Marcia L. Gerencser
Students will be listening to actual case studies that expose a plethora of poisons that people and animals are living with. It will be demonstrated how air, water and soil pollution occur through the carelessness, ignorance and lack of moral ethics of man by readings from Quick Poisons, Slow Poisons: Pesticide Risk in the Lucky Country by Kate Short. These readings will make the children aware of the people and animals who have died, become violently ill, or who have suffered physically over a long period of time. The children will learn that chemicals can be airborne, absorbed by the skin or ingested as vapors through oral and nasal passages. The case studies are short and comprehensible. Many involve children and how they have been affected by pesticides through spraying and other means of contact. Students identify with these stories because they have seen playgrounds, classrooms and their homes being sprayed. (1)
Rachel Carson, writer and biologist, is regarded as being responsible for setting forth the environmental movement through the publication of her book, Silent Spring. After raising the awareness of people around the world a heartfelt concern was manifested for the future of our planet Earth. This landmark publication raised the consciousness of people that led to the banning of DDT and changes in laws that would affect how our land, air and water would be cared for. Rachel Carson brought it out in the open how spraying pesticides has harmful effects on insects, weeds and threatens the lives of other creatures. She demonstrated the effects that spraying has on the food chain. The town of Silver Spring was so impressed with her findings that they decided to vote against using pesticides to kill mosquitoes. (2) The new generation, entering the world and the power that they can administer in changing laws and enforcing those laws, should be made aware of just what Rachel Carson accomplished. They, as inhabitants of this planet, should continue to carry her message. The following article and two activities bring the message of Rachel Carson across to the young through comprehension and writing exercises.
For many years, many insects, weeds, and other kinds of pests created problems for people. Farmers had problems with insects destroying their crops. People complained about annoying insects. Railroad workers were disturbed by weeds growing around the tracks. Fruit growers were troubled by caterpillars that ate their fruit. These concerns led scientists to search for a solution. During World War II, they produced pesticides. Pesticides are poisonous chemicals that are used to kill unwanted insects, plants, and fungus. The most common pesticide was dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, or DDT. Although pesticides helped to eliminate many problems, others were created. Rachel Carson, a well-known scientist, was determined to explain the consequences of using pesticides.
Harmful Effects
Rachel Carson had many lessons to teach people about the harmful effects of spraying pesticides. In 1959, she attended a community meeting held in Silver Spring, Maryland. They were deciding whether or not to spray a pesticide to eliminate annoying insects. Rachel Carson listened to their arguments for and against pesticides. Finally, she spoke about the dangers of pesticides. She said that pesticides not only destroyed the insects, weeds, or fungus being sprayed, but they also threatened the lives of other creatures. For instance, when bushes or trees are sprayed with these poisonous chemicals, birds, bees, and other creatures can die. In addition, people who go near these sprayed areas are harmed by the poisonous chemicals in the air. Furthermore, these chemicals are dangerous to animals that are near areas that have been sprayed. Pesticides can destroy all living things.
Natural Food Chain
Carson further revealed the unhealthy effects that spraying pesticides had by examining the natural food chain that exists among all living things. This is a sequence by which smaller animals and plants are eaten by larger, stronger animals that are then eaten by even stronger animals. For example, plankton are tiny plants and animals that live near the ocean’s surface. They become poisoned when pesticides land on them. Insects eat many poisoned plankton. Therefore, they become poisoned. These insects become food for small fish. Since these fish devour, or eat, many poisoned insects, they have large amounts of pesticides inside their bodies. Larger fish and animals eat the smaller poisonous fish. Large doses of poisons enter their bodies and stay there for life. Then, people eat these large fish or animals that were poisoned by the pesticides. In addition, people eat fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with pesticides. Even though fish, fruits, and vegetables contain small amounts of pesticides, these chemicals build up inside the body. They reach dangerous levels and harm people’s health.
