TITLE: The Importance of Imports
AUTHOR: Steve Shake; Teaching Geography
Jefferson Junior High, Caldwell, ID
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 7 through 9
Social Studies - Geography & World Trade
OVERVIEW: Most students are not aware of their important role as
consumers of imported products in our economy. Students need to be more
aware of how world trade is a big part of their material lives. These
activities are designed to show the students that imported products
literally "touch" the lifestyles and everyday activities of America's youth.
PURPOSE: These activities strive to promote active student involvement
and sound logical analysis of information to create a genuine interest and
a more concrete understanding of what imported products are, where they
come from, how they move from import nations to U.S. stores, and why we,
as Americans, buy so many imported goods.
OBJECTIVES:
The student will be able to:
1. Complete a home research assignment to identify and list many of the
imported products they possess and use each day.
2. Identify and locate on a world map several nations that supply students
with imported products they wear to school each week.
3. Organize and categorize collected information to identify nations that
have specialized and nations that have diversified in the number of
products they import to consumers in the U.S.
4. Recognize possible methods of movement and transportation involved
in moving products from the import nation to the U.S. consumer.
5. Formulate generalizations about why U.S. consumers buy so many
imported items when the same items are often available to them on
domestic markets.
6. Describe, through the use of examples, how nations are becoming more
and more inter-dependent upon one another for certain goods and services.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
A classroom set of atlases, a classroom set of markable world maps or
reasonable facsimile thereof, an erasable pen for each student, and a
blackboard for the reproduction of thoughts, ideas, and terms of the
assignment.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
Introductive note: Preface this lesson with short explanations of the
following terms:
1. imports - Products or services made outside the U.S. and sold to the
consumers within the U.S.
2. exports - Products or services made in the U.S. and sold to the
consumers of other nations.
3. Interdependence - the dependence of one nation on another nation for
one or more products or services.
Activity One - "The World in Your Closet"
The intent of this activity is to create awareness in the students as to the
personal effects imported products have on each of their lifestyles. This
is a great overnight homework assignment that my kids enjoy out of
curiosity and ease of completion.
1. Using articles of their own clothing and footwear, each student will
make a list of all the nations of the world found in their closet and
dresser at home. Write the names of the nations on a sheet of paper.
2. After the name of each nation on the sheet, record the type of clothing
or footwear that came from that nation - (shirt, pants, shoes, etc.)
3. Each student must complete this assignment overnight and return it to
class the next day.
Activity Two - "Wear in the World?"
The following are great geography review vehicles, offered in painless
fashion. Remind the students that their lists are lists of imports and ask
them if they found a few surprises in their closet? The kids can hardly
wait to share their findings with others - encourage them to do so!
1. Each student is given an atlas and desk-top size world map that is
markable and erasable. With a marker pen you provide, each student must
locate and identify all the nations on their research list. Use the atlas to
locate and the pen and world map to identify. As students are doing this
ask if anyone found nations they did not know of, nations that were
abbreviated, or any other strange things you might help them with.
2. Looking at the marked world map and their atlases, each student will
make a chart that categorizes each of the nations by the continent they
occupy. Make 6 columns on a sheet of paper and list each nation under the
correct continent heading. What continent has the most import nations
listed? Which one has the least? Which continent has no nations listed
3. Using the homework research list, categorize the nations according to
what clothing and/or footwear they produced. Place the names of the
nations in columns labeled; A. shirt & tops, B. pants, shorts & skirts, C.
footwear, D. dresses, suits & formal wear, E. sweatsuits & sweaters, F.
coats & jackets. This activity should be followed with a discussion, with
examples, to explain that some countries specialize in the types of
products they produce, while other nations are more diversified and
produce a great number of different products. Ask the students to identify
nations on their lists that they feel are specialized nations and nations
they feel are diversified and have them explain their logic.
Activity Three - "How in the World"
This activity is fun to do in groups or rows. Four students to a group and
one recorder to take notes for each group.
1. Using the information in the atlas and their world map, each group will
try to brainstorm all the possible methods of movement or transportation
that may have been involved in transporting an imported item from the
nation of its origin to the closet it now occupies. List step by step its
travels, include foreign and U.S. port cities and specific places it may
have passed through. Recorder keeps a list of the steps. Groups will
compare and share lists, or steps, on the board.
Activity Four - "Why in the World?"
This activity is an activity of discussion and analysis of the previous
activities. Encourage speculation and brainstorming by all students. This
is a good one for groups because of more security in numbers. Great!
1. Offer to the class this question - If these clothes and footwear items
are also made in the U.S., why do we Americans buy so many imported
products? Brainstorm for logical reasons and list the ideas of each group
on the board and have each group describe their statement by using
everyday examples.
2. Offer the class this question - How can your group explain this
statement - "One nation's imports are another nation's exports." This time
have the groups brainstorm among themselves and have each recorder
write out a short explanation to offer to the whole class and compare the
findings on the board.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
1. Encourage all students to participate, articulate, speculate, formulate
and explain their ideas, thoughts and answers.
2. Encourage the total sharing of data and information found during
research.
3. Design a map quiz that checks the retention of some new nations
discovered by the class during Activities One and Two.
4. Design a short answer essay assignment to review and reinforce what
imports are, how they get to be in our possession, why we buy so many of
them, and how we can use examples to explain world trade
interdependence between the nations of the earth.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org