Oklahoma Social Studies 6.C.7.4.B

Social Studies6th GradeContent Standards

The Standard

6.C.7: Analyze the common characteristics of regions which create a sense of identity and unity, influencing the interactions among people and nations of the Western Hemisphere.
6.C.7.4: Describe patterns of economic interdependence and trade linking regions of the Western Hemisphere.

Explain economic interdependence as it relates to the outsourcing of jobs to developing regions.

Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · 6.C.7.4

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain why a company might hire a factory in another country to make its products. They trace how jobs, wages, goods, and payments connect people in both places.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a U.S. shoe company that hires a Vietnamese factory, a student can explain a possible reason, such as lower production costs. They can name a possible job loss at home, a new job abroad, and how the company and factory rely on each other.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think outsourcing means selling products abroad rather than hiring workers there. They may assume every worker at home loses a job or every worker abroad gets good pay and safe conditions.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: A U.S. shoe company hires a factory in Vietnam instead of making shoes locally. Give one reason for the choice, one possible job effect in each country, and one way the company and factory depend on each other.

Lesson moves

Give groups cards for U.S. factory workers, a shoe company, Vietnamese factory workers, and shoppers; use yarn to link jobs, shoes, and payments.
Ask pairs to discuss who gains work, who may lose work, and who depends on whom when a shoe company hires a Vietnamese factory.
Hand out cards reading 'new factory jobs,' 'lost local jobs,' and 'lower shoe prices'; teams sort them by affected group.
Check a shoe label for its manufacturing country, then map how the brand, factory workers, and buyers rely on one another.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.C.7.4.B, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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