Lesson summary
Students will explore how place and people are connected through trade in goods and services by understanding the components of a smartphone and other electronic products and the environmental and societal exploitation that occurs during their material extraction, production and end of life. Discussions happen on global trade connections, the lifespan of an e-product, and the concept of a circular economy.
Learning intentions:
Students will...
- understand the global flow of trade and trade connections through learning about the life cycle of e-products such as smartphones.
Success criteria:
Students can..
- understand what global trade is
- understand the general paths of the global flow of trade
- discover the global connections that exist within e-products
- be able to identify examples of e-waste through a range of products (such as laptops, phones, cables, etc.)
Lesson guides and printables
Curriculum links
Select your curriculum from the options below.
Lesson details
Skills
This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:
- critical thinking
- communication
- digital literacy
- ethical understanding
- global citizenship
Curriculum Mapping
Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description: Year 9 Geography
The ways that place and people are interconnected with other places through trade in goods and services, at all scales (AC9HG9K07)
General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding
Syllabus outcomes: GE4-3
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability
Relevant parts of Year 9 Geography achievement standards: Students analyse the interconnections between people and places and environments. They identify and explain how these interconnections influence people and change places and environments.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
UN SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
Target 12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
Resources Required
- Device capable of presenting audio-visual recordings
- Student devices with internet access
- Student Worksheet
Additional Info
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium - Facilitate the elevator pitches in the Find Out section.
This Closing the E-Loop unit has been developed in partnership with Comsol, a manufacturer, importer and distributor of electronics, who use a step-by-step approach to sustainability that aims to establish a sustainable, environmental and socially-supporting ecosystem for technology products and services. A key pillar of Comsol’s overarching framework is education. They believe that knowledge-sharing about the electronic waste crisis, sustainability and closed-loop solutions for electronic products provide opportunities for society to speed up the transition to a circular economy.
You can access all expert interviews and video content created for this unit through Vimeo. If you would like more information about the main topics and areas covered by these interviews, we have categorised them to make them easier to find and use in whatever context you see fit!
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