Each of these packs would be an excellent resource for a key stage 3 place study.Students would really get to know the topic and thoroughly enjoy the activities. They could also be used to support a development or environment theme at GCSE level.

Picking up the Threads is about a textiles group in Calcha, Bolivia; Credit to the Poor is located in Tarata Candarave, Peru, where community credit banks have been established; and Sacha MamaMother Jungle is about ecotourism in the Napo area of the Amazonian rainforest, Ecuador. The materials promote an understanding of the lives of the people and the challenges they face, and how the development projects respond to these challenges in a sustainable way.

There is background information for the teacher, a wide range of student activities and a set of 10 colour A4 photographs. The activities involve group and pair work and include card sorting, modelling, puzzles, role play, games, decision making and preparing a storyboard. The materials are well presented and accessible. If you are looking for new case studies, this would be a good place to start.

Keith Grimwade is general adviser for geography, Cambridgeshire