Social Studies Day Two:

Teacher: Brittany Voich

Grade Level: 7th grade
Content Area: Social Studies
Lesson Title: Trade and Distribution
Content Standard (GLCE):
7 E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g. natural gas in Norther Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in
Asia).
C3 Framework:
D2.Eco.14.6-8. Explain barriers to trade and how those barriers influence trade among nations.
Language Arts Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Content Objective: Learners will be able to describe the importance of how trade affects a
nations economy and write a 2-5 sentence response about the correlation of trade and a nations
economy.
Language Arts Objective: Learner will be able to read an informational article about global
interdependence and draw upon the information in the article as well as the activities in class to
answer higher order lever thinking questions about global interdependence and its importance to
a global economy.
Vocabulary:
Trade
International
Imports
Exports
Global Interdependence

Materials:
Popsicle sticks
Google eyes
Glue
Feathers
Scissors
Envelopes
Document Camera
Production chart
1 copy of article for all students

Resources:
International Trade Game (http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/games/42.htm)
Article (http://www.forbes.com/sites/anaswanson/2015/03/20/6-things-the-global-weaponstrade-says-about-the-state-of-international-relations/)
Global Interdependence definition (http://www.businessdictionary.com/defintion/globalinterdependence/html)
Anticipatory Set:
Yesterday we learned and discussed that many of the products that we use every day are made
or come from different countries. We are going to explore those findings some more today and
learn how different countries make products or good for people around the world. We are going
to start with an activity/
Procedure (30 minutes): Students will be split into groups. Number of people in each group
will vary depending on what country groups are acting as. Each group of students will get an
envelope with supplies that are necessary for completing the task. Students will listen to the
rules and then begin working on creating their
assigned creation.
1. Each of you will be split up into groups. Each
group will make up a country and all countries are
required to make a product. The product that you
need to make will look like this (the image to the right
will be projected on the screen). Each country will get
an envelope with supplies that your country has to
make this product. You will use those supplies to
create only products that look like these. The country
that created the most products by the end of the time
will win a special prize that we will provide on
Thursday.
2. The teacher will split students into groups/countries as follows and hand out envelopes;
China: 10 people and will have an envelope that contains only glue in it.
United States: 2 people and will have an envelope that contains everything they need to
create products (popsicle sticks, googly eyes, feather, scissors and glue)
Mongolia: 5 people and will have an envelope that has only popsicle sticks in it.
Thailand: 5 people and will have an envelope that has only googly eyes in it.
Canada: 5 people and will have an envelope that has only some popsicle sticks and also
have feather in it.
3 Once the class is divided up and given an envelope, the teacher will instruct students to begin
making products. When students begin, many will have lots of questions because certain
envelopes only have some things in it and one country has everything they need. Teacher will
resist answering any of the questions just reiterating the task at hand.

4. After some time, students will begin moving around the classroom and trading supplies and
materials in order for all countries to make the required products.
5. As students are working, teacher will walk around the classroom asking the following
questions:
How was your country allowed to make products if you only start with ___________?
Why was getting supplies from other countries important?
What things do you notice about other groups? Do you think that is helping or hurting
them to make the most products?
(For the US) Since your country started with all the necessary supplies to create products,
what role are you playing in the activity?
6. Once time has ended for the activity, the teacher will stop production of all countries and ask
students to put all unused supplies back in their envelopes, but leave out all complete products.
7. A chart (see below) will be projected onto the screen for all students to see what each country
was given. The countries will share with the rest of the class how many products they were able
to complete in the allotted time and the number will be recorded in the chart.
Countries:

Number of people in
country:

Supplies given:

China

10

Only glue

United States

Everything needed

Mongolia

Only popsicle sticks

Thailand

Only google eyes

Canada

Some sticks and

feathers

Total products
made:

8. A discussion will then take place among the countries using the following prompts. Students
will first discuss in groups and then some groups/countries will share their thoughts as a whole
class. The prompts will also be projected on the screen and the chart will also say. The prompts
are as follows:
Why is trade necessary? Think about the activity you just participated in, but also think
globally.
What are imports and what are exports?

How does having a lot of resources impact trade? What about having not a lot of
resources?

Assessment:
Exit ticket: Think about the activity we did in class and our discussion afterwards, how does
being able to trade affect a nations economy? Please write your response on this piece of paper
using 2-5 sentences.
Homework:
Students will each be given a copy of 6 Things the Global Weapons Trade Says about the State
of International Relations. Students will be asked to read the article and answer questions
relating to the article and the activity we did in class for homework. The questions will be as
follows:
1. How do you think Chinas development of its own domestic arms industry allows them to
become one of the worlds largest arms importers?
2. Using the definition of global interdependence what examples can you find in the article and
in the activity from class to support what it is as well as the importance and necessity for global
interdependence?
Global interdependence is the mutual dependence at a global level. One country depends on
another country for something and that country may depend on another country, which
eventually created global interdependence. Importing and exporting goods and services highly
contributes to global interdependence. (businessdictionary.com)