Evan Deacon
Will you agree to Free Trade?
Application Question:
Should countries around the world participate in free trade?
So What?:
Throughout the United States’ economic history, trade has been a crucial aspect of
nationwide economic success. The debate has been raised throughout the existence of the United
States about what extent should the government participate in free trade. With many potential
positives and negatives about free trade, the debate continues, is free trade beneficial to all
countries with an increase in global connectedness.
Ohio Academic Content Standard:
-Contemporary World Issues: Benchmark G: The Global Economy.
Indicator: 22. The global economy creates interdependence so that economic
circumstances in one country impact events in other countries.
-Economics and Financial Literacy: Benchmark D: Global Economy
Indicator: 10. Government actions, such as tariffs, quotas, subsidies, trade agreements
and membership in multinational economic organizations, significantly impact international
trade.
NCSS Thematic Strand:
IX. Global Connections:
a. Global connections are rapidly accelerating across cultures and nations, and can have both
positive and negative effects on nations and individuals.1
b. The Solutions to global issues may involve individual decisions and actions, but also
require national and international approaches (e.g. agreements, negotiations, policies, or
laws)
VII. Production, Distribution, and Consumption:
a. Scarcity and the uneven distribution of resources result in economic decisions,
and foster consequences that may support cooperation or conflict.2
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Class Periods Required: One 50-minute period
Purpose, Background, and Context:
The purpose of this lesson is for students to develop a thorough understanding of free
trade. Students will be able to come out of the lesson with the ability to apply key economic
principles such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), quotas, tariffs, and subsidies. In a
society where global connectedness is at an all time high, it is important for the younger
1
National Council for the Social Studies, Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies (Washington DC: National Council for the Social Studies, 2010). 155.
2 NCSS, 2010, 147.
generation to have the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively compete in a global
economy in relation with free trade. United States citizens should know what free trade is and
how it affects them. Having a complete understanding of governmental policies in place that will
help shape the United States economy will only help the future direction of the country.
Since the creation of the United States, the government and business have participated in
trade. The debate has always been strong about how high or low tariffs should be and the amount
of quotas and subsidies should be in place. After the United States gained its independence,
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson started the debate about how the United States should
handle its economy, specifically in relation with tariffs. This debate has expanded through time,
eventually establishing the idea of international free trade after World War II. Free trade is the
elimination of artificial barriers to trade and other distortions, such as tariffs, quotas, and
subsidies, which countries use to protect their domestic industry from foreign competition. With
the help of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT), the United States and other countries around the world have increased free trade.
Further more, countries have created free trade agreements (FTAs), which are agreements that
eliminate almost all trade restrictions with various countries. Groundbreaking agreements have
resulted in alliances across the globe, including the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), Central European Free Trade Agreement
(CEFTA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and many more. These
trade agreements have resulted in several ongoing debates that will determine the future of our
global interactions.
Today, the United States government is in a magnificent amount of debt and many view
the economy in a negative light. Many people are losing or have lost their job, and many are tight
on money, reiterating the ongoing debate about how the United States should participate in free
trade with other countries. Supporters believe that free trade will benefit the United States along
with other countries by workers specializing in goods and services that they would produce more
efficiently than the rest of the world and then to exchange them for goods and services that other
countries produce at higher quality and lower cost. Other benefits include a potentially higher
standard of living, competition, innovation, and economic growth. However, proponents of free
trade say that it causes more problems for poor countries, the quality of products and services
may drop, and the United States, due to its large economy, may suffocate smaller and poorer
countries. The potential positives and negatives of free trade have been a contested issue and
with the increase in global connectedness, the discussion continues about the extent of free trade.
Goals/Objectives/Student Outcomes/Performance Expectations:
Students will:
-“Analyze the relationships and tensions between national sovereignty and global
interests, in matters such as economic development” (NCSS, 2010, p. 155)
-“Gather and analyze data and critical thinking in making recommendations for
economic policies” (NCSS, 2010, p. 147)
- Be able to “ask and find answers to questions about the production and
distribution of goods and services in the state and nation, and in a global context”
(NCSS, 2010, p. 147)
-“Describe and explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict,
cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations” (NCSS,
2010, p. 155)
-Reflect on what they have learned through completion of the take-home
assignment on their Iranian nuclear position.
Materials:
- The four articles on Free Trade
- Projector
-PowerPoint Slides
- Take-Home Assignment
Procedures:
Procedure 1: Hook/Introduction 6 min
Previous to class starting write the application question on the board, should countries
around the world participate in free trade? When class begins show the YouTube video “The
Wonderful World of NAFTA”. Tell students to write down some notes about what they hear in
the video. They should not only focus on NAFTA, but also key terms like trade surplus, NAFTA,
tariffs, prosperity, and some pros and cons of NAFTA (write these terms on the board
underneath the application question. After explaining this to the students start the video and
when the video reaches the 3:07 mark, stop it.
Procedure 2: Power of 2 26 min.
After showing the video divide the class into three separate and equal groups. Assign
each group a role that they will play with the activity. The three roles include business owners,
consumers, and the President of the United States. Make sure that all students understand what
business owners and consumers are. Give each group member a different document. The
documents are all the same for each of the three groups. There should be roughly two people in
each group that have the same document. After all the documents are handed out to each
individual and group, discuss that each student should read their document that they were given.
