GOAL:

To develop an understanding of the interdependence of all organisms and the need for conserving natural resources

Awareness of, concern for, and action on problems in the environment can result in major improvements.

Ecology Q2.00 To understand how individual and community lifestyle decisions affect the community

2.01 analyze their lifestyle and identify the ways in which it affects the environment both directly and indirectly.

I. Life style
A. Home
1. Location
a. City
b. Suburban
c. Small town
d. Rural

2. Size (square feet)
3. Structure
a. Wood
b. Brick
c. Metal
d. Vinyl
e. Other
4. Rooms in home
5. Private bedroom
6. Primary source of heat
a. Gas
b. Wood
c. Electricity
d. Kerosene
7. Water source
a. Municipal system
b. Private well
c. Spring
8. Home refuse disposal
a. Septic tank
b. City sewer system
c. Other
9. Trash disposal
a. Cold drink containers
1) Aluminum cans
2) Plastic battles
3). Glass bottles
b. Grocery bags
1) Paper bags
2) Plastic ones
c. Packaging which is recycled from the home
1) Aluminum cans
2) Paper
3) Bottles
4) Other
d. Method of trash removal
1) Picked up
2) Dump
3) Dumpster
4) Recycle
5) Compost
6) Other
e. Disposable products used by the family
1) Dinner napkins
2) Cups
3) Paper towels
4) Diapers
B. Conservation efforts
1. Number of televisions in the home
2. Turning off appliances when leaving a room
a. Lights
b. Television
c. Radio
d. Stereo
3. Personal hygiene
a. Shower
b. Bath
4. Heating or cooling of your home
a. Lowering the thermostat setting in the winter
b. Raising the thermostat in the summer
c. No thermostat may mean controlling the heat or cooling in some other manner
5. Lower setting on the thermostat of the hot water heater
6. Motor fuel
a. Number of cars in the family
b. Observe the law regarding speed limits
c. Car pool to work
d. Drive to school or ride a bus
e. Ride in a car to school even though you could ride a bus
f. Public transportation
1) Bus
2) Train
3) Subway
4) Walk instead of using a car to get to nearby destinations
7. Cleaning of clothes
a. Washing
1) Wash only full loads of clothes
2) Use cold water in washing clothes
b. Drying
1) Hang some clothes (sheets, towels etc.) on a clothes line or rack
2) Use the dryer for all clothes
8. Wash car whether it needs it or not
9. Products that come in aerosol cans
a. Hair spray
b. Deodorant
c. Other
C. Simpler lifestyle
1. Share appliances (such as washer and dryer) with another family
2. Make own clothes
3. "Hand down" clothes
4. Raise own food
a. Plant
b. Animal
c. Both
5. Organic methods used in raising crops
6. Food preservation
a. Can
b. Freeze
D. Other
1. Vote based an environmental issues
2. Participate in special interest group whose primary concern is the environment
3. Watch nature-type shows on television
II. Explain the meaning of lifestyle.
III. Complete questionnaire on student's lifestyle
IV. Discuss how questions relate to environment.

TN COMPONENT OF SCIENCE: Science in Society

GOAL:

To enable students to demonstrate positive attitudes toward science in solving problems and making personal decisions about issues affecting the individual, society and the environment.

4.1 ATTITUDES - The progress of science and the attitudes of society influence one another.

4.1a - Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of public concern.

BENCHMARK: Science provides a basis for addressing issues that affect our lives.

TIME REQUIRED:

One class period of 55 minutes

Teacher's copy of questionnaire and questionnaire answer sheets (one per student). See appendix for both of these items.

Lifestyle

Have you ever spent the night with someone and noticed that their family did some things differently from your family? Maybe they take showers, while your family takes baths; or they might throw all their trash into one container, while your family sorts it for recycling? Try to think of some differences you have noticed. (Pause shortly) What differences did you think of? (Call on several members of the class to relate their observations, continue with the set.) How many of you have noticed these kinds of differences? (All students should raise their hands.) Today you are going to analyze your lifestyle by completing a questionnaire.

