Lesson Plan. Planet Zorcon. Secondary: College & Career Awareness

Transcription

1 Lesson Plan Secondary: College & Career Awareness Purpose Students will explore the connection between individual behavior and resource use, learn the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources, and identify careers related to natural resource management. Time: 1 hour Level: Secondary Materials Activity 1 Background Info PowerPoint (optional, but helpful) What are Resources reading, one for every 2 students Pretest: Resources, one for every two students (optional) Pretest Answer Key Activity 2 PowerPoint Plastic storage bin with lid* Gallon-sized Ziploc bags,* 1 per group plus extras to hold resources 1 1½ cups of each of the following:* wheat seeds, cotton balls, corn, toothpicks, soybeans, pinto or brown beans, shell macaroni, spiral macaroni, elbow macaroni, paper clips, black beans, amber pebbles, sequins, 1" roofing nails, silver balls (foil or other material), white beans, and 2" pieces of spaghetti (Continued on next page) Background The things we use every day come from the earth. Nearly all of our daily activities use some kind of resource that is grown on a farm, harvested from the wild, mined, or extracted from deep below the soil. You may awaken in the morning on sheets made of cotton, under a blanket made of wool or synthetic polyester. Cotton is grown on a farm, wool comes from sheep raised on a farm, and synthetic polyester, like most plastics, is made from petroleum, which is extracted from the earth. The soap you use in the shower might contain cottonseed oil, while the tile, metal, and glass are made from mined materials. Wallpaper can be adhered to the wall using wheat paste, and paint contains compounds from trees. The linoleum on the floor is made from soybean oil, the wood flooring came from trees, and the nails holding it together are made from materials that were mined from the earth. The electricity powering the lights may come from water running through a hydroelectric dam or from coal burned at a power plant. It s difficult to imagine what our lives would be like without the natural resources that provide us with electricity, materials for the everyday items we use, and food to nourish our bodies. It can be an eye-opening experience to consider the resources that one uses in a single day, especially considering that some resources are nonrenewable. Nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced within a generation, so once they are gone, we have to make do without them. Fossil fuels and soil are two important nonrenewable resources. Both are formed very slowly by natural processes and both play central roles in our lives. While the act of using fossil fuels depletes the supply, this is not necessarily the case with soils, which can be managed for long-term use. Erosion destroys topsoil, but good management can prevent erosion. Soil that is managed well can support many years of cropping. Crops are a renewable resource because they can be managed for replenish themselves regularly. For example, a tree farm can be managed so that some trees are ready for harvest each year. After trees are cut down to be turned into paper or lumber, more trees are planted that will renew the supply several years in the future. Crops like wheat and corn are planted and harvested within a single growing season, so they can be used up and then renewed each year. Some resources are considered inexhaustible, meaning that human activities will not affect the supply; they can last forever. Sunlight, water, and air are examples of inexhaustible resources. People cannot destroy these resources or create more of them, but we can affect their quality. Pollution can render air unbreathable and water undrinkable. Because we depend on natural resources to survive, it is important that we use them carefully. There are many careers in the field of natural resource management that seek to maintain the quality and productivity of earth s resources. This lesson plan is one of eleven that are approved by the Utah State Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 1 utah.agclassroom.org

2 Materials (cont.) Duct tape* 8' x 10' tarp* Plastic spoons, 5 per group* Plastic cups, 2 per group* Zorcon Research Staff ID Badges,* 1 set per group (attached) Resource Inventory activity sheet, 1 per group Calculators (optional) *These materials are included in the kit, which is available for purchase at utah.agclassroom.org; search keyword Zorcon. Office of Education (USOE) for teaching agriculture content in the College and Career Awareness course. The suggested sequence for these lessons follows. First: Early (any order): End (any order): Last: AgVenture Sourcing Ag Careers Supply and Demand Technology in Agriculture Biofuel DNA Expressions in Agriculture Food Science Serious Cereal Science Career Trek Find Your Future Career Charting Agriculture Careers (this lesson) Activity Procedures Activity 1: Seeing is Believing 1. Seeing is believing... ask your students to keep a day s log about where they went (transportation uses many nonrenewable resources), what they wore, and what they ate. Define the following terms: renewable, nonrenewable and inexhaustible resources. Note: You may want to use the Background Info PowerPoint. There are also optional reading and pretest resources. Renewable Resources: Natural resources that can be replaced by human efforts are considered renewable. The supply of these resources can be reduced without proper management. Examples: forests, fish, wildlife, agriculture, plants, animals. Nonrenewable Resources: These are limited natural resources that cannot be replaced or reproduced (within a generation). We cannot manage them for renewal. Once they are gone they are gone forever.examples: oil, mineral resources (lead, iron, cobalt, zinc, etc.), soil (made so slowly: 1, ,000 years). Inexhaustible Resources: These are natural resources that can last forever regardless of human activities. They renew themselves continuously. This does not mean that resources are not limited. Human misuse can damage these resources. Examples include surface water (little can be done to affect the total amount of water), air (we can damage the air with pollution, but we cannot use it up), and sunlight (pollution can limit this resource). 2. The next day, ask students to identify which items entered in their logs required agriculture and which required mining. This would be a good time to discuss the difference between a want and a need. Here are some items to look for in the log: Bedding: cotton sheets, wooden bed frames (forests are farmed ) Metal tables and desks (mined resources) Computers and cell phones (mined resources) Wall coverings & floorings: paint, wallpaper, wood, linoleum, wool rugs, floor wax (grown) Personal needs: soaps, shampoo, cosmetics, deodorants, perfumes (grown products in mined containers) Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 2 utah.agclassroom.org

3 Sporting goods: leather or rubber balls, mitts, bats (some made from grown agricultural products, some are products of mining) Food: this is the easy part Activity 2: Trip to NOTE: This is a very busy activity! Be sure to have plenty of space, and conduct this activity where students will not disrupt other classes. Review the directions carefully and note the preparation time that is required. Preparation 1. Tape the tarp on the floor in a central area. If you are doing this in your classroom, move all the desks against the walls. Draw a large circle (at least four feet in diameter) in the center of the tarp to represent Planet Zorcon. 2. Copy enough Zorcon Research Staff ID Badge sets for your class, printing each set on a different color of paper (for the purpose of cleanup; same colors go together). There are five badges per group, so if you have 30 students you will need six sets. You will also need some students to serve as Government Inspectors if the number of students in the class is not evenly divisible by five, you can assign the remaining number to this role. 3. For each group, place one set of ID badges, 5 spoons, and 2 cups in a gallon-sized Ziploc. 4. Fill another Ziploc with the resources (see the materials list on p. 1). Trip Organization 1. Form cooperative-learning work groups of five students each. Have one student pick up a bag of materials, namebadges, spoons, and cups. Instruct the groups to select a badge job title project director, surveyor, data collector, security, and resource specialist. 2. Have the surveyor for each group pick up a Resource Inventory Worksheet for their group and have the data collector fill in the name for each person s role. 3. If you have an odd number of students in your class, assign three or four students as government inspectors. Have the government inspectors check to see that each sheet is filled out properly. The role of the inspectors will be to oversee each trip and to monitor behavior on Earth and on the other planet. They are allowed to give fines for improper behavior which includes things like pushing, yelling, theft, and talking back to the government. Fines may range from one piece of any resource up to an entire trip s resources. Before they give a fine, they must check with the head of the government (the teacher). 4. Discuss the Resource Inventory Worksheet. Introduce and define the concept of renewable, nonrenewable, and inexhaustible resources. Ask the students to place an R, an N, or an I in the first column to indicate whether the resource is renewable (R), nonrenewable (N), or inexhaustible (I). Trip 1 1. Explain that this activity depicts life on Earth in the year Most of Earth s resources have been depleted, and nearly all water is polluted. Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 3 utah.agclassroom.org

4 A new planet,, has been discovered that has plenty of resources and is completely pollution-free. At this point, dump all the resources on the circle representing. 2. Have the Surveyors line up at least 15 feet away from the planet with a plastic cup and a plastic spoon. Indicate that their task is to travel from Earth to and collect as many resources as they can. They must pick up the resources with the spoon, one piece at a time, and place the resources in their cups. On the signal GO, they should run to the planet and begin collecting. 3. A Government Inspector should be sent to the planet to monitor behavior, levy fines, and time the duration of the resource collection 20 seconds for Trip The Surveyors can travel at their own speed on their trip back to earth. The group should help count the resources and provide this information to the Data Collector who should record the counts on the Resource Inventory activity sheet. Trip 2 1. Have each group discuss what they would like their surveyor to collect on the second trip. For the second trip (Trip 2), the surveyor can collect any way he/she wants, but they must use the spoon to pick up resources and must put the resources in the cup. Time for this trip is 20 seconds. Ready, set, GO! 2. Return and record data. Levy fines as needed. Have the Project Director in each group lead a discussion on what the group members should do or make with their resources and write their ideas on the back of their worksheet. The group should outline a plan for the next trip to determine how best to use the resources. Include in the discussion aspects of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Trip 3 1. For Trip 3, the government has put some restrictions on this trip and students will have only 10 seconds. The resource specialist will accompany the surveyor. Resources must fit in the cup both may bring a spoon and must be picked up with the spoon. The government is also restricting scooping with the cup and spoon. Heavy fines may be levied if any group uses this method of collection. Ready, set, GO! 2. Return and record data. Levy any fines, if needed. Trip 4 1. Indicate that Trip 4 is the last trip the government is going to allow to the planet. This time anyone can go to collect, and 15 seconds will be allowed for collection time. The only restrictions are that the resources must fit in the groups cups, and the fine for any personal injuries will be a loss of all resources. Each person may take a spoon. 2. Tell students that the unknown mineral (spaghetti), has been identified as a rare mineral with special properties. Water is the largest part of its crystal structure. When the crystals are exposed to Krypton gas, the water is released as pure water. When returned to the air, they recrystallize and recharge by absorbing water from the air. The mineral can be used indefinitely. Only pieces that are not broken will count. Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 4 utah.agclassroom.org

