Materials

• Atlases
• Internet access

Instructional Activities

NOTE: The following Web sites may be helpful in the study of natural resources:

• <https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>.
• <http://earthtrends.wri.org/country_profiles/index.cfm?theme=1&rcode=4>.

1. Review the content from the previous session.
   
   
2. Ask students to research, using atlases and other available resources, the natural resources of specified countries. For example, what resources are native to the United States, Japan, Ghana, Ethiopia, or Columbia? Be sure to select countries that have a lot of resources and others that have limited natural resources.
   
   
3. After students have had time to complete their research, ask them to share the results. As they share, make a list on the board or overhead transparency of the resources for each country identified. Ask students to recognize that some countries have more natural resources than others. Ask them to suggest what benefit this would be for those that have many resources and what problems are created for those that have few resources.
   
   
4. Instruct the students to define the following economic terms:
   • Absolute advantage
   • Trade
   • Comparative advantage
   
   
5. Divide the class into groups of three or four students and assign one of these terms to each group. Instruct the group to develop a two-minute presentation to explain their term to the class and provide examples that will illustrate their definition.
   
   
6. Explain that world production is greater when nations specialize in the production of those products that they can produce most efficiently. Provide examples and ask students to explain this concept.