With a grant through Indiana University's Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center, the authors developed an online, five-week unit that discusses the cultural and ecological "worlds" of central Asia, specifically the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. There are two main ideas throughout this curriculum: (1) The natural world affects the daily functioning of the man-made world and may determine its fate; and (2) the man-made world affects the daily functioning of the natural world and may determine its fate. This curriculum is a useful tool for science and social studies educators to collaborate on a project. Additionally, this curriculum serves as a helpful resource for teachers on a topic that is generally not covered in middle school and meets the national standards. In this way, students benefit from learning about an area of the world that they may not be familiar with, which helps to bring a global perspective into the middle school classrooms. (Contains 2 figures.)