Economy, Resources & Regions
What a place has, what it makes, and what it keeps.
Question 1 of 8
What is a human resource?
The mechanics in Aguadilla who repair jet engines are a human resource. So is every teacher on the island.
Question 2 of 8
Which crops drove Puerto Rico’s early economy?
Sugar in the lowlands, coffee in the mountains, tobacco in between. Each one shaped where people lived and worked.
Question 3 of 8
What is a central?
The centrales concentrated processing, which changed who owned the land and who worked it.
Question 4 of 8
What does Puerto Rico manufacture most today?
From sugar mills to high-tech manufacturing, in about a century.
Question 5 of 8
Why does a railroad change an island’s economy?
The line around the island connected places that had been a day apart, and the Guajataca tunnel is still there to walk through.
Question 6 of 8
What is the piña cabezona?
A local variety tied to one valley, which is what makes it worth protecting.
Question 7 of 8
Why does logistics matter so much to an island economy?
Shipping laws, ports and schedules decide what things cost in a shop in Lares.
Question 8 of 8
What does the diaspora contribute to Puerto Rico’s economy?
Nearly 6 million Puerto Ricans live in the fifty states. That reach is itself a resource.
What the island lived on
Drag these into the order they shaped the island, oldest at the top.
This is one week of eight.
The quiz and the game are free. The lessons behind them are the full unit study: 24 lessons, 360 pages, grades 4 to 8, with read-aloud scripts, hands-on activities and answer keys.
See the unit study