TOPIC/TITLE:
MULITINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND ECUADOR/TEXACO IN ECUADOR.

QUESTION:
What effect do multinational corporations have on third world countries?

PURPOSE/RATIONALE/GOALS OF THE DAY'S LESSON:
The purpose for this lesson is to teach about multinational corporations in the global economy.  There has been much discussed lately about the negative impact of multinational corporations on indigenous peoples.  Many times these corporations profit off the blood and sweat of the indigenous peoples while the indigenous peoples receive no benefits.  Ecuador is no different; Indigenous people have been pushed off their land and even killed for what lies beneath the ground, petroleum.  The goal of today's lesson is to demonstrate that multinational corporations need to not only protect the land, but also the people when operating in other countries.

OBJECTIVES:
SWBAT:

• Evaluate the role of multinational corporations on the indigenous peoples of Ecuador;
• Locate Ecuador on a map;
• Discuss the Texaco Corporation in Ecuador.

• How Texaco influenced the environment; and
• How people's ideas and relationship to the environment change over time, particularly in response to new technologies.

10.11
The student will analyze the regional development of Latin America in terms of physical, economic, and cultural characteristics and historical evolution.

10.14
The student will analyze the forces of conflict and cooperation as they influence

• The way in which the world is divided among independent countries and dependencies;
• Disputes over borders, resources, and settlement areas;
• The role of multinational organizations.

NCSS THEMES W/ INDICATORS:
Theme Nine: Global Connections

• Help learners to explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations;
• Challenge learners to analyze the causes and consequences of Texaco's operations in Ecuador;
• Guide learners analysis of the relationships and tensions between Texaco and the indigenous peoples of Ecuador global in such matters as territorial disputes, economic development, use of natural resources, and human rights concerns;
• Help learners to describe and evaluate the role of international and multinational organizations in the global arena.

KEY CONCEPTS AND GENERALIZATIONS: (VOCAB)

• Oriente---Eastern portion of Ecuador that contains the rainforests.
• Petroleum---An oily, liquid solution of hydrocarbons occurring naturally in certain rock strata:  it yields kerosene, gasoline, etc.
• Multinational Corporation---Designating or of a corporation with branches in many countries.
• Indigenous---Existing or growing naturally in a region or country; native.

ANTICIPATORY SET:

• Students are to define the term multinational corporation and state their position on them, if they have one.
• Spend 5-10 minutes discussing the student's responses as an introduction to the day's lesson.

• Ask a student to come up and point out Ecuador on the wall map.
• On the overhead, place a map of Ecuador that shows it position in South America in case some students did not see the wall map.
• Next, place the map that shows Ecuador's indigenous population.
• This will be the introduction of the term indigenous.
• Then place the map of the oil concession on the transparency.
• Ask students if they notice anything unusual about the map.
• Place the map of the indigenous peoples on top of the concessions map to demonstrate the petroleum industry's effect on the indigenous population.
• Open up discussion with the question:  Which is more important, petroleum production or human rights? Explain your answer.
• If students all agree on human rights, ask them if they drive to school.  Try to make the point that most people would agree that human rights are more important, yet we do not support mass transportation to conserve petroleum.
• Continue the class discussion until it is no longer beneficial to the lesson.  Use your discretion concerning tangent discussions.

• Have the students right down three things that they learned and why they feel it was important or not.

• For Homework:  Write an editorial concerning oil production in Ecuador.  It can be mostly opinion since we did not have time to go into depth on the topic.
• Impose more environmentally safe methods of oil production;
• Use of mass transportation.
• It should be no more than 1 page.