Life Before Mass Media

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/Units/media/lifestyles.html

by

Cheryl Jones

Introduction

You are going to be investigating buying styles and patterns before the introduction of massmedia. What did a person do in the early 1900's when they needed a new pair of shoes? How many pairs of shoes did they own? We are going to be looking at answers to these questions and then compare them to your life today. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Where did you get them?

The Task

Interview a friend, neighbor or retirement home resident to learn their buying patterns when they were younger.
Compare/Contrast the buying patterns of 1900 to the buying patterns of 1996.
Write a compare and contrast paper between the two lifestyles.

Resources

There is only one resource necessary for this lesson. You need to schedule a visit to a retirement home. The students will need to interview a person who is 65 or older, older is better.

The Process

You will go home and look in your closets. You need to answer the following questions.
- How many pairs of shoes do you own?
- How many shirts?
- How many pairs of pants?
- How many jackets?
- Is their one manufacturer who has made a large amount of your clothing?
- Where do you buy most of your clothes?
The next day in class we will look at the list. Do you use all your clothes? Do you need them all? Compare your list with the other students in the class.
We will make a chart on the board. Compare the numbers of various students in the class. What is the class average for each question?
The next day we are going to a retirement home. When we visit the retirement home you will be interviewing the residents. You need to ask the following questions:
- How many pairs of shoes did you own when you were 12 years old?
- How many pants, shirts, and jackets?
- Where did you buy your clothing?
- Were there a lot of choices of clothing styles and manufacturers?
For you homework you will take the list of questions you answered about your closet and the answers to the questions from the retirement home you will compare the data to see if there are any similarities or differences. You will then write a paper comparing and contrasting the data. Are your buying styles the same or different than the buying styles of your interviewee. Why do you think they might be the same or different?

Learning Advice

Be sure you are accurate with your numbers. Look at your notes about interviewing. Make sure you follow the guidelines for a proper interview.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on:

Your notes from your closet research. Did you complete the homework assignment and answer all the questions?
Your notes from the interview. Did you ask the questions that were required? Did you go further and ask other questions that were relevant? Did you record your notes accurately?
Your paper summing up your investigation. Did you articulate your ideas clearly? Did you use your interview and closet research to help form ideas? Did you use complete sentences in you writing?

Conclusion

You will have the opportunity to conduct an interview and compile information from the interview. You will be able to compare and contrast two separate sets of information.

Last update April 28, 1996. Return to the Media and Behavior Page