Specialization occurs when people concentrate their production on fewer kinds of goods and services than they consume. Everyone specializes to some degree or another, and, therefore, everyone depends on others to produce many of the things he or she consumes. Specialization also occurs when the production of a good or service is broken down into numerous separate tasks. This is referred to as division of labor. Specialization reduces production costs, resulting in increased production and consumption.
Students benefit themselves and others by developing special skills and strengths. Encourage students to begin thinking about what "special" job they may want to pursue in the future. Students also should consider the special skills and abilities that are necessary for the job and how to acquire them. Economists refer to the education, skills, and abilities of workers as human capital.
Increased specialization always leads to greater interdependence. This not only is true for communities and for specific production processes, but also for countries. As people in different countries specialize and then engage in international trade, standards of living rise, but the trade-off is that countries must depend on each other to provide desired goods and services.
Do the lesson on Specialization in the very practical Pint-Size Economics curriculum.
Do Lesson 8 on Specialization in the popular modeling clay Economics curriculum. Do this lesson students make hamburgers on an assembly line.
Mount pictures from newspapers and magazines showing community workers doing special jobs to earn income. Write a paragraph explaining why people specialize in different jobs.
Take a "walking tour" through the school, noting all the special jobs that people do. Then create a "School Specialization Book," complete with drawings, pictures, and examples of specialization. Students should note how specialization leads to interdependence.
Draw a picture of workers dividing the labor on an assembly line or in an office. Identify the skills needed for each task. Discuss how dividing the labor usually results in lower production costs.
Identify three jobs. For each job list the special skills, education, and training needed for the job. Write a paragraph describing how workers acquire these skills.
Draw and label a picture of a good or service you want to produce when you grow up. Write a sentence telling why you made that choice.
Make a classroom product using an assembly line. Compare the accuracy and speed of production with that of making the products individually.
Have a "Community Resource Day," inviting community people to come and share about their jobs. Emphasize the education and training needed for these jobs.
On a black line world map, show/draw goods produced by different countries. Write a paragraph entitled, "Why Countries Specialize in the Goods and Services They Produce," or "Why Specialization and Trade Make Countries Interdependent.”
LITERATURE
CONNECTION
You can
use the literature books below to help teach about Specialization. Click on the book cover or the title below to obtain information on the book as well as guided questions you can use with your students. Some books are no longer available from the publishers, but we still include title information and Lessons as you might have them in your school or public library or possibly in your classrooms.