Lifestyle refers to the way we live. Have you ever read a magazine article on your favorite rock star? That article probably gave information about the star's car or cars, how many rooms are in his home, what foods he likes, and what kinds of clothes he prefers. It may have even told if the star supports any environmental movements such as protecting the whales. All of these facts about that person give you information about his lifestyle. All of the items I have mentioned will have some effect, either directly or indirectly, on the environment.

To begin analyzing your lifestyle I am going to have you complete a questionnaire. After you have completed the questionnaire, we will discuss each question and how the action in the question either directly or indirectly affects the environment. If you do not understand a question, raise your hand and I will repeat it for you.

(Hand out copies of the answer sheets for the questionnaire. You will read the questions to the students. Be sure to stress that only they will know what they have marked since they will not put their names on the answer sheets.)

(Read Questions to students.)

Now that you have finished the questionnaire, we will discuss the questions and how they refer to an action that will have either a direct or an indirect effect on the environment.

As I go through and re-read the questions to you, I would like for you to comment on how you feel this lifestyle action has an effect on the environment. (Read each question to the class and allow for brief discussion of the question. You may need to ask questions about the first few questions to get the discussion started and to get the students thinking in the right direction.)

Take up the answer sheets so you will have them for the next lesson. Students should put an identification code on the paper so he can identify his own paper but others will not be able to recognize whose paper is whose.)

Now that we have discussed the questions, what have you learned about your lifestyle and how it relates to your environment? (Allow students to respond.) Raise your hand if you have become aware of one of your actions that has a negative effect on the environment. (Everyone should raise their hand. Call on several students to tell what they do that has a negative effect.) Did you observe any of your actions that have a positive effect on the environment? (Allow for responses.) You have probably observed that almost all of our actions have some effect on our environment. What types of effects can our actions have on the environment? (Answer should be direct and indirect.) Raise your hand if you agree that the effects might be either direct or indirect? (All should respond by raising their hand.) If you give careful thought to your lifestyle, I think you can find many ways in which you can change your lifestyle and improve the environment in which you live.

Tomorrow we will compile lifestyle results for our entire class based an the questionnaire and discuss what lifestyle actions we have in common and how we differ from each other. (You may want to tell the students to bring pocket calculators with them tomorrow to speed up the calculations.)

1. Project Wild - "What You Wear Is What They Were"

2. Project Wild - "What Did Your Lunch Cost Wildlife?"

3. Project Learning Tree - "What Shall I Use To Build It?"

4. Project Learning Tree - "Which Shall I Buy?"

5. Project Learning Tree - "Biography of a Favorite Thing"

6. Project Learning Tree - "Christmas Trees and the Environment"

7. Project Learning Tree - "ORV's and Us"

B. Project Learning Tree - "A Simpler Life"

9. Project Learning Tree - "A Look at Lifestyles"

(Read the questions to the students and allow them to mark their answer sheets. Make sure the students understand that group numbers will be taken from the answer sheets and that only they will know what individual answers they have marked. Questions that are marked with a * should be given to students early so they can check with their parents for answers.)