5 Suggestion: Some of the Government Inspectors and group Security people may need to stay on earth to guard the previously collected resources. The others should travel to the planet. Activity Discussion Discuss the activity covering the following topics: What did you collect? Why? What challenges did you experience? What role did the government play? How evenly were the resources distributed? What does the new planet look like now? Would you be able to live there? Why didn t anyone think to protect the planet? Are the damages your fault or the government s fault? What careers are there in natural resource management? Did you need a security person? What was your main motivation for the last trip? Which resources were most valuable? Why? Can you restore the new planet to its original condition? What resource specialists would be needed? Conclusion The future of our planet depends on human behaviors that we can control and our reaction to things we can t control, such as the weather and earthquakes. If no action is taken to manage how we use natural resources, nonrenewable resources can be exhausted, the quality of inexhaustible resources can be damaged, and the ability to replenish renewable resources can be lost. Managing natural resource use requires managing human behavior, which is a complex endeavor. There are many careers available in natural resource management ranging from research and education to policy development and law enforcement. Lesson plan adapted from What will tomorrow bring? from the International Office of Water Education, Utah State University. Assessment Explanation of concepts (written, oral, or through demonstration or performance of particular skills): Students should be able to identify and describe natural resources in agriculture and identify the difference between renewable and non-renewable. Elaboration (understandings or connections beyond objectives written, oral or through demonstration or performance): Students should be able to elaborate on the cause and effect of using or misusing resources and be able to identify other ways to reclaim or acquire natural resources through management strategies. Critical thinking demonstration (written, oral, or through demonstration or performance): Students mustcollaboratively establish the value of the natural resources in this scenario and how they should be used. Construct a list of careers and the education (secondary and postsecondary) necessary, skills required, and wage expectations related to careers discussed in this lesson: Students may be given time in their groups to collaboratively evaluate careers related to this activity and establish the specifics about each. Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 5 utah.agclassroom.org

6 Reading: What Are Resources? The things we use every day come from the earth. Nearly all of our daily activities use some kind of resource that is grown on a farm, harvested from the wild, mined, or extracted from deep below the soil. You may awaken in the morning on sheets made of cotton, under a blanket made of wool or synthetic polyester. Cotton is grown on a farm, wool comes from sheep raised on a farm, and synthetic polyester like most plastics is made from petroleum, which is extracted from the earth. The soap you use in the shower might contain cottonseed oil, while the tile, metal, and glass are made from mined materials. Wallpaper can be adhered to the wall using wheat paste, and paint contains compounds from trees. The linoleum on the floor is made from soybean oil, the wood flooring came from trees, and the nails holding it together are made from materials that were mined from the earth. The electricity powering the lights may come from water running through a hydroelectric dam or from coal burned at a power plant. It s difficult to imagine what our lives would be like without the natural resources that provide us with electricity, materials for the everyday items we use, and food to nourish our bodies. It can be an eye-opening experience to consider the resources that one uses in a single day, especially considering that some resources are nonrenewable. Nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced within a generation, so once they are gone, we have to make do without them. Fossil fuels and soil are two important nonrenewable resources. Both are formed very slowly by natural processes and both play central roles in our lives. While the act of using fossil fuels depletes the supply, this is not necessarily the case with soils, which can be managed for long-term use. Erosion destroys topsoil, but good management can prevent erosion. Soil that is managed well can support many years of cropping. Crops are a renewable resource because they can be managed for replenishing themselves regularly. For example, a tree farm can be managed so that some trees are ready for harvest each year. After trees are cut down to be turned into paper or lumber, more trees are planted that will renew the supply several years in the future. Crops like wheat and corn are planted and harvested within a single growing season, so they can be used up and then renewed each year. Some resources are considered inexhaustible, meaning that human activities will not affect the supply; they can last forever. Sunlight, water, and air are examples of inexhaustible resources. People cannot destroy these resources or create more of them, but we can affect their quality. Pollution can render air unbreathable and water undrinkable. Because we depend on natural resources to survive, it is important that we use them carefully. There are many careers in the field of natural resource management that seek to maintain the quality and productivity of earth s resources. Utah Agriculture in the Classroom 6 utah.agclassroom.org

