LESSON PLAN:TRADE WARS: THE CANDIDATES TAKE A STAND

By Lisa Prososki, an independent educational consultant and former middle school and high school social studies, English, reading and technology teacher.

Subjects: social studies, government, world cultures, economics

Estimated Time: Two to three 50-minute class periods plus additional time for extension activities.

Lesson Objectives:
Students will:

1. Formulate opinions about topics related to trade.
2. Support their opinions using reasons, facts, and examples gathered from primary source research and classroom activities and discussions.
3. Analyze primary sources and develop lists of pros and cons related to what they have learned.
4. Work as a group to develop a graphic organizer.
5. Participate in large and small group debates and discussions.
6. Construct a persuasive essay with supporting reasons, facts, and examples based on research
findings.

Correlation to National Standards

Background:
As the 2004 presidential election approaches, one of the topics taking center stage is trade. With the U.S. economy struggling since 9/11, Americans are wondering which candidate will offer the best solutions for addressing the country's economic issues. With U.S. jobs moving overseas, and unemployment in nearly every sector of the job market, U.S. voters are listening carefully to what candidates plan to do in regard to government programs, NAFTA, and providing incentives to keep American jobs in America.

Materials Needed:

1. Campaign Trade Plans and Policies Research Guide worksheet (in PDF)

2. Access to photocopies or online versions of the NewsHour article listed below:

• "U.S. Jobs Going Overseas Becomes Election 2004 Issue"
  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june04/outsource_3-10.html (Printer-friendly PDF)

3. Access to photocopies or online versions of the PBS Web site NOW with Bill Moyers. This site focuses on Politics and Economy: Trade Issues

• http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/electiontrade.html
  

4. Current newspaper, news magazines, Internet resources, and other library research materials that students can use to complete required research needed to formulate opinions for the persuasive essay.

Procedures:
1. Spark student interest in the topic by posing a question like:

"Would you rather buy a product you want, such as a CD player or a pair of tennis shoes,
that is "Made in America" or one that comes from another country where it could be
produced cheaply and sold to you for less money?"

2. Have students think about the question for a few seconds. During that time, begin creating a graphic organizer such as a Word Web or Concept Map on the board or overhead for all students to see. The main topic on the graphic organizer, Trade, should be listed for students.

(see Teachervision at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4306.html or Education Place at http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ for printable graphic organizers and ideas)

3. Facilitate a classroom discussion based on the question. Discuss whether students would prefer products "Made in America" or a lower priced product. Allow for some debate about the issue. Discuss how much more they might be willing to pay.

4. Explain to students that trade is becoming an important issue in the upcoming presidential election for a number of reasons. Share the article from NewsHour Extra at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june04/outsource_3-10.html Entitled "U.S. Jobs Going Overseas Becomes Election 2004 Issue." This story examines outsourcing and the politics of trade at is relates to President Bush's re-election campaign.

5. Spend time discussing the idea of outsourcing jobs and the effect it has on the U.S. economy as well as individuals. Document this using the graphic organizer set up in Step 2. With trade in the middle, use topics such as jobs, U.S. economic impact, international impact, local impact, and personal impact, and have students work as a class to brainstorm how trade issues effect everyone.

Assist students with developing this graphic organizer by sharing the data available at the U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ to find projections for job growth over the next ten years as well as a wide variety of resources about the types of jobs that will be needed in the upcoming decade.

NOW with Bill Moyers http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/electiontrade.html also offers a variety of resources related to the economy. This site focuses on Politics and Economy: Trade Issues. There are a number of reference resource links, calculators, and articles/interviews that can be accessed in relation to the 2004 election. Of particular interest could be the Facts and Figures and Features sections. These include projections for job loss in the U.S. between now and 2015 as well as comparisons between the salaries of U.S. and foreign workers. There is also
information about NAFTA and some of the controversies surrounding it.

6. Once you have completed the graphic organizer, students should begin to see that all people are affected by trade issues. As consumers, we all feel the impact of decisions related to trade each and every day.

