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.

• Foundation
• HASS
• 4 activities
• 30 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify key drivers of globalisation, such as trade routes and technological advancements.
2. Classify everyday items based on their country of origin, demonstrating an understanding of global trade.
3. Explain how technology, like the internet, connects people across different countries.
4. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of products being made in different countries.

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

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

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.

Prepare & details

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

Setup: Tables with large paper, or wall space

Materials: Concept cards or sticky notes, Large paper, Markers, Example concept map

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

World Café

⏱ 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.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of increased global economic interconnectedness.

Setup: Small tables (4-5 seats each) spread around the room

Materials: Large paper "tablecloths" with questions, Markers (different colors per round), Table host instruction card

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

World Café

⏱ 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.

Prepare & details

Define globalisation and identify its key drivers.

Setup: Small tables (4-5 seats each) spread around the room

Materials: Large paper "tablecloths" with questions, Markers (different colors per round), Table host instruction card

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

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.

What to Expect

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.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Mapping: Where Does It Come From?, give each student a picture of an everyday item. Ask them to draw or write one thing that helped that item travel to Australia, such as a ship or a plane.

Quick Check

During Class Market: Buy and Sell, hold up two different items, one likely made locally and one likely made overseas. Ask students to point to the item they think traveled the furthest and explain why they think so.

Discussion Prompt

After Tech Connect: Video Calls, 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.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask early finishers to research one less-common product in the classroom (e.g., rubber bands) and trace its global journey in three steps.
• Scaffolding: Provide picture cards of transport methods (ship, plane, truck) for students to match to items during the mapping activity.
• Deeper exploration: Invite a guest speaker via video call to talk about their job in international trade and answer student questions.

Key Vocabulary

Globalisation	The process where countries become more connected through trade, technology, and cultural sharing.
Interconnected Economies	When the economies of different countries rely on each other, often through buying and selling goods and services.
Trade	The buying and selling of goods and services between countries.
Technology	Tools and machines, like computers and phones, that help people do things, including communicating and transporting goods across the world.