Enhancing Social Studies Curricula with Economics
Visualizing GDP with Gapminder.org By Matt Moore (Sleepy Eye High School)
LESSON DESCRIPTION This lesson utilizes an infographic website called Gapminder.org to teach students about the economic concept Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Students will use Gapminder.org to identify, compare and research the GDP’s of different countries throughout different time periods. Two different handouts are used to guide students through the website. The students begin by identifying and comparing data, and work their way toward synthesizing and analyzing information presented to them.
CONTEXT This lesson was designed for a 7th grade Geography class in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Sleepy Eye is a rural community in south-central Minnesota with a population near 3,000. The public school has roughly 250 students attending grades 7-12. 30% of the student body is Hispanic and 50% receive free and reduced lunch.
IMPORTANCE Ask anyone who has taught Geography and they’ve probably been asked one of the following questions: “What’s the richest country in the world?” OR “What’s the poorest country in the world?” While it is nearly impossible to approach or answer these questions objectively, researching and comparing the GDP’s of different countries provides students with a unique starting point. It also presents an excellent opportunity for economic concepts to be connected to geographic content. By utilizing technology in the classroom, educators and students can make this connection in a new way. The creators of Gapminder.org have developed one of the most creative ways to present complex data in a visual appealing format. By utilizing colors, shapes and movement, the website has the power to bring economic and geographic content to life. I’ve witnessed its ability to capture the attention and imagination of students, and guide them toward new discoveries and inquiries.
AGE LEVEL 12 - 14 years old
ECONOMIC CONCEPTS Gross Domestic Product Final Goods Intermediate Goods Per Capita Gross Domestic Product
CONTENT STANDARDS A nation’s overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies, and others in the economy. (NCEE Content Standard 18)
OBJECTIVES Students will: - Define GDP - Calculate Per Capita GDP - Compare the Per Capita GDP’s of different countries - Identify which geographic regions have high and low GDP - Identify correlations between GDP and life expectancy, fertility rate and mortality rate - Research the GDP’s of specific countries (look for advantages that may lead to a high GDP or disadvantages that may lead to a low GDP)
TIME REQUIRED 4 - 5 Class Periods
MATERIALS -
Transparency of Visual 1 Transparency of Visual 2 Transparency of Visual 3 Transparency of Visual 4 Copy of Activity 1 for each student Copy of Activity 2 for each student Copy of Activity 3 for each student Copy of Activity 4 for each student Access to Computer Lab
Visualizing GDP with Gapminder.org
PROCEDURE 1. Begin by asking the class a series of anticipatory questions: a. How could anyone determine if a country is “wealthy”? b. How could anyone determine if a country is “poor”? c. To what extent does money buy happiness?
8. Once students have an understanding of the definition and components of GDP, continue with the PreAssessment. Collect the Pre-Assessment when all students have finished
2. Explain to the class that they will engage in an activity that asks them to compare countries using an economic concept called “GDP.”
10. Explain to students that it is possible to break down that larger number into something that is easier to understand. For example, if the GDP of the United States was to be distributed evenly amongst all of the citizens of the United States, how much money would each of us get? We would be calculating our “Per Capita GDP.”
3. Distribute Activity 1: Pre-Assessment. Students should respond to the following questions: a. What is GDP? b. What can GDP tell us about a country? 4. Ask students to pause after they have answered the second question of the Pre-Assessment. Take a moment and define Gross Domestic Product by displaying Visual 1. 5. Explain that GDP is used as an indicator of a country’s economic health. It can be measured by looking at several different components of an economy. (Note to teacher: Because “net exports” is a difficult concept for younger students to grasp, an adaptation can be made to focus only on household, business and government spending and avoid any confusion associated with international trade.) 6. Display Visual 2 and stress the difference between a “final” and “intermediate” good and service. Ask the following questions: a. What does the word “Intermediate” mean? (In the middle) b. Why might the siding used on a new house be called an “intermediate” good? (The siding and many other materials are used by builders and construction workers to make a final product. The final product will be the new house.) c. Have students explain why the other products are intermediate goods. (All products are used to produce something else that will be sold to a final buyer.) 7. Have students categorize the final goods and services listed on Visual 2 according to the main components of GDP. (dresses, new houses and bread are purchased by households. Army tanks and highway improvemenst are examples of government purchases. The solar panel roof is an example of a business investment.)
9. Ask for students to guess the GDP of the United States ($13.78 Trillion in 2007)
11. Ask students to calculate the Per Capita GDP of the United States. Divide GDP ($13.8 Trillion) by population (306 million). Answer: Roughly $45,000. 12. Explain that this number is an “average” and can be somewhat deceiving. Discuss the following: a. Does everyone in America make $45,000 a year? b. Do some people make less? c. Do some people make more? d. Do you think this wage accurately reflects the community you live in? 13. Explain to the students that they will now have the opportunity to become “Economists” and will calculate a GDP and Per Capita GDP of a fictional country. 14. Display Visual 3. Play the “Roomful of GDP” game. Students will be moving and working in pairs or groups, attempting to calculate a value for all of the objects in the classroom. Assist the students as they attempt to determine the GDP of the fictional “country.” Point out objects that should be included in their calculations (books, desks, maps etc.) 15. Bring everyone back together and have the students share the numbers they came up with for the GDP of the classroom. Once everyone has shared their numbers, ask them to calculate the Per Capita GDP by dividing their fictional GDP by the number of students in the classroom. Chart the Per Capita GDP’s on the transparency as each student calculates their numbers.
Visualizing GDP with Gapminder.org
16. Explain to the students that they will be working on computers to compare and research the GDP’s of different countries. Before allowing the students to log onto the internet, briefly overview the structure and format of the Gapminder charts that they will be viewing.
