How I teach International Business Projects
Many teachers get intimidated by teaching International Business. I find it so interesting and, if presented in an engaging way, your students will love it! I have seen such an increase in student interest in regards to global business after the Covid-19 pandemic supply chain issues and then the Ukraine-Russia War. Students are curious and ask great questions.
International Business Projects
Core concepts that I teach in a four (4) week International Business unit in my full year Business Essentials (Introduction to Business) class are:
- Identify major geographical regions and identify the key countries within those regions.
- Identify and define commodities, imports, exports, and consumer specialties in various countries and regions.
- Awareness of the global community – Where do “things” come from? What regions are known for certain commodities and consumer specialties?
- How do commodities and consumer goods arrive to us in the United states? Identify major waterways and canals in distribution.
- What role does the United States play in global trade?
- Identify and Define free trade and fair trade.
- Discuss tariffs and taxes that commodities and consumer specialties are subject to.
In order for students to gain an understanding of these core concepts, I take them on virtual Google Earth field trips and I complete engaging, interactive, case studies on some popular commodities – avocados, coffee, bananas, and cocoa – that are not mass produced or grown in the United States.
In order for students to gain an understanding of these core concepts, I take them on virtual Google Earth field trips and I complete engaging, interactive, case studies on some popular commodities – avocados, coffee, bananas, and cocoa – that are not mass produced or grown in the United States.
A convenient lesson library is included in this bundle.
These International Business Commodity Case Studies are so engaging and interactive! Students move the commodities on the map to show the countries with top production of that commodity. There are also Google Earth links to countries relevant to the commodities and their production.
Students learn concepts such as:
- Fair-trade
- Imports and Exports
- Ethical Practices
- Fair Labor Practices
- Insurance for Farmers and Growers
- Processes and harvesting of popular commodities
- Economic Impact
- Supply and Demand
- Certified Organic
- …and MORE!
There is a great opportunity for a final project as well.
You can buy all four commodity lessons in the bundle. Each of the four commodities lessons are also sold separately.
Student led instruction opportunity
I also love to take any opportunity to implement student-led instruction in my Business classes. After students learn about some basic international business concepts, students are prompted to select a country in which to complete a diorama project to share with the class. With this teaching approach, I am not doing the instruction – my students are! While students are presenting their international business projects, classmates record takeaways from each presentation.
International Business Projects done for you!
An International Business Unit is done for you in my TpT Store that includes an introductory, interactive international business file where students are moving container ships throughout the United States and throughout the world learning about commodities and consumer specialties, as well as economic impact.
This International Business Projects Unit has it all!
- There is an interactive student activity file as well as a teacher’s key to that file.
- There is a project outlines for 2 options for project completion on a country of choice: Digital or Diorama options
- As students present their project, students can report what they learned in their very own PASSPORT that is included in this file.
- This file also has 15 country banners included that students can populate with commodities, exports, and economic statistics and facts about their country. These banners can be hung and displayed in your classroom to show what was learned during their International Business Unit.
Content covered:
- Imports
- Exports
- Tariffs
- Commodities
- US Ports
- Balance of Trade
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Culture
- Economic Impact
Country banners included:
- China
- Japan
- Italy
- Germany
- India
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Mexico
- South Korea
- France
- Vietnam
- Russia
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
