It’s a small world
- Students closely examine the objects in the classroom as well as their personal possessions. This could include their clothing, books, lunchboxes and schoolbags. Students will find that many of these things link them to people in other parts of the world.
- Students make individual lists of the items and write down their country of manufacture. For example, a T-shirt with an Australian image may have a label stating: ‘Made in China’.
- As a class, collate these lists using a large sheet of poster paper and marker pens so that the list can remain on the board and be added to whenever students discover new information. Students could also be encouraged to do a survey of items in their homes.
- Over a period of time, students use coloured pins to locate countries on a wall map, using one pin for each item on the list. This will eventually give a graphic idea of the source of items the students use daily.
- Students could also do a role play based on the journey of a shirt or a pair of sports shoes from the start of production until the items reach the consumer.
Many inexpensive products come from developing countries. An important extension of this activity is to discuss the reasons why. This should lead to questions on the relative price of labour. Such questions connect the objects in students’ homes to the facts about labour and living conditions in the country of manufacture.
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