Objective: Demonstrate the allocation of resources between the United States and China.

 Materials:
Candy bars (at least 13, but you may want to have enough for everyone)
Masking tape

 Preparation:
Before class, use the masking tape to mark off an area of the floor approximately 3 feet by 3 feet. This area should be slightly uncomfortable for 9 people to stand within. Mark off an identical area elsewhere in the classroom. One are represents China and the other represents the United States.

 Demonstration:

1. Ask students for volunteers. Have 9 people stand in the taped area representing China and 2 people stand in the area representing the United States. Make sure everyone stays inside the tape. The “China people” like to try to keep one foot outside the tape to avoid crowding.

2. Tell the students that one area represents China and the other represents the United States. The two countries have similar land areas, but notice the difference in population.

3. Next tell the students we are going to distribute resources according to income. Give the people in the United States 4 candy bars each (8 total). Give the people in China 5 candy bars TOTAL. You may want to give the candy to a “leader” so they have to figure out how to divide 5 candy bars among 9 people.

4. Have the students remain in their areas. Ask them some questions to generate discussion: How does it feel to be in China? How does it feel to be in the United States?

5. Let the volunteers return to their seats. Continue the discussion using the Power Point slides in the file resource-slides.ppt or
resource-slides.pdf.