KS3 Geography Teachers' Toolkit: What's the use?

With the global population topping seven billion, an increasingly materialistic world is putting ever more pressure on finite resources. From food, water and energy to new homes, cars and consumer goods, we are using up the planet’s resources at an unsustainable rate. Today’s young people are facing a future in which the sustainability of some of these resources is in question.

What's the Use focuses on a wide range of resources sourced from around the globe, from oil in Russia and the Arctic and water in Kenya, timber in the Amazon and land in Wales, to tuna in the Indian Ocean and diamonds in Sierra Leone. Students will learn about how resources shape their world and where they fit into this story of resource use and exploitation. This will enable them to understand some of the biggest issues facing the world in the 21st century, and what needs to be done to resolve them.

CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Why teach about resources?
Chapter 2: How to teach about resources
Chapter 3: The geography behind resources
Chapter 4: Concepts and curriculum links
Chapter 5: Resources in the news
Chapter 6: Medium term plan

• Lesson 1 The stuff we use!
• Lesson 2 Resources forever
• Lesson 3 Power to the people
• Lesson 4 Black gold: Russia’s oil
• Lesson 5 Something fishy going on
• Lesson 6 A net result
• Lesson 7 Diamonds are forever?
• Lesson 8 Sierra Leone’s resource curse
• Lesson 9 Made to last?
• Lesson 10 Costing the Earth?

Chapter 7: Glossary
Chapter 8: Further sources for information
Chapter 9: Assessment framework