Oklahoma Academic Standard 6. The student will evaluate contemporary global issues and challenges.

Objective 6.3 Describe the impact of trade and interdependence on cultural diffusion.

In a Nutshell

It is important for students to understand how and why cultural diffusion occurs as a result of interactions such as those developed through global trade patterns. Students should also consider the impact of cultural diffusion on indigenous cultures, ways of life, and economic activities, including a study of how technology and social media has increased the speed and extent of cultural diffusion.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Provide students with opportunities to evaluate how globalization and the expanding use of scarce resources contribute to conflict and cooperation. 

• Assist students to analyze the connections between historical events and the geographic contexts in which they have occurred, including the causes and processes of changes over time.

• Actively engage in asking and answering geographic questions by acquiring, organizing, and analyzing multiple sources of data and information about the world’s past and its present conditions. 

• Explain how changes in transportation, communication, and technology affect the diffusion of ideas.

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• World Trade Organization
• cultural diffusion, innovation, increased productivity
• cultural detachment
• multiculturalism

• Some students may draw inaccurate conclusions that global trade organizations promote trade and innovation around the world on an impartial basis.

• Many students might mistakenly assume that multiculturalism negates and diminishes national or ethnic identity. 

Instructional Resources

                                                          Access suggested instructional resources correlated to standard and objective.