The 5 Habits Framework

1) Evidence (How do I know what's true?)

2) Perspective (Who might think differently?)

3) Connections (What other areas of knowledge are connected?)

4) Supposition (How might it be different if..?)

5) Significance (Is this important?)

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The 2014 Word of the Year: Vape


Vape is the 2014 Word of the Year

Vape was chosen as the word of the year for 2014 in part because it provides a window "onto how we define ourselves," says Casper Grathwohl of the Oxford University Press. Here, women exhale vapor clouds during a competition at the Henley Vaporium in Manhattan.
Elizabeth Shafiroff/Reuters/Landov

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/17/364802028/take-it-in-vape-is-the-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year

By:  Bill Chappell

1)  What statistics do people use to support the claim that vaping is less harmful than cigarettes?  What evidence is the most salient for determining the harm of cigarettes?  In what ways have smoking habits changed over time?

2)  How might a child of smokers view this story differently than that of a non-smoker?  How might an employee of Philip Morris view this differently than a politician?  How might Barack Obama view this differently than his wife?

3)  What is a mathematical argument for more electronic cigarettes?  How is smoking like drinking soda?  Child abuse?

4)  What would happen if we banned all cigarettes?  All fast food?  What would happen if vapor cigarettes were given free to smokers?

5)  What are the larger implications of this issue?  Does the word of the year award have any significance in the larger society?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can outline the development of tobacco in America and predict it's future.

2)  Students can create a chart of addiction and advocate for policy action based on their findings.

3)  Students can  study the impact of the "Word of the Year" and rank the  most significant winners of the last 20 years.  


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