HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Included on the following pages are a series of activities for HIF10/20 that could be used by teachers to address the Social Science Skills strand of the course. Some of these activities are fully developed and others are in outline form only and will need to be expanded prior to use. Much of the instruction in this area will need to be teacher directed, as these skills are often new to students. Research skills should not be taught in isolation but rather become the tool to address the other expectations within the course. Students will begin to develop these skills in order to build the foundation for future skill development in the senior grades.
Additional support materials on the use of social science research skills in Family Studies courses can be found in “Social Science Research Skills in the Family Studies Classroom Overview.”
The materials created in this documents rely heavily on the use of computer technology to communicate the results of their research. The teacher could easily adapt them all if access to computer technology is limited.
Teachers must follow school and board policies abut the safe and ethical use of the Internet. They must inform their students about these policies. All web sites identified in this documents were current at the time of publication. Given the frequency with which these designations change, teachers should always verify the websites prior to assigning them for student use.
Primary research forms a significant component of these materials. Students must be instructed in the proper and ethical research techniques. When students are conducting primary research collection they should be instructed to respect an individual’s choice to respond to an interview/survey with “no comment” or “no response at all” as a valid answer.
Contents
Egg Baby or Infant Simulation Activity 3
Money Habits of Teens 4
Fact Sheet Assignment – “Healthy Snacking for Teens” 6
Caring for Your Clothing 9
Social Science Research Project 10
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Activity #1 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Egg Baby or Infant Simulation Activity
Depending on the way in which this activity is carried out it can meet a number of expectations in this course. It may allow students in the HIF course to meet the some of the following expectations:
• summarize the connection between developmental stages and individual
behaviour
• demonstrate an ability to negotiate and perform tasks related to meeting the needs of individuals and families at home or for another family
• apply appropriate decision-making models, grounded in research, to choices related to individual and family well-being and quality of life and suggest strategies for making difficult choices
• explain how government, non-profit, and business organizations assist families in performing their functions
Expectations from the Social Science Skills strand can also be incorporated into this activity. Students can conduct both primary and secondary research about teen pregnancy. Students as a class can compare their experiences caring for the egg or infant simulator to that of teenage parents. A panel of teen parents and those who provide support for teen parents can be invited into the class. Students can compare their findings (including their personal observations during the simulation) with data from other sources and form conclusion about the impact of pregnancy and parenthood on the lives of teenagers. Students can produce a “baby book” or other type of presentation that presents the results of their inquiries.
Teachers may decide to complete the simulation over a shorter period of time (e.g. 1 night) or use the most basic infant simulator to prevent duplication with the Parenting course. As the basic model simulators are replaced with the more recent model for Parenting courses the older version can be put to use in the HIF course.
Activity #2 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Money Habits of Teens
There are a number of expectations within the HIF course that deal with money management. Students will be introduced to the research of Olivia Mellan and “money types.” Students then follow the social science model in a simplified way to examine the money habits of teens. Students will create their own basic questionnaire. All questionnaires must be approved by teacher before distribution. The teacher also needs to advise students to use questions that can be easily graphed. Graphs may be computer generated or completed on graph paper.
MONEY HABITS OF TEENS
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
You will create a questionnaire and conduct research using social science research methods to determine how teens acquire money, what kind of spenders they are according to Olivia Mellan’s research on money types, and how and where teens spend money. Most of the work will be completed in small groups, some will be done individually.
References:
Meriorg, E. & Holloway, M. (2001). Individual and Family Living in
Canada. Toronto:Irwin Publishing Ltd.
Mellan, O. (1994). Money Harmony-Resolving Money Conflicts in Your Life
and Relationships. USA: Walker and Company ISBN 0-8027-1285-1
http://www.moneyharmony.com
Directions:
1. In your small group, brainstorm possible criteria for your study – e.g. who, when, where, how you might do the survey, the kinds and content of questions you might ask, etc.
2. Clearly specify your research question. This will help you focus on your study and will guide the design of your survey. Your question should deal specifically with the money habits of teenager.
3. Data collection: Design a small survey, no more than 6 questions that will gather the information you need. Remember to choose the kinds of questions that can be easily graphed.
Activity #2 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
4. Conduct the survey by asking the questions of 20 teenagers. Describe your sample
group (e.g., age, male or female, where you did your sample).
5. Data Analysis: Organize your data so that you can compare, and summarize
your data. Graphing the data either by hand or using a computer program is appropriate. You might want to see how your data compares to other groups in
the class.
6. Conclusions: *** This part will be done individually. Class time will be given.
Write a three to five paragraph report suitable for a school newspaper about the research that was conducted. Include a description of your research methodology (how your survey was done), some of the findings and your conclusions as to what students might do to change their money habits. Be sure to use a headline and opening that draws attention to your research findings.
Activity #3 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Fact Sheet Assignment – “Healthy Snacking for Teens”
The following activity introduces students to research, notemaking, and referencing sources in proper APA format.
Fact Sheet Assignment
“HEALTHY SNACKING FOR TEENS”Assignment Overview: You are to develop a fact sheet on the topic of “Healthy Snacking for Teens” using 3 different published sources (secondary research). You will also show evidence of your research, using note making sheets as described and discussed in class.
