Classroom Trade Day

Social Studies Online

TEACHER Trisha Shand, Christina Ward

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Select and adapt these learning activities to best meet the needs of your students, and to fit the time available:

Starter activities

1. Mind Map
   How are our lives shaped by trade? In small groups, students walk through a day in their lives, mind mapping the goods that they use (resources) and where in the world they come from. To shorten the activity - focus on the morning or after school. Discuss findings and any issues that arise from the mind mapping. Focus on how people view and use resources differently and the reasons why. What are the some of the consequences of people viewing and using resources differently?

2. Think, Pair, Share
   Bring a collection of resources to the classroom. These could include food products from the supermarket, clothes, and household items. Try to include items that have to be imported as they are not produced here. Set a time limit, for example, 5 minutes.

   Hand an item to each group and ask them to think about the questions below, then ask them to record their thoughts on paper.

   • Who has been involved in the process of designing, growing or making, marketing, selling and delivering this resource to you?
   • How do they view and use this resource?
   • What are the consequences ?

   Once the time is up, the groups share their thoughts with another group. Each group identifies three or four ideas to present to the class as a whole.

3. New Zealand and Trade
   Students fill in a KTD Chart on what they know about New Zealand and trade.
   • Big moments in New Zealand trade
   • New Zealand Quick Facts

		Teachers' information
		Students' information - photocopy/OHT

	STEP 1 Before the Trade Day This trade day was written to focus on New Zealand and the APEC member countries - which account for approximately 70 per cent of New Zealand's trade. Choose alternative countries if you wish. If you choose other countries, read through the unit and make changes where necessary. You will find more country facts at: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise country information CIA Fact Book If you follow the APEC option, check students are familiar with APEC, its aims and operation. What is APEC? Invite someone into your classroom who his involved in overseas trade. Your students will need access to fact files and other resources as they research their economy. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise country information CIA Fact Book Current issues perspective - assign students to gather information on trade issues as they prepare for the trade day. Display a selection of promotional material - posters, brochures, advertisements, etc. to help with ideas for stall displays.
	STEP 2 Outline the Action The class will be divided into small groups. The members of each group become delegates for one APEC economy to represent it at an APEC Trade Fair. Students draw their economy from a hat. APEC economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong; China; Indonesia; Japan; South Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand, United States; Viet Nam. Trade Day Memo
	STEP 3 Trial Run Discuss the kind of information you will need to include in your fact files, posters/brochures, cultural item and spoken presentations. As a class, look at this fact file example for some possible ideas or directions. Using the Chile fact file information, discuss possible products the Chilean delegation may want to sell or buy from others.
	STEP 4 Preparation for the Day Make a fact file for the economy you have been assigned.
	STEP 5: Make Models of your Products Decide which products your economy wants to sell at the trade day. Make one model, eg. fish, apples, wine bottle for each thing you will sell, so you can show them to those who want to buy.
	STEP 6: Organise a Cultural Item Decide how you will give your stall a cultural flavour - you could think of food, art, music, images, language, clothing or artefacts. Check out Tourism New Zealand for some ideas. Try a Google search for information about other cultures.
	STEP 7: Design your poster or brochure and prepare what you will say Aim to inform and persuade potential buyers to buy your product. Plan carefully - presentation is important. Poster/brochure checklist Spoken Presentation You must be able to talk about the products you are selling. Use the information you have gathered and prepare five key messages you will use to sell your product to other countries. While the trade day will be conducted in English, you may want to include a greeting or phrases from your economy's main language.
	STEP 8: Setting up for the APEC Trade Day The Crises Prepare one or more scenarios for the crises that you will introduce to affect trading on the day. As you announce each crisis, the economies directly affected must stop trading. The other economies must decide how they will respond to each crisis. Where possible, use a current issue to link your embargo to a current event. A crisis could be a: Trade embargo - this can be triggered by a difference of opinion between nations. For example, following the Viet Nam War, the US placed a trade embargo on Viet Nam. Often an action like this will develop to include allies. Tariff - to protect a local industry experiencing trouble - eg. a great growing season in NZ releases a huge number of cheap apples onto another market. The tariff will raise the price so local apple growers can compete. Natural disaster - for example, a terrible drought may change an economy's trading patterns. Civil war - this could disrupt deals that are underway.
	STEP 9: Are You Ready? Trade Day Teacher Checklist The Money All trade will take place using specially minted APEC dollars. Economies don't have equal amounts of money. These amounts have been calculated on this money table using the value of each economy's exports for 1999/2000. Note to teachers - if you are selecting different countries for your trade day, you will have to make your own calculations for those countries. APEC Trade Day: The Balance Sheet
	Borrowing Students may borrow money from the World Bank. Oversee the World Bank lending, or assign that job to a couple of students.
	STEP 10: Planning to Trade DISCUSS factors that could influence who you trade with: Look out for the products you want. Are you friends with that economy? Is anything happening there that may affect trade, eg. civil unrest, problems with human rights, natural disasters? Is the country close to you? Will transport costs be a factor? How do people view and use resources differently as they trade? Why is this? What are the consequences of people viewing and using resources differently as they trade?
	STEP 11: On the Trade Day Set up displays
	Allow 30-60 minutes for trading. Trade day instructions to students: The Aim The aim of the day is to buy and sell products, and to think about how and why people view and use resources differently as they trade, and the consequences of this. Each product displayed equals one unit and you buy and sell just that one unit. You must negotiate how much you will pay for that product. The Money Hand out the money to each economy. All trade will take place using specially minted APEC dollars. Countries don't have equal amounts of money. These amounts have been calculated on the value of each economy's exports (1999/2000). Groups may borrow from the World Bank if they do not feel they have enough. You must use money. No bartering. Buying and Selling Students visit other stalls to look for the products they want, but remember someone must be at each stall at all times. You may borrow money from the World Bank. You can only sell or buy a product once. When you have sold, put a line through that product on your poster. Record all your purchases and sales on your economy's balance sheet. The Crises Remember to include a series of crises that will affect the trading.
	STEP 12: After the Day Trade Day Review
	STEP 13 Social Decision Making
	STEP 14: Group Assessment Activity Trade Day Report Assessment Schedule

RESOURCES

Electronic

• What is APEC?
• Tourism NZ
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise country information
• CIA Fact Book
• One World
• WTO
• Time For Kids