Home

1. Where do you live? (city, suburban, small town, rural)
*2. What is the size of your home (square feet)?
3. What kind of structure is your home? (wood, brick, metal, vinyl, other)
4. How many rooms are in your home?
5. Do you have your own bedroom?
6. What is the primary source of heat for your home? (gas, wood, electricity, kerosene)
7. Do you use water from a municipal system or a private well or spring?
*8. Does your home have a septic tank, city sewer system, or other?
Trash disposal
9. Do you purchase cold drinks in aluminum cans, plastic bottles, or glass bottles?
*10. When your parents go to the grocery, do they ask for paper bags rather than plastic ones?
11. Does your family recycle any of the following products? aluminum cans, paper, bottles, etc.
*12. Where does your trash go (picked up, dump, dumpster, recycle, compost, other)?
13. Check the disposable products your family uses. dinner napkins, cups, paper towels, diapers
Conservation
14. What is the number of televisions in your home?
15. Do your parents remind you to turn off lights when leaving a room?
16. Do your parents remind you to turn off a television, radio, or stereo when not in use?
17. Do you take a shower or a bath?
*18. Do your parents try to conserve energy in the heating or cooling of your home? (This may include lowering the thermostat setting in the winter or raising it in the summer. If you do not have a thermostat, it may mean controlling the heat or cooling in some other manner?)
*19. Do your parents try to conserve energy by using a lower setting on the thermostat of the hot water heater?
20. How many cars does your family own?
21. When you or your parents are driving, do you or they observe the law regarding speed limits?
22. Do your parents car pool to work?
23. Do you drive to school or ride a bus?
24. Do you ride in a car to school even though you could ride a bus?
25. If available do you use public transportation? (bus, train, subway)
*26. Do you usually walk instead of using a car to get to nearby destinations?
*27. Does your mother normally wash only full loads of clothes?
28. Does your mother usually use old water in washing clothes?
29. Does your mother hang some clothes (sheets, towels etc.) on a clothes line or rack to dry instead of using the dryer for all clothes?
30. Does your family wash its car whether it needs it or not?
31. Do you use hair spray, deodorant, and other products that come in aerosol cans?
Simpler lifestyle
32. Does your family share any appliances (such as washer and dryer) with another family?
33. Does your family make any of its own clothes?
34. Does your family "hand down" clothes?
35. Do you raise any of your own food? If yes, plant, animal, or both?
*Do you use organic methods in raising crops?
36. Does your family can or freeze any of their own food?
Other
*37. Does your family vote based on environmental issues?
*38. Does your family belong to any special group whose primary concern is the environment?
39. Do you watch nature-type shows on television?

STUDENT ANSWER SHEET

1. CITY_____ SUBURBAN_____ SMALL_____ TOWN_____ RURAL_____
2. _____SQUARE FEET (AVERAGE PER HOME FOR CLASS)
3. WOOD_____ METAL______ VINYL______ OTHER______
4. ROOMS_____ (AVERAGE PER HOME FOR CLASS)
5. YES_____ NO_____
6. GAS_____ WOOD_____ ELECTRICITY_____ KEROSENE_____
7. CITY WATER______ WELL OR SPRING WATER______
8. SEPTIC TANK_____ CITY SEWER SYSTEM_____ OTHER_____
9. YES_____ NO_____
10. YES_____ NO_____
11. ALUMINUM CANS YES_____ NO_____

PAPER YES_____ NO_____
BOTTLES/OTHER GLASS_____ YES_____ NO_____
12. CITY PICK UP_____ DUMP_____ DUMSTER_____ RECYCLE_____ COMPOST_____ OTHER_____
13. DINNER NAPKINS_____ CUPS_____ PAPER TOWELS_____ DIAPERS_____
14. NUMBER OF TELEVISIONS_____ (AVERAGE PER HOW FOR CLASS)
15. YES_____ NO_____
16. YES_____ NO_____
17. SHOWER_____ BATH_____
18. YES_____ NO_____
19. YES_____ NO_____
20. CARS_____ (AVERAGE PER HOW FOR CLASS)
21. YES_____ NO_____
22. YES_____ NO_____
23. YES_____ NO_____
24. YES_____ NO_____
25. YES_____ NO_____
26. YES_____ NO_____
27. YES_____ NO_____
28. YES_____ NO_____
29. YES_____ NO_____
30. YES_____ NO_____
31. YES_____ NO_____
32. YES_____ NO_____
33. YES_____ NO_____
34. YES_____ NO_____
35. YES_____ NO_____
PLANT_____ ANIMAL_____ BOTH_____
YES_____ NO_____
36. YES_____ NO_____
37. YES_____ NO_____
38. YES_____ NO_____
39. YES_____ NO_____

This is the time this file has been accessed since 11/01/02.

The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.

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