DSE Geography | Globalisation Lesson Prep | From a phone made in six places to the development gap

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Geography

Students know globalisation is either good or bad but cannot describe the mechanism. This lesson uses a phone assembled from six places: where parts are made, where assembly happens, and how freight and tariffs move cost. Only then does the class discuss who gains and who is excluded, turning an opinion question into one with numbers.

Objectives — Students can: (1) use the production chain to explain how firms allocate stages and name two locational considerations; (2) calculate the effect of tariffs and freight on unit cost and explain how trade liberalisation affects price and output; (3) assess winners and losers using trade share and inequality figures, and propose one management measure with its limitation.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Industrial location	What two families of factors drive siting?	Cost and market or policy
Trade	Why does trade raise total output?	Comparative advantage and division of labour
Development indicators	What is the weakness of GDP per head?	Ignores distribution and environmental cost

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Three-question check	Location factors, comparative advantage, GDP limits	Answer orally
8-24 min	Chain breakdown	A phone from 6 places	Draw the flow with places
24-38 min	Costs	Tariff 12%, freight from 18.0 to 2.5	Compute three costs
38-50 min	Winners and losers	Trade share 39 to 57 per cent, gap widens	Debate and write points
50-57 min	Timed practice	One data question, one assessment	Work alone
57-60 min	Exit check	Three checkpoints, one question each	Self-mark and circle slips

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: The chain: one phone, six places

A phone retailing near 400 US dollars draws parts from 6 countries or territories: chips, screen, battery, casing, assembly and software each sit where conditions suit best. Two considerations decide the placement: unit labour cost and reliability of delivery. It is therefore not where labour is cheapest but where it is cheap and dependable. Assembly leaves the factory at about 40 dollars, under a fifth of the retail price, which is why design and brand stay in high-income economies while assembly margins stay thin.

Require six boxes with place and reason, at least one of which must not be cheap labour.

Scene 2: Costs: how tariffs and freight redraw the map

At a tariff of 12% the unit cost rises from 40.00 to 44.80 dollars, an extra 4.80, or about 1.2 per cent of retail. Freight falling from 18.0 to 2.5 dollars per unit, a cut of 86.1 per cent, is the physical basis of global production: cheaper transport shrinks the penalty of distance and lets stages spread further apart. The key distinction for answers: falling freight is technology, falling tariffs are policy, and the two must not be merged into one sentence.

Insist on separating the freight line from the tariff line in every answer.

Scene 3: Winners and losers: the distribution behind the totals

Trade rose from 39 to 57 per cent of GDP, up 18 percentage points, so the total clearly grew. Over the same period the inequality measure moved from 0.42 to 0.47, so distribution worsened. Growth and harm can be true together, and that is the structure an assessment answer needs. Name three groups of losers: displaced low-skilled workers, small farmers excluded from supply chains, and regions bearing environmental cost. Then give one measure with its limitation: retraining, minimum wage, or supply chain environmental standards.

Fixed answer format: judgement, two pieces of supporting data, one counter-argument.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Chain description	A product map of sources	Write stages in order with a reason each	Six stages, specific reasons
Cost calculation	Tariff 12% and freight change	Unit cost first, then share of retail	44.80 dollars
Data response	Trade share and inequality both rise	Trend, relationship, limitation	All three parts
Assessment	Has globalisation benefited everyone	Two points each side, data-based, then degree	Judgement with concession

Sanity check (teach this): Numbers must agree: the 4.80 dollar tariff effect is only 1.2 per cent of retail, so tariffs are not the whole story, while the 86.1 per cent freight fall matters more; and trade rising 18 points while the gap measure rises is not a contradiction. If a student doubles the cost with a ten per cent tariff, send them back to the base.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Unit cost 50 dollars, tariff 10 per cent, find import cost	55 dollars	Multiply, do not add a fixed sum
Freight falls from 20 to 4, percentage cut	80 per cent	Base is the original freight
Name two losers and one policy response	Low-skilled workers, small farmers; retraining or standards	State the limitation

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Equating globalisation with Westernisation	Says it means cultural uniformity	Separate economic, cultural and political dimensions.
Merging freight and tariff falls	Calls both simply lower costs	One is technology, the other policy; answers must separate them.
Totals without distribution	Says globalisation is always good	Totals rose and the gap measure rose; write both.
Wrong base in percentage work	Adds 10 dollars to a 50 dollar cost and calls it 110 per cent	Apply the rate to the original cost, not the retail price.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Geography chapter index — All chapters
Geography practice papers — Globalisation: one data and one assessment question

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Chain	Three places and a reason each	No reasons: return to the two considerations
Cost	Effect of a 12% tariff on 40 dollars	Says 12 dollars flat: fix the base
Distribution	Why trade growth can widen the gap	Only says some lose: name the three groups

09 Tutor FAQ

Must students memorise trade figures?

No. Direction and order of magnitude suffice; the mechanism and the assessment earn the marks.

How does globalisation link to sustainability?

Through supply chain environmental cost and cross-border standards, not slogans.

Which case study works best?

A phone or garment chain students already know; data is easy to find and location reasons are clear.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.