Global Connections

Overview

In today’s Business lesson, students explore what globalisation means and how it affects businesses, consumers and communities by analysing everyday products Australians use. The lesson builds a shared class glossary and uses a mix of explicit teaching and hands-on laptop tasks.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explain what globalisation means in business contexts
• develop and refine investigable questions about globalisation and business decisions
• analyse a product from a global perspective using globalisation terms and business concepts
• locate and use information from teacher-provided sources to support claims

Success criteria

Students can:

• define globalisation and at least 6 glossary terms correctly
• identify examples of globalisation in everyday products (trade, imports, exports, international trade)
• ask a clear question that can be investigated (and improve it)
• explain possible reasons a business produces/assembles in a particular country and how it reaches Australia

Curriculum links

• AC9HE9S01: develop and modify questions to investigate a contemporary economic and business issue (globalisation and business decisions)
• AC9HE9K02: explain how economic decision-making involves interdependence of consumers, businesses, the financial sector and government
• AC9HE9S02: locate, select and analyse information and data from a range of sources (using guided sources about product origins/supply)
• AC9HE9K03: explain reasons Australia trades with other nations and identify patterns of trade between Australia and Asia (through import links in everyday products)
• AC9HE9K04: explain processes businesses use for competitive advantage and innovation (e.g. cost, skills, infrastructure, government incentives)

Lesson structure (55 minutes)

1. 0–6 min · Hook: “One Item, Many Countries”. Teacher displays 6–8 product images (banana, Coca-Cola, Nike shoes, smartphone, Apple Watch, Milo, LEGO) and asks: “What countries might be connected to one item before it reaches you?” Students quickly write 3 connections in notebooks, then share one with a partner.

2. 6–18 min · Direct teach: Globalisation + mini-model. Teacher explains that globalisation is increasing connection between countries through trade, technology, communication, travel and business; then models how businesses operate beyond one country. Students add/update the class glossary (laptops + notebooks) with teacher-provided definitions for Trade, Import, Export, International trade, Product, Availability, Supply, Demand, Price, Economy.

3. 18–28 min · Glossary round-robin (interactive). Teacher assigns each group a set of 3 glossary words and provides a short scenario card (e.g. “Australia buys chocolate bars from another country”). Groups complete: meaning in their own words + one example sentence using the word; teacher circulates and corrects.

4. 28–38 min · Question sprint. Teacher gives a prompt: “How does globalisation affect where businesses make products and how products reach Australia?” Students, in groups of 3–4, create an investigable question for one chosen product (from the item pool on the handout). Then they “upgrade” it using a checklist: Is it specific? Does it include business decision(s)? Can we find evidence? Students submit the improved question to the teacher for a quick check.

5. 38–48 min · Hands-on analysis: Around the World Challenge. Groups choose one product worksheet and fill in:

• Which country owns the company?
• Where do you think it is made/assembled?
• How did it get to Australia?
• Why might the company choose to make it there? (costs, skills, infrastructure, government incentives—students choose 2–3 reasons) Teacher provides guided reference information about trade and supply chain ideas (no full research required today). Students use laptops to confirm or refine one claim per box using allowed class sources (teacher-approved pages/files).

6. 48–54 min · Gallery share + interdependence check. Each group presents for 1 minute using sentence stems:

• “Our product shows globalisation because…”
• “Trade links countries through… (import/export/international trade)”
• “Consumers, businesses and government are interdependent because…” Teacher records exemplary glossary usage.

7. 54–55 min · Exit ticket (formative). Students answer: “Define globalisation in one sentence and give one example from your product analysis.”

Resources

• Laptop carts (20) and student notebooks
• Printed “Around the World Challenge” product worksheet (set of products or your class version)
• Class glossary sheet (paper or shared document) with starter definitions for the 10–12 terms
• Product image cards (banana, Coca-Cola, Nike shoes, chocolate, Toyota, Samsung, Apple Watch, Milo, LEGO, Adidas)
• Question checklist card for upgrading investigable questions
• Teacher-approved source pack/files for confirming product origin/ownership clues
• Timer + sentence stem strips

Assessment

• During glossary round-robin: teacher checks correct definitions and example sentences
• During question sprint: quick feedback on whether questions are investigable and focused
• Exit ticket: check understanding of globalisation definition + one real-world example
• Optional during gallery share: teacher notes accuracy in using Import/Export/International trade terms

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters for the worksheet (“It likely arrived in Australia through international trade because…”)
• Offer a glossary word bank on the worksheet aligned to the class glossary
• Use guided “reason bank” (lower labour costs, skilled workforce, infrastructure, government incentives) for the “Why there?” box
• Extension (advanced learners):
• Add a second question: “How might changes in costs or regulations in one country affect prices/availability in Australia?”
• Include one term from Economy or Demand/Supply and link it to the chosen product’s availability in Australia
• Compare two products and propose which has the more complex supply chain and why
• EAL/SEN:
• Allow verbal rehearsal before writing answers; accept short responses that include required terms
• Offer reduced-copy versions of the worksheet (fewer boxes per page) with extra space for key sentence stems
• Dyslexia-friendly reading options:
• Provide the glossary definitions in a dyslexia-friendly format: large font, clear line spacing, and high-contrast paper
• Offer audio read-aloud of glossary definitions and worksheet instructions (teacher or device)
• Provide colour-coded word bank cards (e.g. Trade/Import/Export in one colour group)

Extension (optional)

SKIP