
- To check for understanding, have students respond to
the following (in writing or through discussion):
- What role do resources (natural resources and
human resources) play in a country’s ability to
participate in the global economy?
- How does free trade help/hinder countries around
the world?
- What role does specialization play in the global
economy?
- How does global trade contribute to the spread
of disease and invasive species?
ASSESSMENT:
- Participation in class activities and discussions
- Written assignment
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
- Hold a debate on a topic such as the following,
"Globalization is good for both the developed and the
developing world," "Globalization has increased health risks
in the U.S." or some other related statement of your
choosing.
- Research wind farms to learn how they work, what their
advantages as an energy source are, where they can be
placed, why many people oppose them.
- Research what laws the U.S. has in place to ensure that
the products we buy are safe; how these laws are used for
products coming from other countries; and whether the same
rules apply (and work or don’t work) for products the U.S.
exports to other countries.
RELEVANT CURRICULUM
STANDARDS:
This lesson correlates to the following
National Science Education Standards,
National
Economics Standards,
National Geography Standards, and
Curriculum
Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for
the Social Studies.
National Science Education Standards
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding
of personal health, risks and benefits, and natural and human-induced hazards:
Content Standard F:
- Students should understand the risks associated with
natural hazards, with chemical hazards, with biological
hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, and parasites),
social hazards and with personal hazards.
- Natural environments may contain substances that are
harmful to human beings. Maintaining environmental
health involves establishing or monitoring quality
standards related to use of soil, water, and air.
- Human activities can enhance potential for hazards.
- Natural and human-induced hazards present the need
for humans to assess potential danger and risk. Many
changes in the environment designed by humans bring
benefits to society, as well as cause risks.
Health Education
Standard 1:
- Students will comprehend concepts related to health
promotion and disease prevention by describing how
lifestyle, pathogens, family history and other risk
factors are related to the cause or prevention of
disease and other health problems.
National Economics Standards
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of:
Content Standard 1
Scarcity
Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and
services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others.
- Productive resources are the natural resources and human resources, and capital goods
available to make goods and services. Natural resources, such as land, are "gifts of
nature;" they are present without human intervention. Human resources are the quantity
and quality of human effort directed toward producing goods and services. Scarcity is the
condition of not being able to have all of the goods and services that one wants. It exists
because human wants for goods and services exceed the quantity of goods and services that
can be produced using all available resources.
Content Standard 5
Gain from Trade
Voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to
gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and
usually among individuals or organizations in different nations.
- People voluntarily exchange goods and services
because they expect to be better off after the exchange.
- Free trade increases worldwide material standards of
living.
- Voluntary exchange among people or organizations in
different countries gives people a broader range of
choices in buying goods and services.
Content Standard 6
Specialization and Trade
When individuals, regions, and
nations specialize in what they can produce at the lowest
cost and then trade with others, both production and
consumption increase.
- Economic specialization occurs when people
concentrate their production on fewer kinds of goods and
services than they consume.
- Greater specialization leads to increasing
interdependence among producers and consumers.
- Like trade among individuals within one country,
international trade promotes specialization and division
of labor and increases output and consumption.
- As a result of growing international economic
interdependence, economic conditions and policies in one
nation increasingly affect economic conditions and
policies in other nations.
National Geography Education Standards
As a result of activities in grades K-12, students should
develop understanding of:
Content Standard 11
Human Systems
- The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface.
Content Standard 16
Environment and Society
- The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for the Social Studies
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Content Standard VII
Middle Grades
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study how people
organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, so that
the learner can:
- Describe the role of specialization and exchange in the economic process.
Global Connections
Content Standard IX
Middle Grades
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of
global connections and interdependence, so that the learner can:
- Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence among groups, societies, and nations.
- Explore the causes, consequences, and possible
solutions to persistent, contemporary, and emerging
global issues, such as health, security, resource
allocation, economic development, and environmental
quality.
Globalization: How and Why, From Here to There
|
|
