But Those Are the Shoes That I Want! — Free Trade, Tariffs and Globalization

Overview
Students look at the production of Nike shoes. They then write a paper about Nike Inc. from the position of the consumer, the company and the worker.

Outcome
The students will understand the concepts of free trade and globalization.

Standards Addressed

Grade 6
Social Studies: Economics, Benchmark A
01. Explain how the availability of productive resources and entrepreneurship affects the production of goods and services in different world regions.

Social Studies: Economics, Benchmark B
03. Explain why trade occurs when individuals, regions and countries specialize in what they can produce at the lowest opportunity cost and how this causes both production and consumption to increase.

Grade 7
Social Studies: Economics, Benchmark A
01. Compare the endowment of productive resources in world regions and explain how this endowment contributed to specialization, trade and interdependence in ancient times.

Grade 5
English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark A
01. Generate a topic, assigned or personal interest, and open-ended questions for research and develop a plan for gathering information.

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark B
02. Locate sources and gather relevant information from multiple sources (e.g., school library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and Internet-based resources).

Grade 6
English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark A
01. Generate a topic, assigned or personal interest, and open-ended questions for research and develop a plan for gathering information.

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark B
02. Identify appropriate sources, and gather relevant information from multiple sources (e.g., school library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and Internet-based resources).

03. Identify elements of validity in sources including publication date, coverage, language and points of view, and discuss primary and secondary sources.

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark C
05. Compare and contrast important findings and select sources to support central ideas, concepts and themes.

Grade 7
English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark A
01. Generate a topic, assigned or personal interest, and open-ended questions for research and develop a plan for gathering information.

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark B
02. Identify appropriate sources and gather relevant information from multiple sources (e.g., school library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and Internet-based resources).

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark C
05. Analyze and organize important information, and select appropriate sources to support central ideas, concepts and themes.

Grade 8
English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark B
02. Identify appropriate sources and gather relevant information from multiple sources (e.g., school library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and Internet-based resources).

03. Explain the usefulness and accuracy of sources by determining their validity (e.g., authority, accuracy, objectivity, publication date and coverage) and define primary and secondary sources.

English Language Arts: Writing, Benchmark E
08. Use a variety of communication techniques, including oral, visual, written or multimedia reports, to present information that supports a clear position about the topic or research question and to maintain an appropriate balance between researched information and original ideas.

Materials — Activity 1

• Resource materials — computers, textbooks, Economics 101 hotlist, etc.

• Large-size chart paper

• Markers

Materials — Activity 2

• Resource materials — computer, textbooks, Economics 101 hotlist, etc.

• Nike student handout

Procedure

Activity 1

1. Introduce the lesson by holding up a pair — or a picture — of Nike shoes. Ask the students how many of them own Nike shoes. Explain that they are going to do a lesson about Nike, but there are some vocabulary words that they need to know first.

2. Divide the class into three parts. Assign one of these topics to each group: free trade, tariffs and globalization.

3. Give the students 15 minutes to research their topics and make a list of important information about them.

4. Have the groups make a chart with at least four important ideas about their topic. (If a computer and projector are available, they could also use them to list the ideas.) Some sample ideas are listed below.

   Free Trade
   a. Definition: trade or commerce carried on without restrictions such as import duties, export bounties, domestic production subsidies, trade quotas or import licenses.

   b. Based on the economic theory of comparative advantage (market economy).

   c. Each region concentrates on what it can produce most cheaply and efficiently, and exchanges its products for those it is less able to produce economically.

   d. Critics of free-trade zones argue that such measures hurt the domestic economies. Jobs are lost to countries that have lower wages.

    

   Tariffs
   a. Definition: Taxes generally on goods imported or exported.

   b. Most often calculated as a percent of the price charged for the item by the foreign supplier.

   c. Money collected is called duty.

   d. May be imposed as a source of revenue for the government.

   e. A common purpose of tariffs is protection against foreign competition. By raising prices of imported goods relative to the prices of domestic goods, tariffs encourage consumers to buy domestic rather than foreign products.

    

   Globalization
   a. Definition: The trend of money and businesses to move beyond their own markets to other markets around the globe.

   b. Markedly increases international trade and cultural exchange.

   c. Helps developing nations “catch up” to industrialized nations much faster through increased employment and technological advances.

   d. Weakens national sovereignty and allows rich nations to ship domestic jobs overseas where labor is much cheaper.

    

Activity 2

1. Now that students have a general understanding of the three concepts, they are ready to look at Nike Inc. Divide the students into groups of three.

2. The scenario for the lesson is that the Senate has called for a fact-finding investigation of Nike Inc. They have asked you to make a presentation about your viewpoint on Nike. Each member of the group will have a different viewpoint. One will present information as a consumer here in the United States. One will be an official from Nike Inc. and one will be a factory worker in one of the overseas Nike manufacturing plants.

3. Students will use the Internet sites provided, textbooks, interviews or other means to find factual information to report in their presentation to the Senate.

4. Students will write a report that they will read to the Senate. Each report must contain facts and the sources of those facts.

5. Allow one day for finding the facts and one day for the writing assignment. (The writing assignment could be done for homework.)

6. After reports have been written, students should have a class discussion, with each group presenting the information that they found.

Evaluation
Rubric for Writing