During this week’s inquiry, students explore how the everyday things they use come from all over the globe. You can always challenge students to dig deeper into the inquiry, encouraging them to ask questions, make inferences, and take additional actions. Try the extensions below!
Reading/ELA Extensions
K-5
Source: Somewhere in the World Right Now book by Stacey Schuett
Task: Share a video read-aloud and ask the following questions:
What activities do you see in different parts of the world?
At this moment, people in parts of the world are doing the very same things that you are. But in other parts of the world, people are fast asleep. How can that be?
Have you ever visited, lived in, or known someone from one of the places in the story?
Science and Social Studies
3-8
Source: Video: "The Life Cycle of a T-Shirt" video from TED-Ed
Task: Show the video and explore the following questions:
Can you see similarities to the process described in the production of chocolate? What are the steps of producing a T-shirt?
What are some of the environmental impacts at each stage?
What can everyday people do to reduce these environmental impacts?
Social Studies
K-8
Task: Prompt students to explore one of the countries their items came from. Ask them:
What other goods come from this country?
What is the climate like in this country?
What are the major geographic features that shape life in this country?
Task: Challenge students to watch the video and explore the following questions:
What are some of the steps in the process of making a soccer ball?
What were some of the challenges facing the community before fair trade?
How did fair trade improve life for community members?
Source: "World Map" image and information from the weekly inquiry
Task: Prompt students to label a map with the items they found. Ask them:
How can you use the icons from your infographic on the map?
How can you create a legend to help others understand your map?