Globalization

Subject: Social Studies

Grades: 6-12
Ages: 11-18
 

Lesson Objective
This activity engages students in the topic of globalization, a force that is transforming world production and consumption habits and receiving a lot of attention as a result. Using an Inspiration® template, students will consider the origin of their possessions, and research factors behind production of these items in certain regions of the world.

  Teacher Instructions

1. Explain to students that they will be researching the origin of their possessions, including their clothing, school supplies, household items and food. For household items and food, you may choose to bring common items from which students can select, or give students advanced notice so that they can bring in items of their own.
2. Open Globalization.ist from Inspiration Starter>Templates>Social Studies. Demonstrate how the template is organized into regions of the world, and how it can be completed by adding symbols to represent possessions and their countries of origin.

 



 

3. Demonstrate how to add notes for each country or product, with details about why and how certain items are produced there. Brainstorm factors behind the production of these items in specific regions, including cost of labor, labor laws, agricultural advantages, access to raw materials, etc.
4. Have students work individually or in groups, depending on computer availability, to complete their own graphic organizers using the Globalization.ist template. Students will most likely need more information about the countries of origin. There are many high-quality sources on the Internet with detailed information about countries of the world, such as the CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook Students can also research labor laws and conditions for each country represented in their diagram.

 



 

5. Lead a class discussion about the students’ findings. Was anything a surprise? Did some countries or regions of the world come up more often than others? Are there concerns as a result of the research? What do they see as advantages and disadvantages of globalization? Will these issues affect their buying decisions?

Assessment

• Students can be assessed on successful completion of their diagram, including well-reasoned explanations for why products are produced in certain regions.

Lesson Adaptations

• Specify a number of items to include in the diagram.
• Specify categories of information to include for each country. For example, GDP per capita will give students an idea of how much an average worker earns in that country. Physical geography will give insight into what can be produced in that country, especially for agricultural products.
• Extend the lesson by having students use Inspiration to build a graphic organizer and/or write an essay about the costs and benefits of globalization.