11/30/11

Lesson Plan: The Conscientious

Consumer (5-8)
Adapted from the California Department of Education
Essential questions: How can we influence people to adopt energy
efficiency habits?

OVERVIEW
Students rate and calculate energy costs for common appliances. They
interview adults for attitudes about electrical appliances, analyze current
appliance advertisements, and create their own ads.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1.
Rate appliances as essential, convenient, or unnecessary
2.

Survey attitudes regarding electrical appliances

3.

Calculate and compare operating energy costs of appliances

4.

Discuss the differences between needs and wants

5.

Analyze appliance advertisements

6.

Develop and present advertisements for specific appliances

Time: 4 class periods

Subjects: Mathematics, Language Arts
Suggested Grade Level: 5-10
Vocabulary: Kilowatt hour, wattage rate
Materials: Pencils, calculator, appliance advertisements, and the following:
LESSON RESOURCES:

A - Comparison of Ratings

B - Propaganda Techniques

STUDENT WORKSHEETS:

#1 Comparison of Ratings

#2 Interview

#3 Appliance Calculations #4 Advertisement Comparison

Advance Preparation: Obtain several appliance advertisements (check

magazines, catalogues, newspapers). Duplicate appropriate materials.
Optional record several appliance advertisements on a VCR.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Wattage Rate
Wattage rate is the amount of electricity used when an appliance is turned
on for any length of time. A standard unit of measure for wattage rate is a
kilowatt, which is equal to 1,000 watts. Wattage and time are combined to
fine the kilowatt hour rating of an appliance. A kilowatt hour is used as the
basis for determining the cost of electricity. One kilowatt hour is equal to
1,000 watts of electricity used for one hour. A small portable heater rated
at 1,000 watts world use one kilowatt of electricity in one hour, as would
ten, 100-watt light bulbs.
Calculations for Yearly Appliance Costs
The formula for determining the kilowatt hour cost for an appliance on a
yearly basis is:
Yearly cost = Wattage rating of appliance (expressed as kilowatts) X
Average number of hours appliance is used per year X Cost/kWh
For example: How much does it cost to use an air conditioner which has a
wattage rating of 860, operates approximately 60 hours per month, and
the cost per kWh is 10 cents?
Step 1:

Determine, as a fraction of a kilowatt, the wattage rating of the air

conditioner:
860 1,000 watts/kilowatt
Step 2:

Estimate the average number of hours the air conditioner may be

used per year:
60 hours/month x 12 months/year = 720 hours/year

Step 3:

Calculate the kilowatt hours used per year:.86 (kW) x 720 hrs./yr. =
619.20 or 619 kWh

Step 4:

Determine the cost per year, using $0.15 as the price of one
kilowatt hour: 619 kWh x $0.15/kWh = $92.85/yr.
Appliances We Own
A recent survey by the Department of Energy showed that over one-half of
American house hold have some form of air conditioning, one third have
two or more television sets, over one third have separate freezers and 13

percent have two or more refrigerators. Do we really need all the

appliances we buy?
Advertisement Tactics
Advertising is a big business. It pays all costs of commercial television and
radio broadcasting, as well as two-thirds of the costs of newspapers and
magazines. It is the job of advertising to familiarize us with a product and
to convince us that we need it. But do advertisers always tell the truth?
This issue has been significant enough that the Wheeler-Lea Amendment
to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act of 1938 forbids unfair or
deceptive acts or practices in commerce. Although the law exists, in
practice it is not always enforced.
Informed Consumers
It is up to the consumers to become well informed about electrical
appliances they want to purchase. Initial cost, longevity, and operating
expenses should be considered. Ads should be carefully analyzed and
brands compared before a wise purchasing decision can be made.
Setting The Stage
Ask students to identify five electrical appliances used in their home. List
these on the board. Have students describe the important features of
each one, such as purchase price, size, durability, energy efficiency, ease
of use, color, attractiveness. Can they imagine and describe an ideal
example for each kind of appliance? What differences are there between
the ideal appliances they describe and appliances that really exist? When
does the consumer need to make compromises between ideals and
reasonable expectations?

