Baldicer: A Simulation Activity about World Hunger
Lesson Overview and Goals:
Baldicer is a simulation activity where students assume the role of the political leader of a country in an informal “United Nations”. It is student-centered in that the activity allows students to learn from their own experience. The goal of the activity is to have students work together to reflect on the issue of World Hunger. The simulation requires students to interact with each other (because if they don’t, their country will starve!) The simulation, of course, helps the class reflect on global issues; but Baldicer is a fantastic way to get students to take on the role of an advocate for those living in absolute poverty.
Setting Up Baldicer:
1. Each student will need a copy of the Baldicer Tally Sheet.
· It works well to prepare ahead by writing the names of each individual country and the number of starting baldicers on each Tally Sheet. See the list of countries below. Only one country starts with 50 baldicers and should be an industrialized country. Two other industrialized countries will start the activity with 30. The remaining countries, all chosen from the United Nations list of the “50 Poorest Countries in the World” should be given only 5 baldicers to start. You can have students do this by drawing cards with countries and the number of baldicers on them. (The starting number of baldicers for each country will go on Line 13 in Year 1 on the Tally Sheet.)
Industrialized Countries: Include any 3 of the following countries; Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom (Note: China, Japan, and the United States have been purposely left off because of potential political issues that might arise or the students playing the role of these countries might be put in a very difficult position socially. You are certainly welcome to include China, Japan, and the U.S. as it will add an element of realism! Discretion of your own classes and situation is the key here.)
Underdeveloped Countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, East Timor, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia
· Students can use the back of the Tally Sheet for their Work Periods; however, you may need extra blank sheets of paper.
2. Prepare one set of National/Social Forces cards by copying them on card stock, cutting apart, and laminating. You could copy the Natural/Social Forces on a deck of playing cards if you like. You will need at least one card per country, but it is recommended to have quite a few extra each round. You will also need to copy Food Machine cards on colored paper. If you don’t laminate these, you will need to make new cards every year.
3. Copy student handout along with the World Hunger Facts which students will use to create posters after their people have starved to death and they become the World Conscience.
4. Optional: Students can post their country’s flag on their desk and research statistics about their country (ex. www.flags.com, go to United Nations Millennium website at www.undp.org for hunger and poverty statistics per country.)
Rules for students playing Baldicer:
Baldicer is a simulation activity dealing with world food production, food distribution, and food consumption.
In Baldicer, students are the political leader of a country and are responsible for feeding all of their people. All other players have the same responsibility for feeding the people in their country. Each student’s goal is to feed his/her people over the course of seven years by acquiring as many baldicers as possible.
Baldicer is played in rounds that represent years of time. Each year has specific periods to follow.
1. Work Period. Players can earn baldicers for their people by writing “dig, sweat, push, pull” as many times as possible.
2. Natural/Social Forces Period. Players will be given a card from the Game Director – each will have something written on it that will affect their country in either a positive or negative way.
3. Tally Period. Players will compute the Tally Sheet. They need to remember to check all their work carefully, their country’s survival depends on it.
4. Planning Period. This is a time for players to complete negotiations with other countries to keep their people alive. This is also the time to purchase a Food Machine or a Super Food Machine from the Game Director.
Should a country’s people starve despite a student’s best efforts, that student will become the World Conscience. It is up to him/her to let the rest of the world know the facts about world hunger. Players will do this by creating informational posters using the World Hunger Facts from the handout. They are not to interfere with the continuation of the Baldicer activity.
Additional Rules
1. If a player has purchased a Food Machine or Super Food Machine, it is a capital investment and may be kept throughout the game without further cost.
2. If players share their work with another student, they must average their production in the Work Period (example: If one student earns 7 baldicers, and his/her partner earns 3 baldicers, that would equal 10. Divide this number in half and each enter 5 on line 1.)
3. Players must have 0 or more baldicers after purchases are made in order to continue as the leader of the country. They may employ other leaders to work their Food Machine during the Work Period. Payment for such service must be determined by agreement between the two players. Records must be kept by whatever means the players devise (example: If one player is willing to lend another player 6 baldicers to stay in the game, the lender can demand that he/she receive 3 baldicers each year for the next three years. The borrower repays the baldicers PLUS interest. This transaction must appear on both players sheets to be valid.) Each player must keep his own Tally Sheet throughout the game. Deals should be made in such a way that a player has enough baldicers to continue the game.
4. If the total at the end of a year is below zero, the player and his/her people have starved to death. Leaders of “starved countries” become the World Conscience and will attempt to communicate the horror of their fate. Students will have to make posters to warn other countries not to starve! Any technique can be used to dramatize their plight as long as it doesn’t interfere with the activity.
5. Inflation occurs every year and everyone is affected by the rate of inflation. Another thing that affects everyone is the cost of living.
6. An international lending institution or changes to the rules can only be created with the agreement of all countries. Any proposals must be submitted to the Game Director.
Notes:
Introducing & Playing Baldicer:
1. Ask students several questions including:
· What did you have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? How does it feel to be hungry?
· Do you think there are countries in the world where people don’t have enough to eat? Where? Is this true in China or the United States do you think?
