“The Trading Game”

“Where would we be without trade?” This was the key question with which the MYP 5 Individuals and Societies students had to grapple in a recent classroom simulation. The game was part of a unit on trade in which the Global Context is Globalisation and Sustainability and the Key Concept is Global Interactions. The unit requires students to explore themes of human cooperation and interconnectedness by investigating the relationship between the free movement of goods and people between nations and the prosperity of those nations. Students examined case studies of successful countries as well as those that have closed themselves off from the outside world, such as North Korea.

As part of the game students were divided into small groups. Each group was assigned the role of an import-export company representative who had the task of travelling to a specific country in order to explore possibilities of trade with that country. Each representative was first given an overview of their country’s economy. This included a description of the goods produced in each as well as possible barriers to trade, such as bureaucratic challenges and tariffs placed on exports. After a period of eight weeks, during which the groups played the game by moving around their countries in search of opportunities to buy and sell, each had to write a letter to their CEO in which they outlined the potential advantages and disadvantages of trading with their country before making a final recommendation as to whether continued trade was feasible or desirable.

The game illustrated the perils of political isolation and highlighted the degree to which our modern world is economically and culturally interdependent. We rely on our neighbours for those resources and ideas which we cannot produce ourselves, just as they depend on us for their needs. If trade in goods and the free movement of labour is inhibited, all of us are impoverished. In a global environment in which some countries have turned their backs on internationalism and become increasingly nationalistic and inward-looking, this was a crucial lesson for our students to consider.

“The trade game has shown us that the world is a smaller and better place to be in because we can now be interdependent” Eve & Yuvaan

“The activity exposed us to multiple perspectives, helping us to understand the interconnectedness of society that comes with trade.” Sneh, Purav, & Varun

Sayli Tongaonkar, Maria Mistry and Peter Clinton

MYP 5 Individuals and Societies Lesson

Human systems and economic activities	The study of how and why people construct organizations and systems; the ways in which people connect locally and globally; the distribution of power and authority.
Social organization and culture	The study of people, communities, cultures and societies in the ways in which individuals, groups and societies interact with each other.
Continuity and change through time	The study of the relationships between people and events through time; the past, its influences on the present and its implications for the future; people who have shaped the future through their actions.
Human and natural environments	The study of the distinctive features that give a place its identity; how people adapt to and alter their environment; how people experience and represent place; the impact of natural disasters on people and the built environment.
Resources and the environment	The interaction between people and the environment; the study of how humans allocate and manage resources; the positive and negative effects of this management; the impact of scientific and technological developments on the environment.

Living things	The study of the characteristics, systems and behaviours of humans and other animals, and of plants; the interactions and relationships between and among them, and with their environment.
Earth and space	The study of planet Earth and its position in the universe, particularly its relationship with the sun; the natural phenomena and systems that shape the planet and the distinctive features that identify it; the infinite and finite resources of the planet.
Materials and matter	The study of the properties, behaviours and uses of materials, both natural and human-made; the origins of human-made materials and how they are manipulated to suit a purpose.
Forces and energy	The study of energy, its origins, storage and transfer, and the work it can do; the study of forces; the application of scientific understanding through inventions and machines. (IBO, 2009)

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