Kaitlyn G. House: North
Topic: Environmentally Friendly Sustainable Living
Essential Question: How can people live in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner today?

Monday, October 25, 2010

EQ

1)  best, most effective

2)  A possible answer is to inform people about common misconceptions on Sustainable Living.  Also, show people easy and cheap ways to help offset their use of limited resources.

3)My most important source so far has been the article from this site:

http://www.theecologist.org/trial_investigations/268287/10_reasons_why_organic_can_feed_the_world.html

The reason why, is that this article explains the misconceptions behind organic food and the impact that it has on the world.  The yields of organic farms are actually larger and use less energy than conventional farms.  Also, this can reduce a person's carbon footprint dramatically if the food is local as well as being cheaper if the people get it directly from the farmer.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Idea Approval

1) I would like to create a working alternative energy source such as a small, homemade wind turbine that can be used at my house for a fraction of our energy consumption.  I would also like to work for a community garden.

2) It will be worthwhile because the experiences will teach me how to install and maintain sustainable technology as well as helping me learn about better agricultural techniques.

3) If I get the experience, then I can better understand what I want to teach people.  Also, this can help me find small, easy steps that regular people can take to gradually improve their lifestyles.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Second Interview Questions

1)  What is the thing that makes you most qualified to practice sustainable living?

2)  What is the best advice you can give someone on how to get started on converting their house to a more sustainable lifestyle?

3)  What is the best sustainable energy source for a house?

4)  What is the best incentive for a person to live sustainably?

5)  What is the most rewarding experience you have gotten from sustainable living?

My Essential Question:  What is the best way to convince and teach people to adopt a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle?

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Interview Reflection #1

I learned what it was like to put yourself full-on into a life of sustainable living and the work behind it.  Sustainable living is doable, but in order to start, it can take a lot of hard work.  It was a real challenge that took months to achieve in order for Mr. Harned and his family to build his own home out of the stuff they grew from their property.  Also, in order to live like this, his family has made a lot of sacrifices.  They rarely travel and also, they can only use as much power as their solar panels can provide.

Five-Minute Presentation Reflection

1: I took a highly creative approach to the construction of my visual aid.  Rather than just putting pictures and labels on my poster, I decided to design a crossword-style vocabulary board in the shape of a house with symbols of different aspects of my topic on it. 

2: The most challenging thing to do was plan my lesson so that it would fit in five minutes without being too short.  I had the material, but I was afraid it would be too much.  This is why I tried to condense it into a few vocab words to quiz the class on and inform them about.