History & Geography · Grade 8

Active learning ideas

The Global North and Global South: Historical Roots

Active learning helps students grasp the complex relationship between the Global North and South by making abstract economic concepts tangible. Hands-on activities like tracing a smartphone’s journey across sectors or comparing economic profiles bring historical roots to life in ways that lectures alone cannot.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Geography: Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life - Grade 8

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 60 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Life of a Smartphone

In small groups, students trace the global supply chain of a smartphone. They identify which parts of the process are primary (mining), secondary (assembly), tertiary (sales), and quaternary (software design) and which countries perform each task.

Explain how colonialism shaped the current economic landscape of the world.

Facilitation Tip

During Think-Pair-Share: The Knowledge Economy, begin with a concrete example like the Netherlands’ focus on agricultural technology to ground the discussion in familiar terms.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How did the economic policies of colonial powers, such as the focus on cash crops or resource extraction, shape the primary industries still dominant in many former colonies today?' Students should share specific examples from their research.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Economic Profiles

Display charts showing the percentage of workers in each economic sector for different countries (e.g., Ethiopia, Canada, Vietnam). Students use sticky notes to predict each country's level of development based on its economic profile.

Analyze the historical processes that led to the 'North/South' divide.

What to look for

Provide students with a short list of historical events or policies (e.g., Scramble for Africa, Indian Mutiny, establishment of the East India Company). Ask them to categorize each as either a cause or a consequence of colonial expansion and briefly explain their reasoning.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Knowledge Economy

Students reflect on what kind of jobs will be most important in the future. They pair up to discuss how a country can transition from a 'resource-based' economy to a 'knowledge-based' economy and what barriers might stand in the way.

Critique the concept of 'development' from different cultural perspectives.

What to look for

Ask students to write one sentence explaining how the concept of 'development' might be viewed differently by a citizen of Canada versus a citizen of a small island nation in the Pacific that was formerly colonized. What factors might influence their perspectives?

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should emphasize that economic development is not linear or one-size-fits-all. Avoid framing the Global South as 'behind' the Global North; instead, highlight how colonial policies shaped modern economic structures. Use real-world data to show how sectors interact, such as how a country with strong primary industries may still invest in quaternary research for long-term growth.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying how economic sectors function in different nations and explaining the historical reasons behind those differences. They should connect primary resource extraction to colonial policies and recognize the importance of balanced economies in today’s globalized world.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Life of a Smartphone, watch for students who assume primary industries are unimportant in developed countries.

  Use the smartphone’s supply chain map to highlight how even high-tech devices rely on mined materials and agricultural components, showing that primary industries are foundational and often high-tech.

• During Gallery Walk: Economic Profiles, watch for students who believe a service-based economy is always superior.

  Point to profiles of countries like Singapore that balance services with manufacturing, and ask students to analyze how economic diversity protects against global shocks such as pandemics or trade wars.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share