Materials

• Class notes

Instructional Activities

1. Review the content from the previous session.
   
   
2. Ask students whether they regularly eat beef products. Explain that in areas of the Hindu religion, cows are considered sacred and therefore cannot be eaten. This is a good example of the way the culture of an area dictates how resources are used.
   
   
3. Display the following on the board or overhead:
   Social and economic priorities that influence a culture’s perspective on resources include
   • economic development priorities
   • environmental conservation priorities
   • priorities of indigenous minorities.
   Discuss each of these influences on the use of resources. Provide examples to facilitate understanding. For example, a nation that has a high number of people of a specific religious faith may invest a significant percentage of resources to build religious centers. Also, an area that has experienced recent, long-term drought may invest a large amount of resources to develop water conservation methods. Ensure students know the meaning of indigenous.
   
   
4. Explain that technological innovations may create a new demand for certain resources at the same time they decrease the demand for other resources. For example, the introduction of the automobile created a high demand for the resources necessary to produce automobiles, such as metal or glass. However, as the automobile gained in popularity, demand for horses as a means of regular transportation decreased.
   
   
5. Display the following on the board or overhead:
   Examples of technologies that have created demand for particular resources are the
   • steam engine — demand for coal
   • internal combustion engine (cars and trucks) — demand for gasoline (petroleum)
   • computer chips — demand for skilled labor.
   Discuss the impact of each of these technologies on the demand for the resources.
   
   
6. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources.