Food for thought

In ecology class we have been discussing the human footprint and population growth. We watched National Geographic's Human Footprint which takes the viewer through the life of two individuals from birth to old age showing the lifetime amount of everyday items they consume (diapers, eggs, bananas, clothing, appliances, and the list goes on) and the amount of waste generated. This is an eye opener when you see all the cartons of milk you might drink in a lifetime all lined up.

This led us to looking at the wealth of the various regions of the world. I found the Food for thought activity in my researches. After some discussion of the material in our text, I divided up the class according to the instructions. One challenge was to calculate the percentages based on the number of students I actually have in class plus the use of empty chairs for a few of the absent students. We followed the discussion questions and it was very interesting to watch the students' reactions when I began to pass out the match sticks. Follow that up with the presentation of the chocolate kisses. When I asked "Asia" and "Africa" how they felt about "North America" and "Europe's" wealth, one student replied that she was "pissed" (American slang here for angry and not British slang).  That got the class talking.

One student remarked as she was leaving the classroom, "best class ever - movie and chocolate all in one period." I hope the lesson wasn't lost on her.

Need help with a lesson?

I've found a most helpful website in Teacher's Domain sponsored by Public broadcasting "and viewers like you." There you will find video clips, documents, interactive activities, lesson plans, and a whole lot more. What's nice to know is that even college professors are using this site as I experienced this summer while taking a very well thought out and organized online course offered by Fitchburg State University. I've been able to supplement my power point lectures with content rich video clips which are 3-5 minutes in length on average, and can serve as great conversation generators. I'm so glad to know that my annual membership to WGBH is going to serve a good cause namely me and my fellow teachers in the classroom. Not to mention the benefits to our students!