Criteria:
ü Fact sheet should be a standard 8-inch x 11-inch sheet of paper, coloured or white, one side only.
ü The fact sheet must contain information, attractively presented, word processed, if possible, with graphics and/or pictures targeted for peers (teens).
ü Evidence of research – you must show evidence of your research by attaching to your fact sheet 3 note making sheets, one for each source used. List the source at the top of each page. Use a variety of sources: cookbooks, textbooks, Internet, magazines, vertical files, etc.
ü Information on the fact sheet should include:
1. a guide to healthy snacking
2. benefits of healthy snacking
3. ideas for healthy snacking choices
4. references listed at the bottom using APA format
Assessment/Evaluation:
See attached rubric
Activity #3 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
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Healthy Snacking For Teens – Fact Sheet Rubric
Assessment Category/Criteria
/Level
One /Level
Two /Level
Three /Level
FourKnowledge/Understanding
-fact sheet includes a guide to healthy snacking for teens, benefits of healthy snacking and ideas for healthy snacking choices / - fact sheet demonstrates limited knowledge of facts and terms / - fact sheet demonstrates some knowledge of facts and terms / - fact sheet demonstrates considerable knowledge of facts and terms / - fact sheet demonstrates thorough knowledge of facts and termsThinking and Inquiry
-variety of appropriate sources used to gather research notes-information categorized effectively to meet content criteria / - limited appropriate sources are used to gather research notes
- information categorized in fact sheet with limited effectiveness / - some appropriate sources are used to gather research notes
- information categorized in fact sheet with some effectiveness / - a variety of appropriate sources are used to gather research notes
- information categorized in fact sheet with considerable effectiveness / - a wide variety of appropriate sources are used to gather research notes
- information categorized in fact sheet with a high degree of effectiveness
Communication
- bibliographic information presented in APA format-communicates information in a manner appropriate for teen audience / - sources are documented using APA format with limited success
-communicates with a limited sense of audience and purpose / - sources are documented using APA format with some success
-communicates with a some sense of audience and purpose / - sources are documented using APA format with considerable success
-communicates with a clear sense of audience and purpose / - sources are documented using APA format with a high degree of success
-communicates with a strong sense of audience and purpose
Teacher’s Comments and Next Steps: Level ______
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Activity #4 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Caring for Your Clothing
This activity allows students to complete a simple survey as a class. This activity allows students to meet the following expectations:
• identify skills that are required to meet the needs of individuals and families,
within the family and the community
• demonstrate practical skills required for meeting their own and their family’s
food, clothing, health and security and housing needs
Teachers can use this opportunity to teach the skills of data collection, tallying of results and graph construction.
The teacher posts chart paper around the room with the following questions:
1. Do you do your own laundry on a regular basis?
YES NO
2. Who most often does laundry at your house? Choose one.
Mom, Dad, Sibling, Me, Other
3. Have you ever used a washing machine?
YES NO
4. Have you ever ironed an article of clothing?
YES NO
5. What laundry soap do you use at home? Choose one.
Tide, Cheer, Presidents Choice, Sunlight, Whatever is on sale, Don’t Know, Other
6. Where does your family do their laundry?
Home Laundromat Someone else’s house (e.g. grandparents)
7. How many items of clothing does your family bring to the dry cleaners on a monthly basis?
Have students circulate around the room and answer each question to the best of their ability.
Divide class into 7 groups. Each group will take the responses from one of the questions and create a graph that displays the responses. The group writes a paragraph that summarizes the results of the question. One student from the group to presents the graph and the group’s summary to the class.
Activity #5 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Social Science Research Project
This project may be done in small groups or individually or a combination of both; it allows the teacher to assess the expectations for Collaborative Group Skills (Research Skills strand). Students choose an adolescent issue that they are interested in learning more about. It is best that the teacher give students a list to choose from. The following topics work well: drinking and driving, Internet use, sports participation, divorce, single parents, smoking, alcohol consumption.
The students follow the social science research. The teacher will need to review with the class the difference between quantitative and qualitative research. They begin by conducting secondary research on their topic. Students use a notetaking organizer to gather info. The small group discusses who they should survey, how they will obtain their data and then create a simple survey and distribute it. After they have obtained their data students tally data and create graphs. These may be done by hand, on the computer or a combination of both. Students analyze the data and present their information. This could be done in the form of a research report, a display board or bulletin board, written in a magazine or newspaper article format, or as a television or radio interview.
Included on the next pages are some of the handouts/resources that can be used with students when completing this project.
Activity #5 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Social Science Research Project - HIF1O
Information Gathering Sheet
Use this sheet to record information about your topic. You should organize your facts by focus. Read your questionnaire and identify the focus of each question. Then, look through articles and identify qualitative and quantitative facts related to the focus.
Topic: ______
Question 1 focus:Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 2 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 3 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Activity #5 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Question 4 focus:Quantitative Facts
/ Qualitative Facts
Question 5 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 6 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 7 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Activity #5 HIF10/20 Individual and Family Living
Social Science Research Teaching/Learning Strategies
Question 8 focus:Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 9 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Question 10 focus:
Quantitative Facts / Qualitative Facts
Facts related to gender: