There are many reasons to study the Himalayan region in secondary level geography and social studies classes some of which are addressed in this unit or in the supplementary material provided in the Resources section.  The following essential questions, however, are provided  as general rationales for the unit.  They are associated with the standards promoted by the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Geography Standards and the State of Maine Learning Results for Social Studies.

Essential Questions that guide our research: 

The following questions are provided to guide instruction through the unit.  By the end of the instructional period students should be able to answer the questions using the skills embedded in the unit lessons and the content knowledge derived from their research.  The essential questions are:

• How do humans survive in environments characterized by extreme resource scarcity?
• What social institutions and cultural adaptations have allowed humans to flourish in the Himalayas?
• How can the analysis of environmental and demographic data lead to an understanding of culture and society?

These questions can be combined for students into a single, inclusive question such as:

• How have river systems and watershed environments defined human settlement and facilitated cultural diversity in the Himalayan region?