What is REAL LIVES and why is it a valuable learning tool ...

[Pages:19]What is REAL LIVES and why is it a valuable learning tool for my students?

REAL LIVES is an interactive life simulation that enables students to live one of billions of lives in any country in the world while gaining real-world practice in reasoning, problem-solving, critical thinking, and compromise, as well as a sense of personal responsibility. When students are "born" into another country and are faced with representations of real-life events and problems, they must make decisions and witness consequences. They learn about the world and gain an increased appreciation of their own culture as they learn about the cultures of other peoples.

REAL LIVES promotes deductive and inferential reasoning through critical thinking and problem-solving. Students must observe, predict, compare and contrast information, identify variables, and choose between relevant and irrelevant data. They are constantly engaged in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students are challenged by overt as well as subtle problems which must be resolved before they can proceed. They must constantly weigh variables and ask, "How can I resolve this problem or set of problems by taking into account all of the factors I've just learned?" "Where can I find the information I need to make these decisions?"

REAL LIVES uses statistically accurate events to bring to life different cultures, political and economic systems, personal attributes, health issues, family issues, schooling, jobs, religions, geography, wars, and more. The computer manipulates the data behind the scenes in order to show how the natural system is likely to behave under a variety of conditions. However, it is the students who drive the simulation, because they are responsible for interpreting the data and selecting among alternative actions.

As an added feature, unlike real life, students can relive an experience so that they can learn from it. Students always have the option of replaying a simulation (or moving back in time to a younger age) so that they can learn where or why things went wrong and how their actions or decisions influenced the outcome. Instead of just accepting a loss or replaying past failures, students can think about the steps they might have taken to achieve a more desirable outcome. How might they have responded differently when faced with an unexpected job loss, medical emergency, or a human rights violation? What information were they missing to help them make a clear decision the first time around? Where could they find that information next time?

The REAL LIVES software, carefully selected Internet links, and supplemental classroom activities provide for a multidimensional and multidisciplinary learning environment to motivate all students.

Cause and Effect

Overview: Students will track the causes and effects of simulated life events.

Grade Level: 9th to12th

Objectives Students will: ? understand that every event has many possible causes and many possible effects ? complete a cause and effect graphic organizer to visually represent, outline, and

organize information ? record relationships among facts, ideas, and events ? develop critical thinking strategies by identifying, analyzing, and synthesizing

information gleaned from the simulation software

National Education Standards ? Social Studies: I, III, IV, V, VI, IX, X ? English Language Arts: 3, 5, 8, 12 ? Technology: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 ? Geography: 4, 6, 10 (See page X for a detailed description of each Standard.)

Materials ? REAL LIVES software ? Cause and Effect (student handout ) ? Colored markers or highlighter pens

Procedure 1. Help students to understand that all decisions and actions in their simulated lives

(and real lives) have related consequences. Draw a sample three-column chart (see sketch) on the chalkboard and discuss some examples of the types of events/causes/effects students may come across during the simulation. Remind students that when we write about cause and effect, we determine the reasons that something happened and the consequences of its happening.

As events occur in the simulation, students need to select the Learn More options and keep a careful eye on all statistical data so that they can evaluate and analyze it to draw sound conclusions and make the best choices. For example, in the first event shown in the sample chart, a student would select Learn More to find out about the disease, and then look at the statistical data on Health to determine possible causes for the father becoming ill. That would include looking at such data as the percentage of population (urban or rural) with access to safe water and the percentage of population (urban or rural) with access to healthcare services.

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Event ? Father contracts

schistosomiasis

? I have to serve time in the military

? Invitation to begin smoking

Example chart Cause(s) Possible: ? Contact with parasitic worm-

infested water ? Safe water sources not

available (SWR: 29%) ? Lack of good healthcare

(HSR: 30%)

? Political unrest in region causes war to break out

? Country has participated in war or had widespread political violence in 25% of years in the last quarter century.

? Some friends smoke and they want me to be one of the gang.

Effect(s) ? Have to leave school ? Take a job as a laborer

? My family's monthly income and net worth plummets since I am not able to contribute my regular salary.

? I choose not to smoke so my health and resistance improves.

2. Distribute three copies of the student handout to each student before starting a new simulation. Tell students that they are to track (on the handouts) 12 events, their causes, and effects during the playing of the simulation. If desired, students can keep all personal/household events on one handout and all country-related events on another. Too, some students may want to keep track of more than 12 events. (Note that for some students, it may be easier to identify the event first, then the effect, followed by the cause.)

3. Remind students to keep adding to the handouts throughout the whole simulation and to look for "effects" that might be felt long after the initial event. For example, a decision to decline a marriage proposal early on might affect the family's net worth many years down the road, or a country's drought might produce social and economic impacts for many years to come.

4. When done, have students use colored markers or highlighting pens to color-code their charts. Use one color to shade all entries that they believe were events over which they had personal control (e.g., selecting a career, lying to a friend) and another color to shade those events over which they believe they had no control (e.g., an outbreak of war).

5. Ask students to present, one by one, oral summaries of the major events in their simulated lives and the related causes/effects.

6. Help students process all of the information and relate it to their own lives with postactivity discussions centered around life's events, causes and effects--those that we can influence in a positive or negative way and those we can't.

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Assessment Collect and evaluate students' charts. Then conduct a teacher/student interview (speaking with each student, one on one) to give students the opportunity to talk about all parts of the activity and the processes by which they completed it. Sample questions: ? "What conclusions can you draw from your charts?" ? "Can you explain the two main differences behind these two causes and effects?" ? In your simulated life, could you have made a different decision that would have had

a different life outcome?" ? "What was the easiest/most difficult part of the activity? Why?" ? "If you were to do the activity again, what might you do differently? Why?"