The Vote
After listening to Carson’s speech, the people voted against using pesticides. Carson taught them that living things are linked to each other and their environment. Also, she taught them that it is not wise to use chemicals to control the environment. Pesticides are dangerous to wildlife and people. (3)
Cloze Exercise
Read the passage. Choose the best word to fill in the blank. The word you choose must make sense in the whole passage.
Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907. She lived with her family on a farm. At an early age, Rachel Carson was surrounded by 1 . She took care of the pigs, cows, and hens. She played with her family’s cats, dogs, and rabbits. Her mother taught her about the birds, insects, and plants that were found in the forests near their house. She often walked through the 2 with her mother. Rachel Carson spent a great deal of time outdoors observing nature in fields, forests, and streams.
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1. a. toys
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b. buildings
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c. friends
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d. animals
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e. fields
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2. a. store
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b. library
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c. woods
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d. storms
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e. desert
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When war broke out between the United States and Germany in 1917, her brother joined the United States Army Aviation Service. Although Rachel Carson was only ten years old, she was concerned about the fighting going on in Europe. She listened to news about the war. In addition, her brother shared stories about the war with her. Fascinated with his tales, Carson wrote her own story about the war. She sent it to a children’s magazine. The magazine editors enjoyed her story. Therefore, they 3 it. Rachel Carson continued to write other stories for other magazines.
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3. a. returned
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b. wrote
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c. found
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d. lost
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e. printed
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After high school, Rachel Carson went to college. During her first year of college, she wrote stories about the sea. Even though Rachel Carson had never seen the ocean before, she had always been curious about it. She had read many books about sea life throughout her childhood. However, she 4 got to see the ocean. At twenty-two, she saw the ocean for the first time when she traveled to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to study sea life.
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4. a. never
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b. only
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c. always
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d. often
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e. once
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In her second year of college, she took her first biology class. Carson enjoyed studying how nature works. Carson had 5 to be a writer. After taking this course, she changed her mind. Instead of becoming a writer, she studied to become a scientist. When she graduated, she continued to study sea life at Johns Hopkins University. After graduation, Carson got a job writing scripts for a radio show about ocean life. Now she did not have to make a 6 . This job combined her interests in the sea and writing.
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5. a. planned
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b. hated
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c. pretended
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d. traveled
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e. fought
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6. a. cake
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b. date
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c. choice
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d. sale
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e. trip
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Throughout Carson’s career, she wrote magazine articles and books. She wrote several best-sellers. Her books were 7 . Silent Spring, her last book, made her well-known. Rachel Carson had written many books describing the beauty of nature. However, the last one was written to warn people about the dangers of pesticides to nature and people. Rachel Carson devoted her life to her work. She taught people to protect their environment. She died of cancer on April 14, 1964, shortly after her last book was written.
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7. a. strange
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b. old
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c. destroyed
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d. small
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e. popular (4)
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Use the following for writing exercises.
Radio Writing
Rachel Carson taught people that spraying can have negative consequences on nature and people. Write a public service announcement for radio warning people against the many dangers of spraying pesticides. Present it to your class.
Play Writing
Rachel Carson attended a meeting in 1959 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The people in that community met to decide whether to spray pesticides to get rid of mosquitoes or not. Some argued for spraying while others argued against. Then, Rachel Carson spoke out on the dangers of spraying pesticides. Write a script about this meeting. Be sure to include the results from the vote made by the community. Your classmates can act it out.
Creative Writing
Rachel Carson explained the natural food chain to her audience at the meeting. A food chain is a sequence by which smaller animals and plants are eaten by larger, stronger animals that are then eaten by even stronger animals. Write and illustrate a cartoon showing a natural food chain. Be sure to include the name of each type of smaller plant of animal, the larger and stronger animal, and the largest and strongest animal. Also include how human beings fit into the food chain.
Summary Writing
Write a summary about the cloze passage you just read on the cloze exercise. (5)