PROCEDURE
Rating

Distribute Student Worksheet #1. Ask students to explore their own

attitudes about electrical appliances by rating the importance of various
home appliances and recording these in the Student Column of the
Worksheet. They should rate the appliances on a scale of 1 to 3,
according to how important that appliance is in their lives:
1 = Essential (you cant live without it)
2 = Convenient (it makes your life easier)
3 = Unnecessary (you can really live without it)
You may want to discuss the meaning of each of the 3 ratings so there is a
class consensus before beginning the exercise.

Use Lesson Resource A to record student ratings. Ask how many

students rated Air Conditioner as 1? 2? 3? Calculate the class rating

as a percent, by dividing the total responses for each rating by the total
number of students in the class. Repeat this procedure for the
remaining appliances.

Discuss with students the following question:

1.

Which appliances were most frequently considered essential? Why?

2.

Which appliances did you think were truly unnecessary? Why?

3.

Which ones get the most use in your homes?

4.

Which ones do you think use the most energy?

5.

Which ones do you think are the most expensive to buy or to use?

6.

How would your ratings for appliances change if they were all very
expensive to buy or use?

7.

Which appliances would be essential if you were on a camping trip

in the High Sierras?

8.

Which appliances would you need if you lived in the Sahara Desert?
In the Amazon Jungle?

9.

What is the difference between needs and wants?

10.

Are appliances rate as essential always needed?

Field Survey

Tell students that they will be interviewing two adults to find out
their opinions regarding rating of appliances, and why they bought a
particular appliance. Discuss proper interviewing techniques which
should include the following: Ask permission to interview each person
and schedule a time which is convenient for them. Decide how long
each interview will take. Give yourself and your subject plenty of time.
Be clear about what you are asking and why you are asking it. In this
case, you are asking about attitudes toward electrical appliances and
you will be comparing their responses with the responses of other
adults surveyed by the class. Be polite. Make your subjects comfortable
and ready to respond. Ask questions clearly and wait patiently for
answers. Thank your subjects at the end of the interview. Remember,
they have done you a favor by sharing their feelings and opinions, and
for taking time form their busy schedule to meet with you.

If necessary, have students role-play an interview.

Instruct students to conduct a field survey by interviewing tow
adults regarding the following: Appliance Rating: Have adult subjects
rate the appliances. Record responses in the appropriate column on
Student Worksheet #1. Ad Influence: Choose an appliance given an

essential rating by the adult. It is recommended that the appliance be

one that is frequently advertised. Continue the interview using Student
Worksheet #2 to discover the adults attitude as a consumer toward
that appliance and its advertising.

When interviews are completed by the students, discuss the

following: How did the adults ratings compare with yours? What
appliances were considered by the adults as essential, but not by you?
What may be reasons for this? What appliances did you think were
essential, but the adults did not? What may be some reasons for this?
How might the attitudes of your grandparents be different from your
attitude or your parents attitude about the necessity of electrical
appliances (or electricity)? Can it be said that anyone holds the right
attitude about appliance needs? How would you justify your answers? In
our interview on why an appliance was purchased, what was the major
feature that influenced people to buy it? How important were energy
use considerations? Why? Are there any other answers on Student
Worksheet #2 that surprised you? Why?

ENERGY USE

Ask students to find the wattage rating of at least 5 appliances in

their home and record it on Student Worksheet #3. The wattage rating
is usually indicated on the back or bottom of the appliance. If it is not in
plain view, students should unplug the appliance before continuing to
search for the rating. (Students could volunteer to gather data for
specific appliances so that the wattage of all listed appliances can be
surveyed.) Have students estimate the number of hours per month the
appliance is used and perform the calculations to determine the
kilowatt hours used per year. Finally, the cost per year of the appliance
will need to be calculated.

