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Big Box Stores

Description

General Assessment

Question	Response
How to develop attitudes?	The unit does develop empathy for others who may be in different economic and social circumstances.
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?	How to write a public service announcement or ad for Radio or TV.
What important, related ideas/issues are not addressed in this resource?	Shipping goods made in intolerable working and environmental conditions in China, and then shipped vast distances around the world, have no climate change or environmental impacts.
What important ideas are implied by the resource, but not taught explicitly?	Big Box store products are made in a vague, dimly-grasped world somewhere outside the US which has no links to the student's lives.
To enhance this resource the following changes are strongly recommended:	The 2007 toxic lead in toys made in China scandal in North America needs to be inserted into the resource in order to make plain the obvious: toxic pollution in China becomes toxic pollution in Western consumer goods and in their homes. Less experienced teachers would profit from side-bar articles explaining how to make links with the local community, such as social justice and labour groups, or visiting wild places currently threatened by big box store developments.
To enhance this resource the following changes would be beneficial:	For a Canadian audience a link to the Walmart in Quebec which was closed due to it's management's opposition to a successful unionization drive, and the legal battle which followed, would be useful. For Canadian and other audiences, web links to social justice groups working on Walmart issues around the world would also be a useful addition.

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle	Rating	Explanation
Bias Minimization	Good	Web links run the gamut from Walmart's own to human rights groups opposed to Walmart.
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions	Good	References to activist's web sites are useful.
Respects Complexity	Good	Somewhat US-centric perspective ie: 'Is this good for the US?'. Does not address CO2 impact of making goods in China with vast air, water, land pollution problems, then climate change C02 impact of shipping those goods around the world.
Action Experience	Mediocre	While national web-sites are referred to, and students are to make local environmental ads, it is not clear how the lesson plan is liked back to local issues in the student's communities.
Action Skills	Very Good	Teaches students how to write a public service announcement or Radio/TV spot ad.
Empathy & Respect for Humans	Very Good	Excellent explanation by neighbourhood activist's sites about discrimination by employers, unpaid overtime, union-busting, and inducements for Walmart employees to spy on one another---many of these activities being targeted at Walmart's poor, and often visible minority workforce.
Personal Affinity with Earth	Poor/Not considered	Experienced instructors might take the class on a field trip to an endangered wild space; but the resource does not support them in doing so.
Locally-Focused	Mediocre	Excellent activist sites from outside of student's communities provide strong examples of what people are doing to change their relationships with Big Box stores elsewhere. However, it is unclear how this is related to local students and their communities.
Past, Present & Future	Mediocre	Much of this was written in 2005. It is not clear whether labour shortages found in Canada after 2005 also apply to the US, where this lesson plan was written. As such, the lesson may be dated by the fact that for 2007 Canadian students, there is a labour shortage, undercutting much of Big Box Stores' traditional poor treatment of its workforce.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle	Rating	Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction	Good	The resource is written from a US perspective, as such there is little mention of poor working conditions and human rights issues in China where Walmart sources the lion's share of its product from.
Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Learning	Good	There is a bit of math in comparing US and Chinese labour and manufacturing costs.
Discovery Learning	Mediocre	Mostly paper-based with the exception of the Radio or TV ads exercise.
Values Clarification	Good	The role-playing should put students in 'other person's shoes'.
Differentiated Instruction	Mediocre	Still mostly a written/oral exercise.
Experiential Learning	Mediocre	Simulation and role-playing.
Cooperative Learning	Mediocre	Some small group work.
Assessment & Evaluation	Poor/Not considered	Experienced teachers will improvise an evaluation scheme; it is not clear what less-experienced teachers, or the students themselves, would do.
Peer Teaching	Mediocre
Case Studies	Very Good	The web links with social justice groups, and their stories of working on Walmart and Big Box store issues, are powerful stories. Similar links with groups working in Canada and throughout the rest of the world, would be a useful addition.
Locus of Control	Mediocre	There is some choice in terms of role-playing and choosing teams for making up Radio and TV ads. Since none of the web site references are from outside the US, it is unlikely that students will make the link with poor working conditions in Big Box stores in their communities, and with poor working conditions in China and other big box supplier countries.

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

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Alberta
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- Grade 10
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  - Social Studies
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    - Social Studies 10-1(Perspectives on Globalization) CitizensResponse to Globalization
    - Social Studies 10-2 (Living in a Globalizing World) Personal Response to Globalization
  - Social Studies (Knowledge & Employability)
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    - Social Studies 10-4 (Living in a Globalizing World) Canadian Response to Globalization
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    - Social Studies 20-2:Understandings of Nationalism: Nationalism & Identity
British Columbia
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Manitoba
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    - Geogarphic Issues of the 21st Century: Industry and Trade
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    - World Geography: A Human Perspective - Unit V - World Industrialization and Urbanization
Newfoundland & Labrador
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    - Canadian Geography 1202: Connections
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    - Canadian Economics 2203:Global Economic Concepts
Northwest Territories
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    - Social Studies 10-2 (Living in a Globalizing World) Globalisation and Sustainable Prosperity
    - Social Studies 10-4 (Living in a Globalizing World) Canadian Response to Globalization
    - Social Studies 10-4(Living in a Globalizing World) Globalisation and Sustainable Prosperity
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    - Social Studies 20-1:Perspectives on Nationalism
    - Social Studies 20-2:Understandings of Nationalism
Nova Scotia
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    - Canadian Economics :Global Economic Concepts
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    - Global Geography: Global Factory: For Whose Benefit?
Nunavut
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    - Social Studies 10-1(Perspectives on Globalization) CitizensResponse to Globalization
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    - Economic Development & Interdependence
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    - Social Studies 20-2:Understandings of Nationalism
Ontario
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    - Civics (Open) Active Citizenship
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    - Making Economic Choices (Workplace Prep.) Self-Interest and Interdependence
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  - Economics
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    - Analysing Current Economic Issues Univ. Prep.) Self-Interest and Interdependence
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    - The Environment & Resource Management:Human-Environment Interactions
Saskatchewan
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    - Social Studies 10: Economic Decision Making
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    - Canadian Studies 30: Economic Development
Yukon Territory
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- Grade 11
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    - Civic Studies: Civic Action
  - Sustainable Resources
    - Step 4Relevant matches
    - Forestry

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Big Box Stores

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Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

A project of

with support from

Big Box Stores

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Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

A project of

with support from