7 Name: Period: Date: Activity #1: Define the following words: Pretest: Resources 1. Resource: 2. Renewable Resources: 3. Nonrenewable Resources: 4. Inexhaustible Resources: Activity #2: Directions: 1. You will be working with one other person to complete the next activity. 2. With your partner, you are responsible for reading What are Resources? aloud with each other while filling in the blanks on your worksheet. 3. When you have completed the reading and worksheet, please raise your hand and your teacher will check off your completion. What are Resources? The things we use every day come from the #1. Nearly all of our daily activities use some kind of resource that is grown on a farm, harvested from the wild, mined, or extracted from deep below the #2. You may awaken in the morning on sheets made of cotton, under a blanket made of wool or synthetic polyester. Cotton is grown on a #3, wool comes from sheep raised on a farm, and synthetic polyester like most plastics is made from petroleum, which is extracted from the earth. The soap you use in the

8 shower might contain #4 oil, while the tile, metal, and glass are made from #5 materials. Wallpaper can be adhered to the wall using wheat paste, and paint contains compounds from trees. The linoleum on the floor is made from soybean oil, the wood flooring came from trees, and the nails holding it together are made from materials that were mined from the earth. The electricity powering the lights may come from #6 running through a hydroelectric dam or from coal burned at a power plant. It s difficult to imagine what our lives would be like without the #7 resources that provide us with electricity, materials for the everyday items we use, and food to nourish our bodies. It can be an eye-opening experience to consider the resources that one uses in a single day, especially considering that some resources are #8. Nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced within a generation, so once they are gone, we have to make do without them. Fossil fuels and soil are two important nonrenewable resources. Both are formed very slowly by natural processes and both play central roles in our #9. While the act of using fossil fuels depletes the supply, this is not necessarily the case with soils, which can be managed for long-term use. Erosion destroys topsoil, but good management can prevent erosion. #10 that is managed well can support many years of cropping. Crops are a renewable resource because they can be managed for #11 themselves regularly. For example, a tree farm can be managed so that some trees are ready for harvest each year. After trees are cut down to be turned into paper or lumber, more trees are planted that will renew the supply several years in the future. Crops like wheat and corn are planted and harvested within a single growing season, so they can be used up and then #12 each year. Some resources are considered #13, meaning that human activities will not affect the supply; they can last #14. Sunlight, water, and air are examples of inexhaustible resources. People cannot destroy these resources or create more of them, but we can affect their quality. #15 can render air unbreathable and water undrinkable. Because we depend on natural resources to survive, it is important that we use them carefully. There are many #16 in the field of natural resource management that seek to maintain the quality and productivity of earth s resources

9 1. Earth 2. Soil 3. Farm 4. Cottonseed 5. Mined 6. Water 7. Natural 8. Nonrenewable 9. Lives 10. Soil 11. Replenishing 12. Renewed 13. Inexhaustible 14. Forever 15. Pollution 16. Careers Pretest: Resources Answer Key

10 Resource Inventory Name or Color of Group: Project Director (leads group/oversees inventory): Surveyor (travels/collects resources): Data Collector (tallies/records data): Resource Specialist (instructs as to which resources to collect): Security (guards collected resources): Wheat Corn Item Cotton Balls Toothpicks Soybeans Pinto or Brown Beans Shell Macaroni Spiral Macaroni Elbow Macaroni Paper Clips Black Beans Amber Pebbles Sequins Nails Silver Balls White Beans Spaghetti Resource Represented by Item Wheat Corn Cotton Trees Edible Oil Domestic Animals Seafood Lead Iron Zinc Crude Oil Copper Gold Silver Aluminum Water UNKNOWN Renewable/ Nonrenewable/ Inexhaustible (R/N/I) TRIP TO ZORCON Trip #1 Trip #2 Trip #3 Trip #4 Totals What RESOURCE did you collect the most of? What RESOURCE did you collect the least of? If you could do it all again, what things would you have done differently?

11 Zorcon ReseaRch Staff ID Badges Copy one page for each group on a different color of paper. You may choose to put the name badges into holders or make them into necklaces. Project Director Surveyor Resource Specialist Security Data Collector Government Inspector