Content Partner

Grade 6-8, 9-12
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Lesson

Looping Around the World: A Game of International Trade

Time: 90 mins.,
Updated: November 3 2022,

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • define and provide examples of the terms associated with international trade.
  • understand the impact of globalization on the trade deficit.

Materials/Teacher Preparation

  1. 14 looping cards printed out and cut apart – one per student or pair of students. Print and cut out the cards prior to class.  If you have a large class, you can create two loops by using two sets of cards, with the cardstock being different colors or printed with different colored ink.  For example,  students who have cards that are copied on blue card stock look for students with the same color looping card.
  2. Copies of Looping Activity Sheet for each student
  3. Copies of Graph Analysis Chart for each student
  4. Student access to internet for individual activity

Warm Up

Distribute Activity Sheet to students. In small groups, have the students discuss the listed terms on the Activity Sheet.

Suggested questions for discussion include:

  • Have the students previously heard of the terms?
  • What do these terms mean?
  • After a few minutes of small group discussion, ask for feedback from each group as to how many of these terms they understand and give examples of evidence of their understanding.

Modeling

Explain and demonstrate the procedure for the Looping Card activity.

1. Distribute one looping card to each student or pair of students (13 cards total).

2. Explain that each card has a term on the top and a definition for another term on the bottom. This definition is in the form of a question.

3. Students will need to match their term with the definition on someone else’s card. They will also need to match their definition with the term (in the form of an “I have… sentence) on yet another student’s card.

  • For example, Student 1 has a card which states at the top “I have globalization” and “Who has a tax on imports?” on the bottom.
  • Student 1 will find Student 2 who has the definition for globalization at the bottom of Student 2’s card.
  • Student 1 will also find Student 3 who has the definition for ‘Who has a tax on imports” on the top of their card.

Group Activity

Students will complete the Looping Card Activity by walking around the room and finding students with the match to the term statement and to the definition question on their own card.

  • When students find a match to their card, they should stay with that student.
  • As more matches are created, students will form a single large circle.  (Or two circles if this is a larger class and you have printed the cards out on different colored cardstock.)
  • Once the circle is formed and all cards are correctly matched, the teacher will facilitate a class discussion on the terms and definitions.
  • While the discussion is ongoing, students will complete the definitions portion of the Activity sheet.

 

Individual Activity

After class discussion of the definitions, students will find pictures or examples of the terms for the 3rd column on the Activity sheet. Next, students will relate each term to another economic concept studied in class so that they can fill in the last column on the Activity Sheet.

Assessment

In small groups, students will answer the questions related to the graph located on the Graph Analysis handout.

Students can watch two videos – “Barriers to Trade” and  “Trade, Exchange and Specialization” –  and answer the quiz questions that follow.