HASS · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Globalisation: Interconnected Economies

Active learning connects young learners to global ideas through concrete, sensory experiences they already know. When students handle real items, move around the room, or take on roles, they see how faraway places shape their daily lives in ways that textbooks alone cannot show.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HE7K04

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Global Trade Fair

Divide class into 'countries' with props like fruit drawings or toy models. Each group offers goods and negotiates trades with others using simple phrases like 'I trade apple for banana'. Conclude with a share-out on what they gained or wanted.

Define globalisation and identify its key drivers.

Facilitation Tip

During Global Trade Fair, assign each student one role card so they speak with intention rather than wandering aimlessly.

What to look for

Give each student a picture of an everyday item (e.g., a t-shirt, a smartphone, a banana). Ask them to draw or write one thing that helped that item travel to Australia, such as a ship or a plane.

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

Activity 02

• Concept Mapping
• 30 min · Pairs

Concept Mapping: Where Does It Come From?

Provide world maps and labels for foods or toys in the classroom. Students stick labels on origin countries and draw transport paths like ships or planes. Discuss as a class why items travel far.

Analyze the economic, social, and cultural impacts of globalisation.

What to look for

Hold up two different items, one likely made locally and one likely made overseas. Ask students to point to the item they think travelled the furthest and explain why they think so.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 50 min · Whole Class

Class Market: Buy and Sell

Students create stalls with pretend goods from different cultures. Use play money to buy, sell, and record trades on charts. Reflect on how trade brings new items to everyone.

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of increased global economic interconnectedness.

What to look for

Ask students: 'What is one good thing about having toys or foods from other countries? What might be one not-so-good thing?' Listen for their understanding of variety versus potential transport issues.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 35 min · Individual

Tech Connect: Video Calls

Pair with another class via video to share drawings of local foods. Exchange stories about what they eat and trade ideas. Chart similarities and differences post-call.

Define globalisation and identify its key drivers.

What to look for

Give each student a picture of an everyday item (e.g., a t-shirt, a smartphone, a banana). Ask them to draw or write one thing that helped that item travel to Australia, such as a ship or a plane.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers guide students to start with the familiar and move outward. Use objects students already know—like a snack or a pencil—to anchor abstract concepts like supply chains and interdependence. Avoid overwhelming them with too many new terms; instead, let vocabulary emerge naturally from hands-on tasks. Research shows that young children grasp global systems when they can trace a single item from source to shelf.

By the end of these activities, students will name two ways goods travel between countries, point to three places on a map where everyday items originate, and describe one benefit and one challenge of global trade using clear, simple examples.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Class Market: Buy and Sell, watch for students assuming every item is made in Australia.

  Use product labels from the market setup to guide a quick sorting game: students group items as ‘Made in Australia’ or ‘Made Overseas’ and justify their choices out loud.

• During Role Play: Global Trade Fair, watch for students believing globalisation erases cultural differences.

  Ask each student to include a cultural detail on their stall sign or product card, then discuss how these unique elements travel alongside goods.

• During Tech Connect: Video Calls, watch for students thinking trade only benefits sellers.

  Prompt pairs to swap items during the call and reflect: ‘What did you gain? What did the other person gain?’ Collect responses on a class chart.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Concept Mapping
• Stations Rotation