· Can world hunger be ended? Why or why not?
· Optional: Students can use the Hunger Facts as a True/False quiz.
2. Tell the class they will have a simulation activity that explores the issue of World Hunger and how to end it.
3. Hand out a Tally Sheet to each student. Note: You can have the students work in pairs in a large class, but it is recommended to have them work as independent countries.
4. Show out the Baldicer Rules sheets.
· Read the Baldicer Rules with students. Check for understanding. If they don’t understand how the activity works, assure them that once the activity begins, it will become clear.
5. Tell the students to turn over their Tally Sheet. Tell them that when you say to begin, you will give them one minute to earn food for their people by writing, “dig, sweat, push, pull” as many times as they can. They will earn one baldicer each time they write the “dig, sweat, push, pull” phrase, WITH COMMAS AND SPELLED CORRECTLY. If they work in pairs, they have to average the amount they write. You can tell them to begin. Walk around the room to monitor things. Stop them between one minute and 1:15. You can adjust this to a shorter time later in the game if you’d like.
6. Walk students through lines 1 – 5 on the Tally Sheet.
7. Pass out a National/Social Forces card to each student or have them draw one from the deck. You can have each student read their card aloud to the class! If you are doing this, students should speak with emotion as they describe the event whether it was good or bad. In the event of a disaster, students should be sure they can be heard so countries can come to their aid! Note: Learning new vocabulary might arise here from words on the card.
8. Walk students through lines 6 – 16. Please note that Lines 9 – 11 are difficult for students and require more time to explain.
9. After figuring the Tally Sheets through Line 16, ask students if anyone is starving.
10. Give the class 5 minutes (first round) and perhaps a few more minutes in later rounds, to make negotiations. Students should be encouraged to get up and talk to other countries. They may borrow or lend baldicers during this period.
11. This is also the time to purchase Food Machines from the Game Director.
12. Start a new Work Period and repeat the process for all seven years or until everyone dies.
· Option: You can have students do one year each day and extend the activity for seven days OR complete the entire activity in two days.
13. As countries starve, the leaders are required to make posters about World Hunger using the facts from the back of their handout to be displayed around the room. These students will become the World Conscience to inform the rest of the world about this issue.
Reflecting on Baldicer:
Discuss the students’ answers on their handout after the activity is complete.
1. Describe the food situation of the people in your country.
2. Did you think you worked hard enough for your people?
3. Based on this activity, make a connection between hard work and the ability of the people in a country to survive.
4. Did you form any coalitions with other countries? How did these help or hinder your people’s survival?
5. What countries were helpful? Which ones were not? Why do you think some were more helpful than others?
6. What kept people from sharing in Baldicer?
7. What keeps countries from sharing in the real world?
8. Explain the importance of a food machine in this activity.
9. The food machines represent modern technology. Using specific examples, what technology can be used to end hunger today?
10. What is absolute poverty?
11. Why is it important to understand absolute poverty?
12. How are people in Sioux Falls affected by absolute poverty? Give examples.
13. Using three of these words (absolute poverty, status quo, welfare, industrialized, developing countries) create a plan that would decrease absolute poverty in our world today.
14. What was your role as the “World Conscience”?
15. Who is the “World Conscience” today?
16. Compare Baldicer to the reality of solving World Hunger today.
17. Please explain what you learned about World Hunger after participating in this activity.
18. Given the chance to play the simulation again, explain what you would do differently.
Baldicer: Natural/Social Forces Cards, Food Machines & World Hunger Facts (on the next pages)
Status Quo+0 / Status Quo
+0 / Status Quo
+0 / Status Quo
+0
Built a new airport
+2 / Silver mine discovered
+2 / New pipeline built
+2 / Welfare reform enacted
+2
Discovery of a new drug
+3 / Unemployment rate improves
+3 / New farm equipment developed
+3 / Construction of new canal finished
+3
Tax relief laws passed
+4 / Rocket launched into space
+4 / New mineral discovered
+4 / Natural fiber for building materials discovered
+5
Improved medical care
+5 / Surplus of immigrant workers
+5 / Oil discovered
+6 / Discovered a cure for cancer
+6
Fire destroys one of your manufacturing plants
-2 / Devaluation of currency
-2 / Farmers go on strike
-3 / Tornado rips through your country
-3
Ozone level worsens
-3 / Volcano erupted
-3 / Dam breaks and floods the land
-4 / Electrical grid fails causing a blackout
-4
Hurricane
-4 / Stock Market takes a dive
-4 / Oil spill harms the environment
-5 / Terrorist attack
-5
Earthquake
-5 / Epidemic sickens thousands
-5 / Severe drought
-6 / Famine – thousands of people are starving
-6
National Revolution
Countries with a food machine -10
Countries without +4 / Nuclear reactor disaster
Food machines are disabled for
two work periods
OR -6 / Labor Strike – scabs hired
For the next work period, you must use the hand you normally do not write with / Civil War continues
Subtract half of your
country’s current Baldicers
FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ FOOD MACHINE (x5 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______/ SUPER FOOD MACHINE (x50 for the Work Period)
This machine belongs to: ______
World Hunger Facts (from Bread for the World www.bread.org)