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 Q3.00 To understand how lifestyles, social expectations, and the demand for goods affect the environment

3.01 compare and contrast the evaluation of their lifestyle with others within the class, state, and country.
3.02 examine lifestyles of persons in other countries and compare it to their own.

I. Total the number of students who gave each response.
II. Calculate the percentage of class who gave each response.
III. Record on a chart the percentages for this class.
IV. Record the percentage of students from another school in the state who gave each response.
V. Record the percentage of students from another class in the country who gave each response.
VI. Discuss how students responses are similar or different to those of the students from other schools.
VII. Supplementary Activity: Students will graph the percentages for each question and write an explanation of the graph.
VIII. Supplementary Activity: Each student will present his graph and explanation to class.
A. Divide students into groups. Assign each group a foreign country.
B. Gather information about country.
C. Prepare skit about lifestyle in country.
D. Present skits about other countries.
E. Complete chart comparing lifestyles of other countries with United States.

COMPONENT OF SCIENCE: Habits of Mind

GOAL:

To enable students to demonstrate ways of thinking and acting inherent in the practice of science; and to exhibit an awareness of the historical and cultural contributions to the enterprise of science.

3.3 ESTIMATION AND COMPUTATION - Scientists judge the level of precision needed to approximate a reasonable response and perform calculations with or without the aid of mechanical devices.

3.3a - Estimation provides a way to judge, if the result of a computation is reasonable.

BENCHMARK: Estimation is a vital part of problem solving and should be made prior to computation.

TIME REQUIRED:

Two class periods of 55 minutes each or three class periods depending upon use of supplementary activities of 55 minutes each

Blank answer sheet for yourself and one for each group. A chart numbered according to questions with spaces- for percentages for each question. (Sample chart follows.) This chart may be a poster, transparency for an overhead projector or flip chart. It also should be permanent as you will add information to it when you receive information from other schools in future lessons.

This classroom connector relates to instructional objective 3.01.

Yesterday you completed a questionnaire that asked you questions about your lifestyle and we discussed how our actions have direct and indirect effects on the environment. Today we are going to calculate the percentage of our class who gave each response. This will then allow you to compare your answers to those of your classmates. I would like for each of you to think of one lifestyle action that you might have in common with your classmates. Raise your hand as you think of some similarity. (All should raise their hand. Call on several students to tell what similarity they thought of.) We are going to calculate the percentage of our class who has given each response for each question. After compiling the data, we will discuss how your lifestyle is similar to your classmates and how it is different. We will also identify some of your actions that have positive effects on the environment and some that have negative effects.

(Students will be divided into groups of five students each. Give each group a blank answer sheet for recording their percentages. Divide the number of questions by the number of groups. Each group will then be responsible for computing the percentages for those questions assigned to them. Give each group a clean answer sheet.)

The first thing we will do is to get you into groups of five people each. (Have students move into groups.) I am going to give each group five completed answer sheets and one blank one. One person in each group will write the totals on the blank answer sheet. Another person in the group will need to check the responses on two answer sheets. For our data to be accurate, you must be careful in counting your responses. (Hand out answer sheets and blank sheet to each group.) I will give you a few minutes to count your responses.

(Allow time to count responses. Assign each of the groups an equal number of questions. The assignments of questions to each group might be similar to: Group 1: questions 1-9; Group 2: questions 10-19; Group 3: questions 20-28; Group 4: questions 29-39.)

As I read a question number, each group will read their group total for that question, I will record the total and so should the group responsible for that question. For example, when we get the total for each response in question 11, Group 2 should also write down the totals. (Go through the questions and allow each group to read their totals for that question. Record them yourself and make sure the appropriate group has the same total.)

Each group will be responsible for figuring the percentages for a portion of the responses. You will do this by dividing the number of responses by the number of students who participated in the questionnaire which is ______________________. (If you feel it is needed, show how this is done on the chalk board.)

Now that you have the totals for your group's questions, you can divide the questions among the members of your group, so that you can finish the percentage calculations more quickly. As you do your calculations, you will write your percentages on the clean answer sheet I have given you. Before we start, let me refresh your memory on how to calculate a percentage. There are 25 members of our class. If 5 people give the same response to a question, you will divide 5 by 25. (Do this on the board.) This gives you an answer of .20. Next you multiply the answer, .20, by 100 which gives you a percent of 20%. Does anyone have any questions? (Wait for response. You should be the judge of whether or not your class needs more of a review of calculating percentages. If they do then you can continue with modeling. In the next step they will help you to calculate a percentage. Then they can do one with your help and finally they should do one on their own. If they do not need additional review then continue the lesson without further modeling.) Since no one has a question, you can begin. If you have any questions as you work, raise your hand and I will come to help you. (As the groups make their calculations, observe and make sure they are calculating the percentages correctly. Questions 2, 4, 14, and 20 will be class average. You should instruct the appropriate groups on how to make this calculation. This is a good time to take up the answer sheets and return them to their owners.)

