MarcoGram January 2006 -- Home Sweet Home Economics

Home Sweet Home Economics
In another era, home economics and "shop class" were designed to prepare young women for a life of homemaking and young men for a manufacturing career, respectively. But as gender roles and technologies have evolved, so have these classes, expanding to include nutrition and food science, family studies, consumer education and industrial arts. This month's MarcoGram reinforces the value and relevance of these practical courses through cross-curricular applications. Use the activities below to get started, then scroll down for more links and resources on this topic.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art and Media.

1. Suggested grade level: 6-8. "New and improved!" "The best on the market!" "More for your money!" "An outstanding value!" Americans see and hear dozens of advertising phrases like these every day on radio and TV, in newspapers and magazines, and on billboards and the Internet. Being able to analyze the truthfulness of such claims is an important part of making smart choices about what to buy--and what not to buy.

Present students with an assortment of advertisements for various household products. What words or phrases in the ads make the products seem useful or attractive? What words or phrases in the ads make the products seem like a good value for the money? If you were running a household, which products would you be interested in purchasing? Why?

Distribute one advertisement to each student. Tell students to imagine that they are advertising copywriters charged with writing a new ad for the product they were given. However, instead of using persuasive language, which may conceal important information about a product's abilities or costs, they must use language that represents the facts about a product more directly. When students are finished, have them swap their ads with other students. Compare the old and new ads. In which ad does the product seem more useful or attractive? In which ad does the product seem more like a good value for the money? Which ad is more likely to sell the product? Why?

Learn how to be an informed and judicious consumer with:

"Clipping Coupons" (K-5) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

"Critical Media Literacy: Commercial Advertising" (6-8) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

"How E-Commerce Influences Consumer Choice" (3-8) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

Sod house, McKenzie County, N.D., photographed in 1937. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Digital ID: fsa 8c52953

2. Suggested grade level: K-2. Our world is filled with variety. Some people live in crowded cities; others live in smaller towns. Still others reside in the country, where neighbors are few and far between. Some places are warm most of the year, while others have very harsh winters. Some places are hot and dry; others are cold and damp. But no matter how different all these places may be, at least one thing remains the same--no matter where people live, they need a house to call a home.

Why do people live in houses? Why are there so many different kinds of houses? What things are the same about every house no matter where or how it's built?

Explain to students that in earlier times, before modern transportation, people usually built their homes from whatever natural materials were available in the areas where they settled. Divide the class into four groups. The first group should pretend it will settle in a wooded area, the second group in the desert, the third group on a prairie, and the fourth group on an icy tundra. Each group should think about what materials are available in its area that could be used to build a house. Ask students to write down or draw these materials. Reconvene as a class and discuss. How could you build a house from these materials? Will the materials keep people safe from the weather or other threats in these regions? How are these houses different from your house? The same? Would you like to live in one of these houses? Why?

Explore different kinds of homes in:

"Oh, Give Me a Home" (3-5) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society

"Sodbusters!" (K-2) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"What Should a House Do?" (K-2) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

3. Suggested grade level: 3-5. Knitting, sewing, crocheting and quilting are all hobbies enjoyed by many today, but were once important skills that every family needed to have to maintain a well-stocked house. But while needlecrafts served a vital functional purpose, they also allowed families to memorialize important family events in a unique, artistic way.

Think about some of the meaningful events in your life and the people in your family that have had a positive influence on you. What symbol(s) could you use to represent these events and people?

Ask students to map out on paper a quilt design that incorporates the symbol(s) they chose. Then supply students with a variety of cloth remnants or colored paper clippings, scissors and glue to flesh out the "quilt" on their paper map. When students have finished, ask them to present their quilts to the class and explain their symbolism.

Find out more about the history and significance of quilts in:

"Freedom Quilts" (K-4) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

"History in Quilts" (3-5) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

4. Suggested grade level: 9-12. We all eat meals every day and don't think too much about the science and math behind them. Science and math? Absolutely! What more is a recipe than a precisely measured mixture of different food items that, when combined, form a whole new cuisine? There's hard science behind the five food groups, too, as research has shown that the recommended daily servings of foods from each group have the most beneficial effect on human health. And don't forget safe food handling and storage--employing proper hygiene techniques when working with foods, such as washing hands, surfaces and utensils thoroughly after handling uncooked meats; washing raw vegetables; cooking foods to a certain internal temperature; and storing foods promptly in the refrigerator or freezer are all efforts to keep illness-causing microbes out of foods.

Your school's foodservice staff must keep all these variables in mind as they plan menus for student consumption. Consider a meal that you'd like to see added to the menu at your school. Obtain a recipe for the meal from a cookbook or the Internet. Using the U.S.D.A.'s food pyramid at www.mpyramid.gov, determine whether the meal meets basic nutritional requirements for teens. If it does not, how can it be augmented to improve its nutritional value? Now determine the student population of your school and calculate how much of each ingredient you'll need to prepare the meal and serve the entire school. Share your ideas with the foodservice staff at your school. Include any special instructions for food handling and storage. If possible, work with them to prepare the meal on a trial basis.

Continue to examine the relationship between food and health with:

"A Lunch-In Affair" (6-8) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

"Heart 2: Changing Lifestyles and Heart Health" (9-12) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science

"Sanitation and Human Health" (6-8) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science