22. Distribute Activity 3: Gapminder.org Research Handout. Tell students that they will expand on their knowledge of GDP by trying to discover the background behind some of the countries displayed on the Gapminder chart.
17. Display Visual 4. Discuss the following questions until all students feel comfortable viewing and interpreting the chart. a. What is being measured on the X axis? (Per Capita GDP) b. What is being measured on the Y axis? (Life Expectancy) c. What year is currently being displayed? (2007) d. What do the colors represent? (Geographic Regions) e. What Geographic Region is represented by the color red? (Southeast Asia, Australia & Oceana) f. What does the size of each bubble represent? (population: the larger the bubble, the larger the population) g. If each bubble represents a country, which do you think is the United States (large yellow bubble in the upper right corner) h. Which bubble is China? (largest red bubble near the center)
23. Students should use Gapminder.org to identify countries that are high and low on the Per Capita GDP scale. Next, they should use the CIA World Factbook to research the countries and determine some factors that may have contributed to their position on the chart. (Note: Students should focus on 4 sections of the Factbook: Background, Environment Current Issues, Economy Overview and Disputes.)
18. Take students to a computer lab. Hand out Activity 2: Gapminder.org Introductory Handout. 19. Demonstrate how the Gapminder chart works: a. Pressing “Play” will cause bubbles to move over time. b. Pressing “Stop” will cause the chart to pause on a particular year. c. Holding your cursor over a bubble will tell the name, GDP and life expectancy of a country. d. If bubbles move up (life expectancy is increasing over time) e. If bubbles move to the right (GDP/capita is increasing over time) f. If bubbles increase in size (population is increasing) g. Different sets of data can be loaded into the chart by selecting the arrows on the X and Y axis. 20. Allow students to work on Activity 2. It may be beneficial to explain and demonstrate how to find the answers to the first several questions. 21. Collect handouts and review the main points when everyone is finished: a. What regions are high on scale? (Europe and the Americas) b. What regions are low? (Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia) c. Why might that be? (Climate, Natural Resources, Trade etc.)
24. Once students have finished, bring them back together as a large group to allow them to share their research findings with each other. 25. Collect handouts and review the main points of the lesson by asking the following questions. a. Why did some have high GDP? (Possible answers: stable government, abundant natural resources, highly educated population, strong infrastructure, vast trade network etc.) b. Why did some have low GDP’s? (Possible answers: harsh environment, natural disasters, country was exploited throughout its history, corrupt government, embroiled in warfare, economy is driven by one commodity etc.)
CLOSURE 1. Distribute Activity 4: Post-Assessment. Students should complete to the best of their ability. 2. When everyone is finished, review the main points of the lesson: a. What is GDP and what can it tell us? (Gross Domestic Product, it can tell us about the economic health of a country) b. What regions are high and low on the GDP scale? (Europe and the Americas tend to be high, SubSaharan Africa is low) c. What factors contribute to a country’s position on the GDP scale? (History, Conflict, Environment, Natural Resources, Trade Network, Education Systems, Infrastructure, Government stability, etc.) d. How can GDP be deceiving? (does not reflect everyone in the country)
Visualizing GDP with Gapminder.org
ASSESSMENT Collect Activity 2 and 3 from students. - Refer to Answer Key for answers to Activity 2 - Activity 3 should demonstrate that the student utilized the CIA World Factbook to determine the background of certain countries Collect Post-Assessments, compare to Pre-Assessment data.
RESULTS Students showed considerable growth in a number of areas measured by the Pre and Post Assessments. -
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Definition of GDP o Pre: 8% could define or describe GDP o Post: 82% could define or describe GDP o In the Pre Assessment, only 4 students thought that GDP might have something to do with money. During the Post-Assessment, 18 students mentioned the words “money” or “economy.” What can GDP tell us about a country? o Pre: 78% mentioned only the words “rich” or “poor” o Post: 12% mentioned only the words “rich” or “poor” o In the Post Assessment, students referenced many more things that GDP can tell us about a country (relation to Life Expectancy, Birth Rates, Resources, Economy, etc.) Can GDP be deceiving in any way? o Pre: 45% said yes o Post: 82% said yes
In relation to geographic content, students demonstrated growth in a variety of ways. During the Pre-Assessment, 86% of students thought that the United States and Europe were the only regions with high GDP’s. There was a 44 % increase in the number of students who mentioned Southeast Asia having a high GDP in their post-assessments. Overall, 100% of students correctly identified a high GDP geographic region and a low GDP geographic region in their post-assessments.
ADAPTATIONS For lower level learners, Activity 2 can be adapted so that fewer variables are focused on. Questions referring to the 1800’s can be removed. The “Correlation” questions can also be removed so data can remain the same on the Y axis.
EXTENSION While the formulation and uses of GDP are complex and controversial, time constraints and age level considerations may prevent some from analyzing the limitations of the economic concept. For those interested in this analysis, a Robert F. Kennedy speech from the University of Kansas in March of 1968 provides an excellent starting point. In the speech, Kennedy mentions that GDP can not measure “that which makes life worthwhile.” For a longer excerpt and video of this speech, log onto: http://www.alternet.org/story/79474/ Students could also expand on this line of thinking by comparing a GDP scale to the Gross National Happiness scale or the Happy Planet Index. A discussion could be held on the comparison of these measurements and the relationship between money and happiness.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The “Final v. Intermediate Goods” visual was adapted from Irena Zaleskiene, Anatoly Venger, Rich MacDonald and Debbie Davis’s lesson: “Gross Domestic Pizza.” Published in Roosters and Robots by the National Council for Economic Education. The “Defining Gross Domestic Product” visual was adapted from the lesson: “Gross Domestic Product and How to Measure It.” Published in Capstone: Exemplary Lessons for High School Economics by the National Council for Economic Education.