Summary
Students will understand the importance of where and why industries choose certain locations according to Weber's Theory of Industrial Location. This is a topic for an AP Human Geography lesson.
Essential Question(s)
Where do industries locate? Why is location important? How can a location support or harm a company's growth?
Snapshot
Engage
Students watch a video about President Trump's promise to keep jobs in the United States and discuss why this promise might be important to Americans.
Explore
Students read a brief history of the Huffy Bicycle Company and identify reasons why the company chose its location and then later relocated.
Explain
Students are introduced to Alfred's Weber theory of industrial location. Students examine the Huffy Bicycle Company through the lens of this theory. Students then apply the theory of industrial location to an Oklahoma company, Braum's Corporation.
Extend
Students write a memo to the Braum's Corporation suggesting a way for the company to become more profitable.
Evaluate
The graphic organizer for the companies, Braum's and Huffy, may serve as the evaluation. The written memo may also serve as an individual assessment.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Huffy Bike Reading student handout (attached)
Braum's Corporation Reading student handout (attached)
Industrial Location graphic organizer (attached)
Engage
Show slides 2–3 with the essential questions. Ask for responses to the questions based on anything students know about industries.
On slide 4, show the video (5:36 minutes) of President Trump talking about bringing back jobs to the United States. You can also find the video here.
Place students in partners. Ask pairs to discuss the questions on slide 5:
What is happening to American companies like Nabisco and Ford? They are moving their companies to other countries.
Why? Because labor is cheaper and they can make more profit.
What is President Trump's plan to deal with this problem? To create tax penalties for American companies that move to other countries when they sell their goods back to the United States. These penalties would make it less profitable to move. President Trump also proposes to negotiate trade deals that will make it more profitable for American workers.
Allow students to share their responses to the questions. As they discuss their responses, reinforce and support those who talk about how industries might choose a location based upon cheaper labor costs to make more of a profit. Ask students to brainstorm how industries might make a profit in other ways. Write these ideas on the board.
Explore
Display slide 6 and ask students to take out a sheet of paper, fold it in half lengthwise, and label the halves "Helped the Huffman Company" and "Hindered the Huffman Company." Pass out the handout about the Huffy Bike Company and ask students to read the handout. As they read, students should look for factors that contributed to the growth or profit of the Huffman Company and factors that contributed to its demise.
After the reading, recreate the chart that is displayed on slide 6 on the board. Through a class discussion, ask students to suggest factors that contributed to company growth or profits and also hindered or harmed its growth. List ideas on the board as students discuss the events in a class discussion.
Explain
Show slide 7. Ask students, "Was location a factor in the Huffman Company's success or problems? Why or why not?" Allow time for the class to discuss this question. Tell students that there is no single right or wrong answer, but you'd like to hear their opinions. Ask students to support their opinions with information from the reading.
On slides 8–10 is Alfred Weber's theory of industrial location. Pass out a copy of the graphic organizer to all students. As you discuss the explanation of each factor in Weber's theory, ask students to write their own version of the definition or copy the main idea of the definition in the boxes provided on the graphic organizer for later use.
Place students in working pairs. Ask pairs to reread the story about Huffy bicycles. Have students each write down information on their graphic organizers from the reading that aligns or corresponds to Weber's theory of industrial location. Allow time for students to complete this activity. Do not move on to the next activity until most or all pairs have completed this part of the graphic organizer. An answer key is provided for this activity.
Pass out the handout about the Braum's Corporation, an Oklahoma company. With their working partners, students will read the information and document the facts that align or correspond to Weber's theory of industrial location on their graphic organizers.
Extend
Depending on available time, you have several choices to extend the lesson further. You might allow students to choose one option of the three or simply assign one option to all students. Each option is designed to reinforce and apply Weber's Theory of Industrial Location.
Option 1 (slide 12): Write a business memo or email to Bill Braum, the CEO of the Braum's Corporation. Discuss how the Braum's Corporation can grow by identifying one area of Weber's Theory of Industrial Location where costs can be reduced in the areas of labor, transportation, the availability of raw materials, agglomeration of economies or markets expanded.
Option 2 (slide 13): Write an advertisement for your hometown describing why this would be an ideal location for a new company. Use at least two of the terms from Weber's theory of industrial location. Describe your town's historical identity, what markets exist to sell products, what types of skilled labor exists, types of transportation available, availability of raw materials, OR other (agglomeration of economies) supporting companies that might be useful.
Option 3 (slide 14): Have students research how Amazon is changing the idea of industrial location by using an internet-driven worldwide market. Students will identify how Amazon products are distributed, where they are distributed from, and how Amazon deals with transportation, shipping, and labor costs. Students will create 3 to 4 PowerPoint slides to explain what they have learned about Amazon. They should use the vocabulary of labor, transportation, availability of goods, supporting companies, and market distribution to explain the company's methods of operation and distribution.
Evaluate
The completion of the graphic organizer by the partners can serve as an assessment. Any of the Extend activities can serve as an individual assessment.
Resources
CNN. (2015, Aug. 19). Donald Trump: I'll take jobs from China, Mexico (CNN interview with Chris Cuomo) [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpNmT5UwTME
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Alfred Weber. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Weber