After appliance wattage data has been gathered and calculations

have been made, record the wattage ratings on Lesson Resource B,
Column A and the calculations in Column C, E, and G. If different
wattages for a similar appliance were discovered, have students
calculate the average wattage. Compare student figures in Column A to
Column B figures derived from the Edison Electric Institute Publication.
The figures in Columns A and B may differ because certain brands of
appliances are more energy efficient.

Review Column C and D for estimated average hours used for each
appliance. Note that these are averages and that heating and cooling
hours can vary greatly based on the climate of an area, as well as the

structure, design, size, and age of a home. Compare Columns E and F,

as well as G and H. Discuss with students: Which appliances are the
most expensive to use yearly? Which appliances use the most energy
per hour, yet do not use a lot of energy each year How does the
students ranking of the appliances (procedure 1) compare with their
costs? Which appliances are worth their cost per year? Which are not?
Identify appliances whose operational costs could be lowered through
use of conservation measures. If a student could only use 9.500 kWh of
energy a year, which appliances would he/she choose? Are these
appliances considered to be essential? Are they needs or wants?

AD ANALYSIS

Use Lesson Resource B to discuss advertising and propaganda

techniques.

Share a newspaper or magazine ad. Or show a video of TV

commercials and discuss the features that were emphasized. Have
students identify statements or claims which match one of the
propaganda techniques on Lesson Resource B.

Ask students to find an advertisement that matches one of the two

appliances discussed on Student Worksheet #2, and analyze the ad
using Student Worksheet #4.

Have students share the ads with the class and discuss the
worksheets. Were the qualities that the adults identified as important in
their interview the same as those identified on the ads? How did they
differ? What customer attitudes were addressed in the ads? How did the
adults opinions of the appliance compare with the image presented in
the ad?

Discuss the following with the class: Most advertisers carefully

select their products strongest points to emphasize. Compare the
features which advertisers have chosen to emphasize with the ones
which you feel are most important? The well-informed consumer
understands the difference between wants and needs Sometimes
that means questioning things which most people take for granted. For
example, in your opinion, how important is the purchase price,
operating cost, or life expectancy of an item regarding needing
something or just wanting it?
Does our culture really need electric toasters? Electric toothbrushes?
Electronic games? Electricity? Are there other cultures that get along
without electricity? What do they sacrifice? What do they gain? After
learning more about the energy efficiency of appliances, would you still

buy and use the same ones you used before the study? Why or why
not?

DESIGN YOUR OWN AD

Have groups of students prepare and present an original

advertisement for a real appliance, or its ideal counterpart. For variety,
assign the following types of ads to one or more groups: Newspaper or
magazine TV commercial Radio commercial

After each presentation, the class should critique the advertisement

for its effectiveness.

SUMMARY
1.

Which 5 appliances would you not consider essential? Why? Which 5

are now unnecessary? Why? How do your answers differ from the ones
on Worksheet #1?

2.

What is the major reason a person might purchase a particular

brand of appliance?

3.

In considering energy cost of an appliance important? Why? Will it

be more important in the future? Why?

4.

What is the difference between needs and wants?

5.

How do advertisers convince people to buy their product?

6.

What things will you consider next time you buy an electrical
appliance?

EXTENSIONS
1.

Compare features of appliances identified in this lesson to criteria

used for evaluation in consumer publications (e.g., Consumer Reports).

2.

Ask the class to look at advertisements from vintage (2030 year

old) magazines. Some students might like to follow the advertisements
for a particular appliance as they developed over the years. They could
then see how a companys advertising style evolved based on the
perception of the American consumer. Students can find old issues of
magazines in many libraries or in second hand stores.

3.

Ask the class to invent, describe, and promote the worlds most
useless appliance (e.g., a watermelon seeder or an electric nail clipper).
They may want to spend some time embellishing their designs. Rube
Goldberg, a cartoonist of the early and mid-20th century, became

famous drawing cartoons of absurd mechanical contraptions that

performed common, everyday functions. A Rube Goldberg Award
might be presented to the student whose invention is the most
imaginative.
For the complete "CONSCIENTIOUS CONSUMER" Lesson plan please
downlad the PDF.