Two Million Minutes Globalization Movie Activity

Captivate your current issues or human geography students with an eye-opening tour through the lives of fellow teenagers in China and India, comparing their education with the typical American’s, with the debate-inducing documentary, Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination.

This hour-long film makes a great jumping-off activity for incoming freshmen, nearing-graduation seniors, and any high schooler in between for any class ranging from Study Skills, World or US History, Human or World Geography, or Global Issues class.

This resource comes in printable PDF and editable Google Doc files.

Greatness is maximizing the opportunities you're given.

Few American teenagers know the world beyond their own surroundings. That high school will last forever, that sports are more important than academics, that they're only competing with kids from their state for college acceptance and scholarship funds.

Yet that couldn't be farther from reality. The world is shrinking, globalization is here, and competition for college and jobs is fierce.

Open your students to the idea their two million minutes (roughly four years’ time) of high school matter with this eye-opening film, which answers the question, “How do American high schoolers compare to others around the world?”

This movie guide allows your students to compare the values and opportunities of students from the USA, China, and India and reflect on how they're using their own 2 million minutes.

Included in this complete lesson:

• Lesson plan with links and further enrichment ideas
• 2-page student worksheet (PDF and Google Doc)
• Answer key

NOTE: as of the latest update, this movie is available to stream for free (via Kanopy), to rent/purchase a digital copy (via Vimeo), as well as for purchase in DVD format; links are provided, but please check online first or leave me a Q&A to verify, before purchasing this resource.

Enjoy this and other great activities when you get the complete Globalization Unit.

Interested in more inquiry-driven Human Geography units?

• Population Growth: a 3-week unit exploring the simultaneous global problem of explosive population growth as well as alarming decline
• Extreme Poverty: a 3-week unit exploring what it's really like to live on one dollar a day around the world
• Water Supply & Pollution: a 3-week unit exploring our finite freshwater supply and the human rights, pollution, and conservation issues that need urgent solutions
• Fossil Fuels & Alternatives: a 3-week unit exploring our addiction to oil, the harsh impact it is having on our air pollution and greenhouse gas levels, and the urgent need to switch to clean renewable energy sources
• Plastic & Garbage: a 3-week unit exploring the modern invention of garbage, landfills, and single-use disposables, the effects it is having on our oceans, and how a zero-waste lifestyle can be possible
• Global Priorities Research Project: a 2-option, 2-3 week capstone research project where students complete either a one-pager or research essay on the global issue they find most pressing

This listing is for one license for regular, non-commercial classroom use by a single teacher only. Commercial use like online teaching (ex. Outschool) or sharing with other teachers (ex. shared drive, in a Facebook group, in a professional development training) is strictly prohibited.

By purchasing a license to this resource, you have access to all future updates at no cost, available under “My Purchases." Multiple and transferable licenses are available for purchase. PDF files are uneditable, other files have editing abilities, unless otherwise stated. All files are protected under federal copyright laws.

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