You have calculated the percentage of students who have given each response. I will chart this information as you give me the percentages you have calculated. (As you read the questions write down the percentages given by the students. You can do the chart on poster boards, transparency and overhead projector, or flip chart. The chart needs to be large enough that the entire class can see. A sample chart is given in the appendix. It can be used to make a transparency.)

(Hand out each student's answer sheet from the previous classroom connector.)

I want each of you to take your answer sheet and compare your answers to the rest of the class. (Allow a few minutes for the comparisons to be made.) Give me some examples of actions that you have in common with other members of the class. (Allow several minutes for students to respond and give similarities between themselves and the rest of the class.) In what ways does your lifestyle differ from most of the members of the class? (The students may not be as likely to discuss how they differ. Some students may be sensitive about being different from the rest of the class. Be careful not to offend any student.) Are you surprised about any of the lifestyle decisions made by our class? (Allow for response.)

Look at the chart and tell me which lifestyle actions of our class have a positive effect on the environment. (Allow for responses.) What lifestyle actions of our class have a negative effect on the environment (Allow for responses.)

(Take up each student's answer sheet for use in the next classroom connector.)

We have charted your responses and discussed the implications of your actions and lifestyle decisions on our environment. At the beginning of class I asked you to select something about your lifestyle that your thought would be similar to the rest of the class. How many of you were correct in your selection? (Allow for show of hands.) How many of you were incorrect? (Allow for show of hands.) Our next step in analyzing our lifestyles and comparing it to others will be to compare our lifestyle to students from another part of our state.

This classroom connector relates to instructional objective 3.01.

(To complete this lesson, you will need questionnaire results from another school in your state and from a school in another part of the nation. You will find a letter to use in requesting this information in the appendix. You may wish to send the questionnaire to a school with a setting different from your own. For example, if you are urban, you may wish to send it to a rural school.)

(See the end of this classroom connector for alternative activities that can be used in lieu of this connector or as a supplement.)

Each of you has analyzed your own lifestyle and compared it to your classmates. Do you think your lifestyle would be very similar to, very different from, or about the same as students who live in _______________ or in ______________. (The towns or cities from which you have received questionnaire data). (Allow for response.) (Student's name) has said he thinks your lifestyle will be _________________. How many of you agree? (Show hands. ) How many of you disagree? (Show hands.) I have received data from questionnaires filled out by students in ___________________ and from students in _____________________. Today we are going to chart that data and you will be able to compare their responses to yours.

(Hand out each student's answer sheet from the questionnaire.)

After I read a question and the percentage of our class who selected each choice, I will give you the percentage for that response from the students in ____________________. As we compare and contrast our responses to the other schools, I want you to consider not only differences in lifestyle decisions but also how location contributes to the differences in our actions and theirs.

Go through each question and record the responses from the other school. Encourage students to discuss how their lifestyle is similar to the other school and how it is different. You might allow some speculation as to the percentage of the other students who might respond in a certain way by asking questions such as: What percentage of their students do you think might use public transportation? or what percentage of their students do you think might ride to school on a bus?)

Who can tell me what you have learned about your lifestyle and that of students in other parts of the state and country? (Allow several students to respond.) Based on the information we have received, do you think your lifestyle is fairly similar to that of students in ____________________ and ______________________or do you think it is somewhat different? (Allow students to respond.) How many agree with these comments? (All students should respond. If some do not agree, then call on them to explain why they disagree.) We have examined our own lifestyles, that of students in another part of our state, and that of students in another part of our country. Next we will examine the lifestyles of people in other countries and compare their lifestyle to our own.

(This activity can be used in addition to the content given for the previous lesson or it can be used instead of the content. To complete this activity in one class period, you will need to have the chart filled in prior to class. You can then begin with the set, continue with the graphing and presentation of the graphs, ending with the closure.)

Graph paper, coloring pencils or markers, sample graph. (If you have access to a computer and printer and a graph making chart, you might consider allowing the students to make their graph on the computer.)

