Economics · 4 weeks · Grades 6-12
Trade and Markets Unit Study
Follow one product from raw resource to shelf, then build the same chain yourself.
Four weeks on how goods actually move: resources, processing, shipping, tariffs, and dependency. Students build a supply chain in their nation and then break it on purpose to see what happens.
Essential questions
- What makes a supply chain fragile?
- Why do countries specialize?
- Who wins and who loses from a tariff?
- What does dependency cost a nation?
Lessons
1. From resource to product
Trace one everyday item back to the ground it came from.
2. Specialization
Comparative advantage with two nations and two goods.
3. Tariffs and barriers
Model a tariff and measure who pays it.
4. Shock test
Cut one supplier and document the ripple effects.
Projects
- • Map a real product's supply chain
- • Run a two-nation trade simulation
- • Write a post-shock recovery plan
Assessment
- • Supply chain map rubric
- • Simulation reflection
- • Recovery plan scoring guide
Vocabulary
tariffembargologisticscomparative advantagedependencycommodity
Reading list
- • A nonfiction title on global trade
- • A news article set on current trade policy