Extension Activities 1. Create a class Current Events bulletin board by having students clip and bring into

class articles from newspapers or magazines, or printed stories from Web-based news sites (e.g., ). Students can briefly summarize and share the news stories aloud. Then have the class work together to create one large Event/Cause/Effect graphic organizer (using the student handout format) to be hung on the wall. The Events should be taken from the Current Events news stories. As world news unfolds throughout the school year, students may need to add additional items to the Cause and Effect areas of the chart.

2. Help students to understand that an important part of geography is the cause and effect relationship between the natural environment and human beings. The environment directly impacts the ways in which people live and the ways in which people make a living. Have students work in pairs to research such topics as landuse, natural resources, climate, and vegetation in their simulated birth countries. They can create topographical maps, posters, or murals to organize and present their research to the class. Remind students to select the Factbook and History Links in the simulation to find detailed information on each country.

3. If you have regular Internet access, consider matching students with keypals (e-mail penpals) in other countries. There are several organizations that provide this service to schools free (or for a small fee) so that students from around the world can connect and interact with one another via e-mail, video, and/or live Web chats. Two recommended keypal sites: Intercultural E-mail Classroom Connections () and E-Pals Classroom Exchange (). Once initial contacts with keypals are made, your students can discuss their experiences with being "born" into the keypals' birth countries to discover whether or not their "virtual lives" are similar to the real lives of their keypals.

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EVENT

CAUSE(S)

EFFECT(S)

Comparing Lives

Overview: Students will compare their own lives with their simulated characters' lives.

Grade Level: 9th to12th

Objectives Students will: ? create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast their own individual lives with those

of another person living in another country ? record relationships among facts, ideas, and events ? analyze and synthesize information gleaned from the simulation ? learn to value diversity among all people

National Education Standards ? Social Studies: I, III, IV, V, VI, X ? English Language Arts: 3, 5, 8, 12 ? Technology: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 ? Geography: 4, 6, 10 (See page X for a detailed description of each Standard.)

Materials ? REAL LIVES software ? Comparing Lives (student handout) ? Large construction or butcher paper ? (Optional) Compass to draw circles

Procedure 1. If your students have never created nor used a Venn diagram, provide an example.

Draw a two-circle Venn diagram (see sketch) on the chalkboard and label the left circle "My Life" and the right circle "Simulated Life." Ask students to list some events and/or characteristics for each, based on any of the simulated lives they have already experienced. Write each set of attributes in their related circles and write attributes that they share in the interlocking segment of the circles. Example:

My Life Los Angeles, California

Simulated Life Kampala, Uganda

Formal Ed.: Ages 5 - 18 attend school

Parents' Professions Mother--doctor Father--Marketing manager

House: 6 rooms 2 t.v.'s, 3 radios, 2 cars

Country: engaged in war in Afghanistan

Leisure: sports & reading

Local earthquakes

Formal Ed.: None Begin work as a laborer at age 9

Parents' Professions: Mother--assembler Father--freight handler

House: 1 room 0 t.v.'s, 1 radio, 0 cars

Country: engaged in civil war in North District

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2. After creating a short example on the chalkboard, tell students that they will be completing their own, more detailed Venn diagram to compare attributes and events from their own lives with those of their simulated life character.

3. Distribute a large piece of construction paper or butcher paper to each student to draw their diagrams. (Students can use a compass or can draw freehand.) The two interlocking circles must be made large enough so that students have ample space to write detailed Personal and Household Data.

4. Distribute the Comparing Lives handout and review the instructions with the class. Review, if necessary, the meanings of the rankings for all Personal Data. Students should rank their own lives in the same way, using the same scales.

5. Remind students that the overlapping portion of the circle contains those attributes, characteristics, and/or events that are shared by themselves and their simulated life character. Remind them also that there is some data that they won't have for their own lives, such as their household income or income vs. nation and world. Instead, they can make a generalized statement about how they think their families (real and simulated) are faring.

6. When Venn diagrams are complete, have students share them with the class. Engage the class in a discussion about some of the most important and striking similarities and differences reflected in their diagrams. Ask students what similarities/differences surprised them the most and why.

Assessment Collect and evaluate Venn diagrams using a rubrics to assess whether or not students have met specific standards and learning goals. Example:

Student: Jared Skill

Demonstrates understanding of similarities and differences between own life and simulated life. Demonstrates attention to detail while using software.

Relates prior knowledge to new knowledge. Completed Venn diagram clearly shows careful analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information gleaned from the simulation.

Activity: Comparing Lives Comments

Solid work

Good progress. Jared still needs reminders to check all web links in the simulation. He tends to scan information too quickly and rarely selects the Learn More option. Exemplary Two attributes & one event were not placed correctly in the diagram and he didn't compare feature to feature.

Score

4.5 3

5 3

Extension Activities 1. Have students compare political, societal, and health statistics of people living in the

United States and those living in their simulated birth country. They will need to select United States from the country list, as if starting a new simulation. Students can create another Venn diagram or table to compare all United States data with

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data from other countries. When done, ask students to write a short summary of what they've learned from the data. 2. Select the Factbook Link in REAL LIVES to conduct in depth research comparing environmental issues facing the United States with those facing their simulated birth country. Determine how those issues impact economies, political climates, etc. 3. After students have looked closely at life in a developing (or under-developed) country, encourage the class to get involved educating others about what they've learned. This might mean making presentations to other classes or even raising funds for organizations that work to help people living in hardship in these countries. Encourage students to generate their own creative ideas for taking action. Examples include compiling and selling an international recipes cookbook to raise money, or a letter-writing campaign to elected officials.

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