7. Next, explain to students that they will be conducting research about how the presidential candidates intend to address trade issues if they are elected to office. Distribute the Campaign Trade Plans and Policies Research Guide worksheet to every student. Review the directions for completing the research guide. Direct students to use primary sources to find the answers to questions about trade and trade policies. Encourage students to record as much information as possible. Some sites to direct students to might include:

• John Kerry for President http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/trade/
• http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/
• Bush/Cheney '04 http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/
• http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/read.aspx?ID=2005
  

These sites state specifically what the Democratic and Republican candidates positions are in regard to trade policies and practices. Third party candidates can also be included on the research guide.

For questions related to NAFTA, students could choose to visit Public Citizen: Global Trade Watch: NAFTA

• http://www.citizen.org/trade/nafta/index.cfm
  

This site, sponsored by an independent group, tracks and discusses the effects of NAFTA after the first ten years. They focus on the negative aspects of NAFTA. For information about the positive effects of NAFTA over the past ten years, visit International Trade and Investment for an article entitled "The Business Roundtable Joins North American Business Leaders In Declaring NAFTA And Its Investment Provisions An Outstanding Success" at:

• http://www.brtable.org/TaskForces/TaskForce/document.aspx?qs=6D45BF159F249514481138A74EA1851159169FEB56D3FB6

After students have completed their research, they should be assigned to small groups of 4-6 students. Using what they have learned and the worksheet as a guide, they should discuss each candidate's plan for dealing with trade issues if elected to office. Within their groups, students should share:

• the answers they have for each questions
• their lists of pros and cons
• what plans seem to make sense, and which ones do not
• questions or concerns they have about specific candidate's plans

9. As groups are discussing, move around the room and try to assist with questions students have as well as moderating debates as needed within the small groups.

10. Close the small group discussion and bring the class together. Revisit the original question:

"Would you rather buy a product you want, such as a CD player or a pair of tennis shoes, that is "Made in America" or one that comes from another country where it could be produced cheaply and sold to you for less money?"Have students changed their opinions since learning more about trade issues? If so, why or why not?"

11. To conclude the lesson, ask students to write a 3-5 paragraph essay that addresses the following:

If the elections were held today and you had to choose a president based solely on each candidate's position regarding trade, which candidate would you choose? Give 2-3 reasons, facts, or examples to support you answers. Encourage students to use information from their research guides and class discussions as they compose their essay.

Extension Activities:

1. Students could conduct research about how government trade policies have impacted their particular state or region of the country. What industries have been affected by current trade policies? Have the effects been positive or negative? How have trade policies affected the economy in this state or region? Based on what they learn, have students write to local or national political leaders to share their opinions about trade issues.

2. Have students learn more about NAFTA and its effects on the U.S. and worldwide since it's signing ten years ago. Is it having the desired effect on the world economy? What parts of the agreement are positive? What aspects have turned out to be negative? What are the some of the potential future effects of NAFTA? Have students create a visual (timeline, brochure, poster, cartoon) that reflects what they learned about NAFTA and their opinion about the agreement.

National Standards

Relevant National Standards:
McRel Compendium of K-12 Standards Addressed:

Economics
Standard 6: Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy.
Standard 10: Understands basic concepts about international economics.

Civics
Standard 20: Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations
and groups in American politics.

Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 1: Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument

Language Arts
Listening and Speaking
Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Reading
Standard 7: Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of
informational texts.

Writing
Standard 1: Uses general skills and strategies of the writing process
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes

Author Lisa Prososki is an independent educational consultant who taught middle school and high school social studies, English, reading and technology courses for 12 years. Prososki has worked with PBS TeacherSource and has authored and edited many lesson plans and materials for various PBS programs over the past nine years. In addition to conducting workshops for teachers at various state and national meetings, Prososki works as an editor, creates a wide range of educational and training materials for corporate clients, and has authored one book.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.