Virginia SOL WG.16.a
The Standard
examining factors that influence the distribution of economic activities and trade
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science · The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the impact of the growing interdependence of the world by
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use maps, data, and examples to explain why farms, factories, and services are located in certain places. They connect resources, labor, transportation, markets, technology, and government policies to trade patterns.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a product, students can explain where it is produced and traded using several pieces of evidence. They can predict how a change in costs, resources, policy, or transportation could shift production.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think countries make everything they use or trade only with nearby countries. They may confuse imports with exports or assume low wages are the only reason companies choose a location.
How to Assess It
- Use this exit ticket: “A bicycle uses aluminum from Australia, gears from Japan, and assembly in Vietnam before sale in Virginia. Explain three reasons for this pattern.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups product, resource, labor, and port cards, then have them choose a factory site and defend its trade route.
Ask students to write: “Should a clothing company choose lower wages, skilled workers, or nearby customers when locating a factory?”
Run a trade route game where teams respond to event cards such as port closures, tariffs, fuel price increases, and new rail lines.
Have students check clothing labels, map the countries of origin, and infer why each item may have been produced there.
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Printable WG.16.a Worksheet
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Related Standards
- WG.6.d
explaining important economic characteristics, including the distribution of economic activities and global trade.
- WG.8.d
explaining important economic characteristics, including the distribution of economic activities and global trade.
- WG.11.d
explaining important economic characteristics, including the distribution of economic activities and global trade.
- WG.4.d
explaining important economic characteristics, including the distribution of economic activities and global trade.
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