Globalization and the Environment

• This online course discusses the causes of environmental change over recent centuries, how changes to the environment affect different groups of people, how resource competition and depletion can cause conflicts, and what the world might be like in 2050.
• It includes videos, a UN Sustainable Development Goals worksheet, activities, articles, reading guides, a graphic biography, a writing assignment, and an assessment.
  

Positives

• This resource does a great job of summarizing information, activating prior knowledge, helping students think critically, and allowing students to work on their writing skills with a self-assessment writing rubric.
  
• The graphic biography is an excellent way to introduce the impact of development on Indigenous communities.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers and students will need to set up an account using an email address in order to access the material.
  
• This is part of a series of courses provided by OER.
  
• The PDF worksheets are available for download to print off for students.
  
• Students will need access to a computer and Internet connection to use the online features.
  

Differentiation

• Younger students will benefit from the vocabulary worksheet, summaries, and guided reading sheets.
  
• High school students could have group discussions about the topics covered and then present a summary of the course to the class.
• The topics covered in this lesson could apply to economics, geography, and civics classes.
• Have students discuss the connections between economic systems that rely on consumption and growth and the inability of natural systems on Earth to support indefinite growth in resource use.