Chapter 1 An Introduction to Lifespan Development 19
Core Skills
11. Writing. Write a two-page paper about
how you have grown and changed
physically, intellectually, emotionally,
and socially since your fi rst day of high
school.
12. Speaking. Practice and give a one
minute speech on why studying human
development is important.
13. Listening. Ask a parent or another
adult how they have changed since
graduating from high school.
14. Reading. Read a biography about
someone’s life. How has that person
grown and changed over his or her
lifetime?
15. Math. Find the birth length of yourself
or someone else your age. Compare
your birth length to your current
height. What is your percentage
growth?
16. CTE Career Readiness Practice.
Presume you are the human resources
director of a small business. Recent
research shows that employees who
have good eating habits and total
wellness have a positive impact
on productivity. You are forming
a workplace Wellness Council. Get
together with your council members
(two or more classmates) and
brainstorm a list of several possible
ideas for encouraging healthful eating
and wellness among employees. Then
narrow the list to the three best options.
How would you implement one of
these options? How would you get
employees involved? What criteria
will you use to determine how well
employees are meeting healthful living
goals?
Research
17. Search for an electronic news article
about aging or a medical breakthrough
on extending the lifespan. Is the article
from a scientifi c, medical, or well-
known educational institution? Avoid
articles that lack objectivity.
18. Choose a decade from the past century.
Research the social, political, economic,
and historic events of that decade.
How might these events have affected
someone who was a teen during
this decade? Create an electronic
presentation of your fi ndings to share
with the class.
Event Prep
19. Arrange to interview an older
adult about how both heredity and
environment infl uenced his or her
development through the lifespan.
What traits did he or she inherit?
What events had a great infl uence
on development? Prepare a list of
questions you would like to ask prior
to the interview. After the interview,
create a scrapbook to record the
interview questions and responses.
You may wish to expand your project
by developing an FCCLA Power of One
project for Family Ties. Use the FCCLA
Planning Process to guide your project
planning. See your FCCLA adviser for
further information.