Alternatively, you can navigate starting with the product. In this case, the yellow numbered circles indicate how many countries use child or forced labor to produce it.

The information is important and well-researched, and it is organized in a very accessible way. I would certainly use it as part of a unit on child or forced labor, but I would also use it with more general units on business or shopping.

Thanks Larry

I haven’t used any of these materials yet, so to get a better understanding, I took a look at one topic in particular. I chose the 9-12 unit on Microfinance. The lesson plan itself is 37 pages, with detailed descriptions of the standards met, and several page-long readings on women and microfinance. It starts with a set of visual aids, a collection of photos and maps that help introduce the issues.

Next, students watch a short (2 min.) video clip profiling a woman in Aceh, Indonesia who is rebuilding her business after the tsunami. There is also a reading that gives additional information on her story, and discussion prompts are included with the visual aids. Many ideas for extension activities are also given, including reading graphs, understanding laws, and learning about gender inequality in the US.

The second part of the lesson uses a 2 min. interview with a woman from the International Food Policy Research Institute. She discusses how improving the economic status of woman also benefits children. Slides in the visual aids take students through a summarizing activity and a discussion of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals. Again, many extension activities are given.

Based on this lesson, I would absolutely look to use these materials in class. They are full of great vocabulary, and engaging activities. And I think the range in grade levels available would make it easy to find something that would work with a class at a variety of English proficiencies.

Via World727

Pollution has been defined as a resource in the wrong place. That’s also a pretty good description of the company’s profits. The great plumes of money that have been bursting out of the company’s accounts every year are not BP’s to give away. They consist, in part or in whole, of the externalised costs the company has failed to pay, and which the rest of society must carry.

Does this sound familiar? In the ten years preceding the crash, the banks posted and disposed of stupendous profits. When their risky ventures failed, they discovered that they hadn’t made sufficient provision against future costs, and had to go begging from the state. They had classified their annual surplus as profit and given it to their investors and staff long before it was safe to do so.

I also like this line, about the fact that (while clearly not being a Marshallese company) the rig is registered in the Marshall Islands.

Flags of convenience signify more than the place of registration: they’re an unmistakable sign that responsibilities are being offloaded.

A lot of students aren’t aware of the underlying assumptions in traditional economics, how corporations are allowed to externalize costs and avoid liability. Business is always a popular topic, and an introduction to alternative economic points-of-view (like these) can be really engaging for students.

And for more on the Gulf oil spill, be sure to check out this list of resources by Larry Ferlazzo. As usual, it’s quite comprehensive and includes a lot of good stuff.

Strange Maps is a great blog that features, well, strange maps. The pictures are really interesting, and the accompanying text is usually informative. A Road Map to Success and Bridge to Nowhere: a Map of Golden Gate Jumpers are examples of maps that I think could be good class prompts. (Thanks Anne)

This infographic from the New York Times shows how different groups of American’s spend every minute of their day. It can be broken down by race, age and gender.

Here is a list of the 15 best websites to get free documentaries. (Thanks Nik)

I found this series of activities on bartering, money and community currency when I was writing about a guy that has been living without money.

Worldmapper has maps on many, many topics, including poverty, gender empowerment, water use and even the number of McDonald’s restaurants. There is such a variety that I bet I could find a map to relate to almost any issue. And I love using visual prompts, as they are often the fastest way to meaningful discussion and writing.

Another feature that I really like is the PDF posters. Each of the maps that I’ve linked to above is also available as a PDF poster, which includes statistics and a short reading on the issue. The poster’s also include a quote related to the issue.

I’m currently teaching a special program for geography / social studies / English teachers from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and I’m certainly going to share this resource with them.