Soy Production's Impact on Forests in South America

• This article details how soy and livestock production in South America is negatively impacting specific forest ecosystems on the continent. 
• Students will learn the specifics about the effects of soy farming in South America and the steps that have been (or could be) taken to limit deforestation.

Positives

• This article is incredibly detailed and features several charts and graphs to further illustrate the points in the text. 
• Students will be able to see the connection between agricultural expansion and deforestation with specific examples. 

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be able to read bar graphs and may benefit from looking at the interactive map of deforestation linked in the article to locate the areas discussed.
• Access to the Internet is required to read the article.
  

Differentiation

• Connections can be made in math classes using real-world data to strengthen their lessons about graphing, data analysis, or reading stacked bar graphs.
  
• This resource is dense enough that it would work well for a jigsaw activity. Assign each section to a group of students and have them present their section to the class.
• Science or social studies classes can use this article as an example of direct connections between human activities, deforestation, and climate change.
• As an extension, have students use the interactive map resource linked in the article to explore deforestation in another country or region and then write a report or present their findings to the class.
  

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.