Specialization

Second and third graders have been learning about specialization in social studies. To apply this concept in order to understand it a little better, we did an activity that would demonstrate specialization. In three groups, students represented three different car factories. Two car factories applied the concept of specialization by using an assembly line, while the other car factory was comprised of single workers. The assembly line factories had one student doing one specific job (such as cutting out the car body or gluing the wheels on) and passing it on to the next person in line to do their part and, in the end, finish making the car. The single worker factory had one worker making the entire car all by themselves, one person did all the cutting, gluing, and coloring themselves. To make it even more interesting, I was the manager of the factories (haha!). When cars were completed by the workers, the car was given to me to inspect. If the car was okay, it was taped on the board as a point for that factory. However, if the car was not up to my standards, it was thrown in the trash. All three car factories began at the same time with the hope that their factory would make the most cars in the 15 minutes they had to do their work. Ready, set, go!!

Students worked hard in their factories and, in the end, it was the two assembly line factories that were the winners. After this activity, we sat down and discussed the meaning of this activity. Students noticed that the assembly line factories worked much better and faster than the single worker factory. Students also pointed out that the assembly line workers got really good at the one job that they had to do. This meant that the car that was made through the assembly line was actually a better product because the workers in the assembly line "specialized" in their own job and did a better job than the single workers. We then discussed how Michigan specializes in certain things, such as cherries, while a place like Florida specializes in other things, such as oranges. These two places do the things that they do best and then they can buy and sell the things that they specialize in to other places. After this discussion, students were given a half sheet of paper to write down their thoughts after this activity.

While reading these sentences, I was extremely impressed with how well students understood this difficult concept. Good job, students!