Stuff
STUFF: THE SECRET LIVES OF EVERYDAY THINGS
By John C. Ryan & Alan Thein Durning. Northwest Environment Watch. 1997. (88 pages)
Subjects: Consumerism. Environmental science. Environmental preservation. Sustainability.
Recommended for: High school – Adult
SUMMARY:
Be polite, just go about your day, and all’s well, because you’re not hurting anybody, right? Look deeper into that cup of coffee you drank this morning, the shoes you’re wearing, the burgers & fries you had for lunch….and so on. Every choice we make – every product we use – has an impact that many of us are unaware of. That impact affects other people, other animals, and the planet in myriad ways – often in very destructive, harmful ways. Ryan & Durning explore the impact of some of the choices we make by making connections between our daily habits and the various impacts of those habits. Find out the hidden story of “everyday consumer goods.”
IDEAS FOR USING THIS BOOK:
1. A downloadable curriculum – developed by NEW BC – was created to accompany Stuff. You’ll find several teaching ideas there.
2. Stuff is one of the required titles for IHE students to read. One of their assignments requires them to choose an everyday household object and trace its path from beginning to end – how it’s created; with what materials and by whom; how all its composite materials are made; how it’s disposed of, etc. Our students have traced the lives of products from toothbrushes and hair dye to crayons and iPods to soymilk and potato chips. You r students could do the same sort of thing.
3. We have a variety of free downloadable Humane Education Activities that can complement Stuff. Below are a few samples:
Leave Only Footprints
Everyone has an ecological footprint. Participants use paper footprints to simulate the impact of their choices on the earth. Extension activities allow students to explore their ecological footprints and what choices can be made to reduce them.
Recommended for grades 6 and up.
Time: 45 minutes
Trash Investigators
What’s in our trash that doesn’t need to be there? Participants investigate a trash source and analyze which items can be removed from the waste stream.
Recommended for grades 4 and up.
Time: 30 minutes
True Price
Help participants become more conscious in their consuming by analyzing the “true price” of the products we use.
Recommended for grades 6 and up.
Time: 20-60 minutes, or several days
Whale’s Stomach
Students learn about the impact of our “throwaway society” by exploring all the different kinds of trash found in a whale’s stomach.
Recommended for grades 4 and up.
Time: 15-45 minutes
Find more Humane Education Activities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Find out more about the organization that created Stuff.
Want to submit a teaching idea for this title?
Email: Marsha@HumaneEducation.org
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