Is Globalization Good or Bad?
Driving Question: What are the benefits and challenges of globalization?
Our world is more connected than ever, but not everyone experiences those connections the same way. Dive into real-world examples that show how globalization creates both opportunity and inequality.
Learning Objectives:
- Use evidence to compare the relative benefits and drawbacks of globalization for different groups of people.
- Create arguments using historical evidence to support claims and communicate conclusions through informal writing.
Did you know: The first thing every sold on the internet was a Sting CD, which Dan Kohn purchased on August 11, 1994. It cost $12.48 plus shipping. In 2026, global e-commerce sales are projected to reach around $7 trillion.
Understanding globalization requires us to revisit some familiar terms while learning some fresh ones at the same time. This matching activity will help you connect the old with the new.
Solving a mystery: While globalization in the late twentieth century may have provided a great wealth boost overall, it didn’t address the deepening inequality across and within societies. Have students brainstorm why inequality may have worsened.
- Students can suggest their own ideas.
- They can prompt AI for additional thoughts.
- Together, they determine what evidence would support or refute each argument.
- Finally, groups research each claim and report findings, and then the class debriefs.
What’s the rationale? This inquiry-based approach casts students as investigators. AI becomes a brainstorming partner rather than the final word, helping students probe complex questions using evidence and critical thinking.
Is globalization helping or hurting the world? In this part of the lesson, you’ll explore both sides by watching a video on its benefits, and then reading about the challenges it creates for people, places, and economies.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
In this closer, you’ll weigh the evidence, consider different perspectives, and begin forming your own informed opinion: Is globalization good, bad, or something in between?
Globalization isn’t just about trade deals and big ideas—it’s about people. This article takes you inside Colombia’s flower industry to show how globalization can create opportunities, but also hardships, depending on where you stand.
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Guiding Questions
