LESSON 3: It's up to People

SUBJECT: History, Social Studies, Current Events and some Math

OBJECTIVE: Students will learn that the choices made by people - including themselves and their families - are the most important factors in determining whether renewable corn products like ethanol or biodegradable plastics will be used.

MEASUREMENT: Students realize that they make choices every day, and that all people make choices every day, and those choices can affect the future. Hopefully they will also realize that individuals can make a difference by what they say and do!

BACKGROUND FOR TEACHERS:

Review the teacher's background, and the "Corn For Energy!" Fact Sheet found in Unit 7, Lesson 1.

There are four possibilities relating to our current position of reliance on foreign countries for so much of our energy supplies. People have the choice. We can:

. Consume less energy
    Will this lower our standard of living ?

. Produce more energy
    Will we explore more environmentally sensitive areas?

. Guarantee imports
    Will we maintain military superiority?

. Find alternatives
    Will we commit to renewable energy sources?

Review the teacher's background in Unit 7, Lesson 4 for information on corn as a source of biodegradable plastics. Again, people have the choice!

The student activities in this lesson focus on energy, but all activities are easily adaptable to the issue of biodegradable plastics.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES:

1. Ask students to read Hugh Buys a Car, paying close attention to Hugh's feelings and reactions. He was very excited to have his own car. He was very proud to be a farmer, and was even more proud to think that farmers would be able to grow the raw materials needed for building and running cars. He was also proud of his country, and wanted it to be strong and self-sufficient.

2. Ask the students what they're proud of, and what is important to them. Ask them if they think individual people can make a difference in the world. Help them think of examples where individuals made a difference by standing up for what they believed, or by helping others. (They can think of historical examples like Gandhi, the Pilgrims, Martin Luther King, or they can think of examples from their own lives and school.)

3. Talk about the ways that people can demonstrate their beliefs. For example, if the class already did the "Corn For Energy!" Campaign, ask them to list some of the ways they could demonstrate their belief in "Corn For Energy!" For example:

• They can teach their families and friends what they know about using corn for energy.
• They can choose to spend their money (or encourage their parents to spend their money) on gasoline that is blended with ethanol.
• They can write letters to their representatives in government asking them to encourage the use of energy from corn and other renewable sources by providing tax benefits and money for research.
• They can thank the people and companies that are using and/or looking for new sources of energy made from corn and other renewable resources.
• They can thank farmers for raising crops that can be used to supply energy for the world.
• They can study and learn more about the subject of renewable energy. (Background information is available at http://www.ilcorn.org/reports/natofcorn/airqual.html, or www.ilcorn.org/pages/ethanol.htm.

4. 4. Tell students that in this lesson they will learn WHAT PEOPLE KNOW, and HOW PEOPLE FEEL about renewable energy. Then ask them to complete one or more of the following projects. (They might want to do this in teams of two or more!)

Interview the owners, customers or employees of several community gas stations. They could also draw a map of the community showing where all the gas stations are located. Mark which ones sell ethanol. A 10% blend of ethanol and gasoline (E10) would be the most common, but some of them might sell an 85% blend (E85).

Develop and conduct a survey of students, teachers, families or community members.

Note: It's very important that students develop this survey on their own! The questions need to reflect THEIR concerns and THEIR understanding of the issues. These surveys can be very simple or very complex, depending on the maturity of the students. Surveys with "yes or no" questions are the easiest for tabulating results.

Possible knowledge questions for the survey:

• A fuel for cars can be made from corn.
• Ethanol is healthier for the environment than gasoline.
• It's possible to make ethanol and food from the same bushel of corn.
• Fossil fuels like gasoline are non-renewable.

Possible attitude questions for the survey:

• This country depends too much on oil from the Persian Gulf.
• The government should encourage development of fuel produced from corn.
• The government is doing as much as it should to reduce air pollution.
• Increased use of ethanol is good for the economy.

Make a scrapbook of news clippings about energy use in the United States. Highlight all the comments made by people that demonstrate their attitudes and beliefs toward sources of energy (fossil fuels or alternative sources like ethanol) and uses of energy (conservation or wasteful).

5. Students should summarize their results, then decide if there is more THEY can do!

Last reviewed May 7, 2004