Miriam Woods
Science Teacher
Hoover High School
4800 Aurora Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa  50310
woodsmi@dmps.des-moines.k12.ia.us
Musical Resources

Background:  Our natural resources are truly finite.  We face the challenge of declining resources.  We must reduce our rate of use to make these resources last and we must practice the four R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse) whenever possible.

Objective:  The learner will identify the natural resources consumed for the items used in daily life and will demonstrate the dilemma of finite resources and escalating human population pressures. Students will also develop a clear understanding of what renewable and nonrenewable resources are and some examples of each.

Activity in Brief:  This activity is similar to Musical Chairs.  Chairs represent natural resources and as they are depleted they are removed; however, everyone remains in the game and more people are added to simulate an excalating population.  The participants must share chairs or balance on laps to demonstrate increasing stress on our continually diminishing supply of resources.

Materials:  (for a class of 25-30 students)

? 12 chairs (folding or any kind of regular chair, desk-type will not work)

? A set of 4X6” index cards or plain paper signs with the name of the resource printed on it  (see sample below).  There should be 2 Cotton, 2 Water, 2 Wood, 1 Iron, 1 Petroleum, 1 Bauxite, 1 Silicate, and 2 WILD cards.  There are two cards each of the renewable resources and only one for the nonrenewable resources.  The two WILD cards represent unlimited resources or resources that have yet to be discovered (maybe from space or from the oceans!)
 
IRON
 

• An assortment of 10-20 objects that are made from these natural resources. (i.e. assorted common paper products, metal objects, plastic, and glass products.  Some examples like a pop can, comb, ruler, bottle, popular magazine are useful.  A 100% cotton T-shirt, a glass of water and a picture or toy model of a car are also included.)
• A cassette or CD player and music of choice.

• Place the assortment of objects on the floor.  The students will sit where they can see the objects and a discussion will be started about these products and the natural resources (raw materials) from which they are made.  This is also a great time to define renewable vs. nonrenewable resources and some examples of each.  You can make a list of these resources and examples on the overhead or chalkboard.
• Arrange the 10-12 chairs in a large circle to represent the earth.  Tape one of the resource cards to each of the chairs.  Spread them around so that the two cottons, waters, woods, or wilds are not together.  If you are using only 10 chairs, delete one of the waters and one of the woods.
•  Tell the students they represent the peoples of the world.  The chairs represent the resources of the earth.
•  Select enough students to fill all but 2 or 3 of the chairs.  Have them sit in a chair of their choice.
• Begin playing the music and have the people mill about the earth looking for natural resources to use for their daily needs.  Have them note that there are plenty of resources for everyone.  When the music stops, everyone will find a place to sit.  Ask the students if they are comfortable, with no stress or pressure being felt (really play this up!)  At this time, each player is instructed to tear off one of the little squares on the card attached to the chair on which they are sitting.  This tearing of the square represents the consumption of that particular resource.  Any player who is sitting on the WILD chair can just sit there and leave the card alone.
• Before starting the music again, tell the first set of players there are more and more people being born every day, so add three or four new members to the world’s population.
• Begin the music again; however this time when the music stops, there will not be enough chairs for each to have his/her own.  Still mention there should be little to no stress because there will be plenty of resources to go around, but there will be a small bit of crowding!  To avoid any accidents as people scramble for chairs, inform each player that one does not need to sit on a chair to survive, all one has to do is touch the chair (back, leg, any part of the chair is okay.)  Again, each person who is touching the chair is using that resource and must tear off one of the squares (two people on a chair tear off two squares.)
• Repeat this procedure, adding additional players with each new round.  The WILD cards are free with no boxes to tear.  WHEN ALL THE SQUARES ON ANY ONE CHAIR ARE GONE, THE CHAIR IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.  This represents the consumption of the natural resource.  While starting and stopping the music in these rounds, students will begin to feel crowded and uncomfortable.  (Tempers may get edgy.  These feelings are what you want from the students in order to get your objectives across. Encourage these feelings, just be cautious of accidents by monitoring the activity and slowing it down a bit.)  Continue this process until all the chairs are gone and all the students are crowded around the two WILD chairs.
• Have students return back to their desks and begin the discussion with these three questions:

2. (For first or early middle generation)  How did you feel at first, before there were more born?  Then how did you feel as more and more people where being born and using “your” resources?  (For late middle or last generations) How did you feel when you saw others using up “your” resources and not saving any for you?  Then how did you feel as you played a round or two?   (Be sure to discuss the physical discomforts everyone felt as the game progressed!)

3. Does a government (like China) have the right to restrict the amount of
           children a family may have?  Why or why not?
 

• You can continue the discussion or have them write about ways in which they might be able to control population growth and how they might be able to reduce their use of natural resources.  What might they do (their little bit) to make a difference in solving some of the problems brought to their attention today?

Special thanks and credit to:
            Iowa Clean SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Education Project)
            Iowa Department of Education

If you should have any questions or comments, please contact:
Miriam Woods
Science Teacher
Hoover High School
4800 Aurora Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa  50310
woodsmi@dmps.des-moines.k12.ia.us
 

Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Environmental Science lpt@www.woodrow.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation webmaster@woodrow.org
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