Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Let's pretend you and 9 friends are going to split an 8-slice pizza. Two of you go to get it. On the way home, the 2 who went to get the pizza eat 6 out of the 8 slices, leaving only 2 slices for the other 6 kids. If the pizza represents all of the food in the world, that means that the 2 friends who went to get the pizza represent the people in North America, Europe and parts of South America and the Pacific. That's 2 out of 10. What fraction of the total people is that? ___________ Can you reduce that fraction? ____ What percent of the total people is that? _____________
What fraction of the total do the other 8 friends represent? ____________ What is that fraction reduced? ____________ What percent is that? __________
That percent represents the rest of the world's population in the rest of the world's countries like Central America, Asia and Africa. Can you locate these on a map? To find a map of the world, go to:
http://www.graphicmaps.com/aatlas/newart/worldamr.gif
The world's supply of food is big enough for everyone; it's just that not all the world can get to it. To see how that works, get the following supplies.
Get together with 10 other people. Get:
100 raisins,
5 index cards,
10 small pieces of paper (use scrap and cut it up to conserve paper)and
a marker.
1. Label the index cards as follows:
On the first, write "Asia"
On the second, write "African and the Middle East"
On the third, write " Latin America and the Caribbean"
On the fourth, write "U.S. and Canada"
On the fifth, write "Europe and other countries with modern machines"
2. Put the U.S and the Europe cards at a table, the Latin America card on the floor and Africa and Asia cards in a small, crowded space, such as a counter.
3. Write "Africa and the Middle east" on one small piece of paper. Write U.S. and Canada on one and Latin America on one other. Write Asia on 5 slips and Europe on 2. These slips are the population slips. Can you write fractions for what each of them means in terms of the population of each group?_________ __________ ___________ ___________ ________
What percent of the world's population does each card represent?____________________________
4. Fold the papers so no one can see what's on them. Give one to each of the 10 students. Once they have a slip, they should go to that continent's space in the room.
5. Give out the raisins to each continent, but tell the students not to eat them. Give it out this way:
Africa gets 3 raisins, Asia gets 8, Latin America gets 5, U.S. and Canada gets 26, Europe gets 57. What do you think the raisins stand for? ______________________________________________________
Can you write fractions for the amount of food each of the continents gets? _________ ___________ ___________ ___________ _______
6. Try to explain why the students think they got the raisins they did. Is that the way it should be? Talk about how food is distributed around the world. Try to come up with ways we can change the distribution problem. Write down any ideas you have for redistributing the food.

One reason we have trouble distributing food is our world doesn't consume energy or food at a fair rate. Some countries get more of the total of the food than others. Some countries get more of the energy than others. Write which countries you think get more of the energy? __________________

________________________________________________________________
If we keep on using the energy as fast as we are, someday we're going to run out.
What can we do? Think of ways to save energy, such as electricity and gas. Write them down. ___________________________________________
Did you think of the sun? Solar energy is one way to save energy. Stop reading for a minute, go outside and feel the power of the sun. What does it feel like? ___________________________________________________________
Do you think it could help us to save energy? Let's try an experiment using solar energy.
You'll need:
2 pizza boxes, one larger than the other
a knife or scissors
aluminum foil

For special education students, review percents and reducing fractions before attempting this section. Also, put the special education students in charge of the distribution of the materials. They can also benefit from being in charge of an area where the countries are located. Provide them with calculators for use with the division.

newspaper
nontoxic black paint
paintbrush
nontoxic glue
sunglasses
string
tape
a pan
a piece of clear plastic sheeting that will cover the larger pizza box
To do this experiment:
1. Trace the smaller pizza box's outline on the middle of the top of the larger pizza box. Cut around only three sides of the outline, leaving the fourth side attached.
2. Put the aluminum foil around the inside of the bigger pizza box, and then stuff it with the newspaper. What do you think the newspaper is for? ________
3. Put the smaller box into the larger box and add more stuffing to fill in the spaces.
4. Paint the inside bottom of the smaller box and the outside edges of the larger box with the paint. Why do you think we're using non-toxic black paint? __________________________________________________
5. Line the rest of the box with aluminum foil and glue it down.
6. Glue aluminum foil to the pizza box flaps shiny side up. Try not to wrinkle it. Why will it work better if it's not wrinkled? ______________________
7. Adjust the flaps so they reflect sunlight back into the box. Line the box up with the sun. Wait for a sunny day to do this. Don't look at the sun or the box when you do this without wearing sunglasses.
8. Make a hole in the top of each flap and put a piece of string through it. Find the best amount of sun and aim the box that way.
9. Put the food you want to cook into the box and cover the boxes with plastic sheeting. What do you think the plastic sheeting is for? _________
Try to pick foods that cook quickly, like nachos or cookies. Don't choose foods that take a long time to cook.
Think about how using this solar oven would help save energy.

Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Summer 2004