Horizontal axis, vertical axis

Each of you has analyzed your own lifestyle and compared it to your classmates. Do you think your lifestyle would be very similar to, very different from, or about the same as students who live in _____________________ or in ____________________ (the towns or cities from which you have received questionnaire data.) (Allow for response.) (Student's name) has said he thinks your lifestyle will be ____________________. How many of you agree? (Show of hands.) How many of you disagree? (Show of hands.) I have received data from questionnaires filled out by students in ____________________ and from students in ____________________ I have charted that data. Today you are going to graph the data and compare their responses to yours.

(Hand out graph paper to each student. Assign each student one of the questions. Each student will design a graph illustrating the data in his question. He will also write a brief statement that explains the relationship of the data; how the schools compare with each other; which school, if any, is involved in an action or decision that has a positive effect on the environment and if school setting might have an effect on the data.)

Our chart is complete showing the percentage of students from each school giving each response. To make this information easier to visualize, you are each going to complete a graph showing the percentage of students who gave each response. Each of you will be responsible for one question and drawing the graph for that question. Here is a sample graph completed on a computer that will give you an idea of how your graph might look. For this graph the title is Comparing Lifestyles. (Point out the title.) The question has been typed in across the top of the graph. (Point out the question.) The horizontal axis has the schools that responded to the questionnaire. (Point out horizontal axis.) The vertical axis has the percentage of students who gave each response. (Point out the vertical axis.) After you have finished your graph, you will write a brief statement explaining how the three schools compare on that particular question. If you feel the setting of the school has a bearing on the question, then you should include this in your statement. I also would like for you to comment on what implications for the environment are implied by the lifestyle action in the question. After you have examined the sample graph, if you have any questions about your own graph, raise your hand and I will help you. (After completion of graph, students will present their graph and statement to the class. The students can complete the graphs for homework, if necessary, and present the information on the following day.)

Who can tell me what you have learned about your lifestyle and that of students in other parts of the state and the country? (Allow several students to respond.) Based on the information we have received, do you think your lifestyle is fairly similar to that of students in ____________________ and ____________________ or do you think it is somewhat different? (Allow students to respond.) How many agree with these comments? (All students should respond. If some do not agree, then call on them to explain why they disagree.) We have examined our own lifestyles, that of students in another part of our state, and that of students in another part of our country. Next we will examine the lifestyles of people in other countries and compare their lifestyle to our own.

If obtaining questionnaire data from other schools will be a problem, you might consider having your class become pen pals with a class in another part of the state and one in another part of the country. If you think there might be a problem with getting students to write individual letters, then have them write a class letter. For a class letter, announce one day that you will produce a group letter an the following day and that each student should be prepared to contribute to the letter. On the day they produce their letter allow a few minutes of class time for each student to write their note on note paper. Their letters might address not only lifestyle differences and similarities but ecological concerns for both groups. What might be a problem for one class in a rural Middle Tennessee community might not be a problem for a student in Memphis, Tennessee or in a Chicago suburb. This could be either a one-time project or one that might continue from one year to the next with different students in both schools.)

If the pen pal activity is not used for the entire class, you might offer this as an enrichment activity for some students.

This classroom connector relates to instructional objective 3.02. First Class Period

Two class periods of 55 minutes each

Any magazines with articles about people in other countries.

How many of you have ever visited a foreign country? How many of you have ever wanted to visit a foreign country? I have listed six countries (Kenya, Hungary, United States, Brazil, China, and India) on the chalk board. I would like for each of you to select one country and write down three things that come to mind about that country. (Allow a couple of minutes for writing. Walk around to make sure all students are participating. After all have finished, call an several to tell what they have written down. Have students save the paper they have written on until the end of this lesson.) All of you have written down things you have learned about these countries. You may have written about the government, tourist attractions, or the geographic location. Today we are going to learn about the lifestyles of these countries and how their lifestyle compares to our own.

(Students will be divided into six groups of equal size. Each group will be assigned a foreign country. The countries selected should include countries that will give a mixture of cultures and lifestyles. The selected countries might include Kenya, China, Hungary, India, Brazil and the United States. To provide the students with information about the countries, you might bring in copies of magazines or plan on taking the students to the library. The National Geographic of December, 1988, has a section on families in the countries listed. This article is an excellent resource for this lesson. Almost every National Geographic issue features some foreign country. Your list can reflect the countries for which you can locate articles.) (An alternative that would save class time would be to assign the groups at the end of a class period and ask the students to go to the library on their own to gather information for the activity. This would possibly cut the lesson time to one class period.)

