| Introduction: |
Students
arrive in the classroom today with a wide range of personal experiences.
Some bring direct experiences with family or friends with serious health
problems or may have known the trauma of losing a home and/or a car to
a flood or hurricane, while others in this age group have yet to be exposed
to varied negative aspects of daily life. |
| National
Science Education Standards: |
Content Standard F:
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Risks and Benefits
|
|
Concepts & Principles:
|
 Daily
activities and the decisions they demand may bring an individual into
a variety of different hazardous situations.
“Students
should understand the risks associated with natural hazards (fires,
floods, “tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions),
with chemical hazards “(pollutants in air, water, soil, and food,
with biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, “and parasites),
social hazards (occupational safety and transportation), and with  ”personal
hazards (smoking, dieting, and drinking).” National Science
Education “Standards. 1996
|
| Objectives: |
To
identify areas of risk in the students’ lives.
To explore the
areas of daily risk and how different people approach them.
|
|
Cross-Curricular Connections:
|
Language Arts:
• Written
report of daily events and verbal dialogue in cooperative groups/class
discussion
Health:
• Identification
of practices that secure safe conditions
Science:
• Observation
of events, sequence and order
|
| Process
Skills: |
Classifying
Communicating
Estimating
Predicting
Interpreting
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| Lesson
Description: |
After
students have identified areas, locations, or events of risk in the community
and ranked them according to their “known vs. unknown” and “controllable
vs. uncontrollable” characteristics, they will keep a one-day diary
identifying and recording their personal experiences. |
|
Materials:
|
Student Diary Sheet
flip chart paper (butcher paper)
markers
|
| Suggested
Time Frame: |
Two
45-minute sessions. |
|
Procedure:
|
- Open class with a discussion
of several newspaper articles that describe some risky or hazardous
event, such as: car accidents, new safety reports, restaurant worker
applies Heimlich maneuver to save customer, etc.
- To heighten student awareness
of everyday activities that may have risks attached to them, arrange
a Gallery Walk. For the Gallery Walk identify familiar settings such
as home, school, playground and list these on separate sheets of flip
chart paper (see list below). Set these sheets around the classroom
or yard to establish stations. Each cooperative group will rotate
from station to station in order interact at each location.
- For each topic listed,
the group must decide on one item to include that may be considered
a hazard and thus provide a risk to them or to someone else. Topics
already listed should not be repeated.
Teacher’s Note: Because student groups may not repeat
the ideas of other groups, it may be necessary to extend the time
at each station for the last 2 or 3 locations.
- Following the completion
of the student work on the Gallery Walk, each group should take the
sheet from their last station and prepare a class presentation that
incorporates the ideas listed. All students should participate in
the discussion. A second large piece of paper may be used to prepare
a ranking of the responses on the sheet or items could be numbered
before presentation.
- Distribute the Student
Diary Sheets and instruct the students to clearly mark any occurrence
of risk in the next 24 hours.
- In class the following
day, cooperative groups should compare their diaries with one another
and freely dialogue to express what each person recorded.
- Individual awareness
should be noted and rankings compared. After the groups have met,
a full class discussion should follow.
Examples of Topics
for a Gallery Walk and Typical Student Responses:
Around My Home
Crack in the sidewalk or driveway
Leaving items on the floor
Unlocked gun cabinets
At School
Running in the halls
Opening my locker into someone
Wet floors
While Traveling
School bus behavior
Children not in car seats
Ice on the road/fog
During Sports
Not wearing a batting helmet
Having enough life preservers
Swimming without lifeguards
While at Play
Roller Blading in the street
Smoking
In Our Community
Missing corner stop sign
People who dump trash
Street Flooding
Brownfields
Teacher’s Note:
This is not a complete list of all possible categories. Teachers should
freely substitute more relevant topics, if needed. Answers will vary.
|
|
Suggested Discussion
Questions:
|
What
does the term risk mean to each student?
Are all risks
hazardous or harmful? Explain.
What daily activities
are risky? Why are they considered risky?
Do we think of
these risks before undertaking the events that we consider risky?
Why are some people
willing to take a job that others see as too hazardous?
Do you ever consider
possible outcomes before deciding to do something?
Describe a risk
you have taken.
|
| Further
Investigations: |
Have
students’ family members keep a 24 hour diary on their activities.
Invite a group of
parents to discuss the risks in various careers.
Research the differences
between the natural hazards found in your students’ geographic area
and those typical of another region of the country. Identify the reasons
why people chose to live in “risky” areas.
Investigate the
kinds of insurance that are recommended in different careers and the costs
invloved.
Have cooperative
groups select different car models and research insurance rates based
on age of the driver, car model and color.
Complete a class
average of the rankings of common diary items or use the student data
to wrap up discussion on the assignment. |
| Career
Opportunities: |
Actuarial Scientist
Legislator
Public Health Worker
Safety Supervisor
Engineer
Athletic Trainer
Construction Worker
Athletic Trainer
|
|
Assessment Procedures:
|
Individual
participation will be monitored as the students are working.
The oral reports
by each group following the Gallery Walk may be evaluated.
The student diaries
will be part of the assessment process.
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