This classroom guide uses a series of interactive lessons to provide middle and high school students with the foundation to address complex issues of how people use the environment, the factors (demographic, socioeconomic, political, and cultural) that affect human use of resources, and the local and global environmental impact of people's actions and choices. The unit includes four core lessons and two case studies. The core lessons prepare students to consider how the quest of people around the world to meet their basic needs leads to the use of resources and the production of wastes. The case studies help students move beyond the general ideas to examine how human needs and environmental stress are problems confronted by real people in Haiti and in Bangladesh. In the culminating activity, students reflect on the first three core lessons and case studies to collaborate on an action plan for responsible global citizenship. The lessons include maps and statistical data on population and environmental use. A wall chart of statistical data completes the guide. Extension activities are suggested for further research and adaptations are available for younger grades. (EH)