(After each group has gathered information, they should prepare a skit for presentation to the class. The skit might take the form of a magazine reporter interviewing a family or a night in the home of the family. Allow students to develop their own questions. Suggested interview questions might include questions such as size of family, occupations of family members, how many generations live in same household, type of home, number of rooms in home, modes of transportation, types of food consumed by family, source of food, source of clothing, use of disposable items, and types of appliances owned by family, annual income, energy consumed by family, and problems faced by family. A time limit should be set so that all skits can be finished in one class period with time for discussion of the information gathered.)

We are all aware that people in foreign countries may have lifestyles that are somewhat similar to our own. We are also aware that people in some foreign countries may have lifestyles that are totally different from our own. What do you think might be one reason for differences in lifestyle? (Responses might include different culture, industrialization of country, availability of modern conveniences.) To learn more about the lifestyles of people in foreign countries I am going to divide you into groups of ___ students per group. Each group will then be assigned one of the foreign countries listed on the board. You will read about that country to learn about how an average family might live. After you have learned about the country, your group will produce a skit about an imaginary family that will allow the rest of us to also learn about the lifestyle of your family.

We will start by organizing your groups. (Divide the class into six equal groups.) Next, I would like each group to select one of the countries I have listed on the chalk board. (Allow each group to select a country.)

I want you to help me list on the board the types of information you might want to include in your skit. You will probably want to find out how many children might be in the family. What other things might you include? (Let students make a list of items to be included. You might want to suggest: life expectancy, number of rooms in home, daily calories consumed, energy consumption, annual income, source of food, source of water, occupation of parents, modern conveniences in home, and problems faced by the country, such as overpopulation, air pollution, or infant mortality. Check the Lifestyle Comparison Chart in the Appendix to be used on the second day of this lesson.)

I have brought a group of magazines with articles about the countries you have selected. You can use the first part of the period today to go through those magazines to gather information about your country. The last part of the period, you should work on writing your skit to present to the class tomorrow.

Your skit might be an interview of a family that is being conducted by a student from our class or it might demonstrate a typical night in the home of this family. You will want to make sure that your skit provides the rest of the class with information about the lifestyle of the family. Each person in the group should have some role in the skit. Your skit should be approximately five minutes in length. Are there any questions about what you are to do? (Answer any questions about the assignment.)

You may begin your assignment. (Monitor the students and give assistance where it is needed.)

You have now finished the preparation phase of our lesson on lifestyles in other countries. Tomorrow we will continue with this lesson as each group presents its skit on the lifestyle of people in our six countries.

This classroom connector relates to instructional objective 3.02.

(Before beginning class, give one copy of Lifestyle Comparison Chart to each member of the class. The students should be seated in their groups.) I have handed each of you a chart that will allow you to compare the lifestyle of people in the six countries we will be examining today. First I would like for each person to fill out the chart for your country. (Make sure all are participating and that they are filling out the correct column.) Today you will be presenting your skits to the class. As a skit is being presented, the members of the class should use the information provided in the skit to fill in the remainder of the chart. Does everyone understand what we will be doing today? (Allow for response.)

Note to Teacher: (Allow each group to present their skit to the class. The students should complete their charts as the skits are being presented. At the end of each skit allow for a question period for those who may have missed filling in a portion of their chart.)

We will begin with the first skit. (First skit is presented.) Does anyone have any questions about the information that has been presented in this skit? (Allow for questions and answers. Continue until all skits have been presented.)

Each of you now have a chart that is complete with information about the lifestyle in Kenya, China, India, Hungary, Brazil, and the United States. What similarities do you see in the lifestyle of these countries? (Allow for responses.) What major differences do you see? (Allow for responses.) What do you think contributes to the vast differences in the lifestyle between some of these countries? (Allow for responses.)

All of these countries have an environmental problem of some sort. What do you think the people in these countries could do to help with that problem? If you had to move to one of these countries other than the United States, which country would you select? Why would you select this country? (Allow for responses.)

Yesterday at the beginning of this classroom connector I asked you to write down three things about one of the six countries listed on the board. Think back to what you wrote yesterday. Did you write something about the lifestyle of the people in that country? (Allow for responses.) Today, I would like for you to list one thing you have learned about each of the six countries. (Observe as students are writing. Make sure all are participating.) What are some of the things you have written today? (Allow for responses.)

We have spent several days discussing the lifestyle of ourselves and others. We have looked at how lifestyle can be similar and how they can be different. I hope each of you have acquired a new insight into your own lifestyle as well as that of other people.

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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