When students have finished reading, they should find the other member in their group
that read the same article (there may be more then two assigned to the same article). When they
have paired up with their partner, display the PowerPoint slide that prompts the students to
answer these questions:
-What does free trade mean?
-What arguments are used to support free trade?
-What arguments are used to refute free trade?
-Begin thinking about how free trade applies to your assigned role.
Students answer these questions with the other member of the group that has the same document
as them. When the small groups seem to have exhausted most conversation, tell students in their
large groups, the students with the same role as them, should come together and explain their
documents that they were given. Move onto the next PowerPoint slide and tell the groups to
answer/follow these procedures/questions:
When they have formulated answers they should write them on a large poster-sized paper to
present to the class. Remind students that answers to questions should move beyond the
documents given. Simply copying the pros and cons from the documents will not be sufficient,
but should be from the perspective of their assigned role. Move around the classroom and make
sure that student-to-student conversation is moving forward and is progressive.
Procedure 3: Presentations 8 min.
Once groups are finished creating their poster-sized paper, hang them up in the front of
the room. Ask for any volunteers to present first, if there is no one who volunteers call on a
group to present. Each presentation should have three speakers, one speaker describing their
assigned role, along with their definition of free trade; a second speaker describing the pros of
free trade; and the third speaker describing the cons of free trade. Since it was mentioned that
they should all be ready to present their findings, randomly select three students from each
group.
Procedure 4: Class Discussion/Wrap-up 8 min.
Once all three groups have presented, have a class discussion that involves the following
questions:
-Did any of the definitions of free trade, from the three groups, differ? If so, how and why
do you think there were differences?
-What were differences in the pro column among the President, consumer, and business
owners? Where there any similarities? Why do you think there were differences and
similarities between the groups?
-What were differences in the con column among the President, consumer, and business
owners? Where there any similarities? Why do you think there were differences and
similarities between the groups?
-How does free trade affect countries other then the United States? Is it beneficial? Use
evidence from the documents or discussion.
-Should countries around the world participate in free trade?
Procedure 5: Explanation of assignment 2 min.
Find one recent (within the last two years) multi-paragraph article from a newspaper,
magazine, or another credible Internet source that represents a contemporary opinion on the free
trade debate. Make sure the article does not only pertain to the United States. It should
involve at least one or several other countries around the world. Read the article and write
one paragraph summarizing its main points. Students must turn in a photocopy of the article and
their summary for credit.
Keywords to use when searching databases (use combinations): tariff, WTO (World Trade
Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), protests
Assignment attached in appendices
Assessment of Outcomes:
Students will:
-Evaluate the positives and negatives associated with free trade by reading, writing, and
engaging in discussion over documents concerning to business owners, consumers, and
the United States President.
-Assess how the United States and other countries participate in free trade around the
world by looking at certain topics, specifically related to economics, including quotas,
tariffs, and subsidies.
-Examine how the United States relates to other countries by furthering their analysis of
free trade by applying it to other countries in their analytical take-home assignment.
Extensions and Adaptations:
-The teacher should extend the lesson by incorporating a deeper presentation about the
history and the impacts of free trade.
-The teacher could also extend the lesson by talking about other countries and the extent
to which they participate in free trade.
-The teacher could also discuss the different institutions that are involved with free trade
including, but not limited to, the World Trade Organizations (WTO) and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
-An adaptation to this lesson is dependent upon class size. If the class size is relatively
larger, the teacher can incorporate more assigned positions, including other countries
around the world.
ESOL Adaptations:
-By having the packet containing the different articles, students will constantly be able to
refer back and check their understanding.
-Working in small groups will helps students become comfortably engaged and become
more eager to participate each time the discussion increases in numbers (Power of 2)
-Ideas thought of during the lesson should be written on the board so all students will be
able to reference back to what is being discussed in class.
-The questions provided in the Power of 2 and the class discussion should be projected
onto a screen to allow all students to understand the questions asked. Understanding the
questions will allow students to be confident in expressing their input into the class
discussion.
Resources:
Articles:
Amold, B. (2003, July 31). The pros and cons of pursuing free- trade agreements. Retrieved
from http://www.policyalmanac.org/economic/archive/free_trade_agreements.shtml
Blinder, A. S. (2008). Library of economics and liberty. Retrieved from
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FreeTrade.html
Free trade pros/cons. (2005, March 19). Retrieved from http://www.rosehulman.edu/class/hu/Christ/va199/intltrade/discuss.htm
Supplemental teacher resource:. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.southerncenter.org/la_feb01_trade.pdf
Appendices:
Articles listed under resources
PowerPoint Slide
Name:
Date:
_____/5 points
Should countries around the world participate in free trade?
Instructions: Find one recent (within the last two years) multi-paragraph article from a
newspaper, magazine, or another credible Internet source that represents a contemporary opinion
on the free trade debate. Make sure the article does not only pertain to the United States. It
should involve at least one or several other countries around the world. Read the article and write
one paragraph summarizing its main points. Students must turn in a photocopy of the article and
their summary for credit.
Keywords to use when searching databases (use combinations): tariff, WTO (World Trade
Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), protests