For those students who may have misplaced their assignment sheets, here's a copy:
While we are studying natural resources, land use, and the differences between developed and developing nations, we are going to put some of our new knowledge to work to help other people. As a class we are going to research, choose, and give a micro-loan to one person or group in a developing nation to help them become economically self-sufficient. The decisions we make will make a real difference in the lives of real people.
Directions: Complete the following activities to start making a difference.
Pennies a Day: Watch the video Pennies a Day.
Vocabulary: Define the following key terms and concepts in your notebook.
1. first level activities (stages of resource development)
2. second level activities (stages of resource development)
3. third level activities (stages of resource development)
4. developed nation
5. developing nation
6. subsistence farming
7. commercial farming
8. foreign aid
9. micro-credit or micro-loan
10. entrepreneur
Challenges: List all the challenges that the people and governments of developing nations face.
Kiva: Visit the web site for Kiva (kiva.org).
1. Click on “About” at the top of the page. Read the short article “What is Kiva?”.
2. Click on the link “How Kiva works’ on the left side of the page. Read the short article “How Kiva Works.”
3. Click on “Lend” at the top of the page. Spend some time looking through all the people (entrepreneurs) that are asking for a loan. Read some of their short biographies. Think about to whom you would lend money. Why?
4. Look at some of the countries where our borrowers live. Locate those countries on a map.
Choosing a Loan Recipient: Use the Kiva web site and select three people, or groups, to whom you would most like to lend our class’s money. On a sheet of loose leaf paper, provide the following information for each of your entrepreneurs.
1. Entrepreneur Name
2. Activity (What do they do?)
3. Loan Use (What will the loan be used for?)
4. Loan Amount (How much money do they want to borrow?)
5. Why do you want to lend money to this person? Why does this entrepreneur deserve a loan more than others? (Answer in one or two paragraphs). There is no right or wrong answer here. Just say what you think.