Margaret M. Loos
Activity I—The Other Worlds
Another
display
should present the picture of starvation in the third, fourth and fifth world, emphasizing the plight of the young.
Short essays
(one page) could be assigned to learn the food situation in various countries of the world, and possible answers to their specific problems.
Activity II—The World Food Picture
Graphs
should be prepared from tables of data from writings on the food crisis in the world, the distribution of food in various countries, percentages of various nutrients in regional diets, and comparative population growth.
In association with the graphs an illustration of the dilemma of the imbalance in the world food supply can be utilized. The teacher makes up four different color coupons, each color in a number equal to her number of students. One color represents arable land, one represents food production technology, one represents low population and one represents wealth. She places varying amounts of coupons in sandwich bags (one for each student). Some bags should have only one coupon, several should have three. and at least one should have twenty or more. She then places a box of cookies on the front table and says it represents the entire food supply in the world, and in order to receive any a student must present four coupons of one or more colors. Students should be asked to think of possible solutions to the problem.
EAT THE COOKIES AFTERWARDS.
Activity III
Growth Game
:
The Effect
of
Exponential Growth—
Procedure: Give each student a copy of the checkerboard, some rice from a five pound bag of rice. Direct them to place one grain of rice in the first square, two in the next, four in the next, etc. Ask them to estimate how much rice they will need. Allow them to start the board. They will be quickly faced with the problem of running out of room. Ask them to relate this to the problem of increasing population and increasing food needs. Go through the doubling until they are impressed by the enormous number and explain that if the number of grains were doubled 64 times, they would have to use more grains of rice than exist in the world.
(figure available in print form)
This activity is a variation of Source: Energy and Earth, The Jefferson County Schools. Jefferson County, Colorado, Printed in
Something Special for Teachers
. Seed, Tenneco, Inc. Public Affairs Department, Houston, Texas, 1980.
