Economics & Business · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Buying and Selling Across Borders

Active learning breaks down abstract global trade concepts into concrete, student-led experiences. When learners physically trade goods or debate tariffs, they measure real effects on prices and jobs, turning textbook ideas into memorable insights.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• ACARA Australian Curriculum v9: Economics and Business Year 7-8, Knowledge and understanding, Factors that influence the way people make decisions, including the role of incentives (AC9HE8K03)
• ACARA Australian Curriculum v9: Economics and Business Year 7-8, Skills, Interpretation and analysis, Interpret economic and business data and information to identify trends and patterns (AC9HE8S03)

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Global Trade Fair

Divide the class into country groups with resource cards representing goods like wheat or tech. Groups negotiate trades to meet needs, recording deals on charts. Debrief on choices gained and prices affected by 'tariffs' added mid-game.

Explain how buying products from other countries can offer more choices to Australian consumers.

Facilitation Tip

Global Trade Fair: circulate with sticky notes to label each stall with the hidden costs (freight, tariff, exchange rate) that raise the final price students see.

What to look for

Present students with a list of products (e.g., Japanese car, New Zealand lamb, French perfume, Australian wool). Ask them to classify each as primarily an import or export for Australia and briefly explain their reasoning for two items.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Case Study Analysis
• 30 min · Pairs

Case Study Analysis: Aussie Exports

Provide articles on wine exports to Asia. In pairs, students map supply chains, calculate price impacts from currency changes, and predict effects on local wineries if demand drops. Share findings in a class gallery walk.

Analyze the impact of Australian products being sold overseas on local businesses.

Facilitation Tip

Aussie Exports: provide blank maps so teams can draw arrows from mining towns to port cities, then to importing countries, marking dollar values at each step.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine Australia stopped importing all electronics for one year. What are two positive effects and two negative effects this might have on Australian consumers and businesses?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to support their ideas with economic reasoning.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Whole Class

Role Play: Import Decisions

Students act as consumers choosing between local and imported apples, considering price, quality, and availability cards. Discuss in whole class how imports affect choices and Australian growers. Vote on policy changes like subsidies.

Predict how a popular Australian tourist destination might be affected if fewer international visitors arrive.

Facilitation Tip

Import Decisions: give each student a wallet of play money and a product card so they must justify every purchase in a mini-bid round before the role-play starts.

What to look for

Ask students to write down one Australian export and one import. For the export, name a country that might buy it. For the import, name a country that likely produces it. Briefly explain how the exchange rate might affect the price of one of these items.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Small Groups

Prediction Chain: Tourism Slump

Individually brainstorm effects of fewer international visitors on a spot like Sydney Harbour. Chain ideas in small groups on posters, linking to jobs, prices, and exports. Present chains to class for feedback.

Explain how buying products from other countries can offer more choices to Australian consumers.

Facilitation Tip

Tourism Slump: hand out domino-style prediction slips so each student reads the previous drop in tourism and adds one linked effect before passing it on.

What to look for

Present students with a list of products (e.g., Japanese car, New Zealand lamb, French perfume, Australian wool). Ask them to classify each as primarily an import or export for Australia and briefly explain their reasoning for two items.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers anchor this topic in lived consequences rather than abstract theory. Begin with a local product students know and ask, ‘Where did this come from?’ to surface prior knowledge. Avoid overwhelming students with too many countries; three clear examples (electronics, fruit, minerals) let them build patterns. Research shows that collaborative mapping and staged simulations reduce misconceptions faster than lectures.

Students will confidently distinguish imports from exports, explain how trade connects communities, and identify the hidden costs of international transactions. Clear speaking, precise labeling, and evidence-based reasoning signal mastery.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Global Trade Fair, watch for students assuming the price tag on the stall equals the final cost to them.

  During the Global Trade Fair, hand each shopper a calculator card that lists freight, tariff, and exchange rate percentages so they must add these to the base price before deciding what to buy.

• During the Aussie Exports mapping activity, watch for students drawing arrows only from capital cities and missing regional job links.

  During the Aussie Exports mapping activity, provide a second map with regional icons; ask teams to mark mines, farms, and ports, then connect each to export income flowing back to towns.

• During the Tourism Slump prediction chain, watch for students treating tourism purely as a service rather than a trade that brings foreign money into Australia.

  During the Tourism Slump prediction chain, supply a wallet of foreign currency slips; after each drop in tourism, students must attach the lost foreign dollars to their domino to show the income gap.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Case Study Analysis
• Role Play