SOCIOLOGY
CULTURE PROJECT--WHAT IS TEEN CULTURE??
Where is the best place to discover what teenagers are all about???
What about their bedrooms! This may be the one place where teenagers
have their own space to do with what they want. Parents usually have little
influence over what their teenagers do with their rooms. This gives
teenagers freedom to do what they want with the limited space that they
have.
What a great place to learn about teenage culture! What do teenagers like?
What can we learn about this particular age group?
This project will be done through pictures. Everyone will be required to take
pictures of their bedrooms and the things in their bedrooms exactly the way
it is. No cleaning or straightening up for the pictures! We want to know how
you live within the limited space that you have . . . even if you share a room
or sleep on the floor. If you want to share the costs of film & processing,
find someone in the class who you can share a camera with and the costs.
Just be sure to give yourself enough time to take pictures and switch the
camera plus get your pictures developed. If it would be easier to share with
a couple of people, get a disposable camera. If you have any problems with
this, we can work out the details together.
PART I:
1-You will need to take AT LEAST 6 PICTURES of your room.
2-you need to take pictures of all four walls + one picture of an important
possession in your room and one other picture of your choice.
3-maximum number of pictures =10
4-pictures should be printed in 4 x 6 format
5-Create a poster with these pictures mounted on them. The poster should
reflect who you are. Please be creative so when the class looks at your
pictures we can get an idea of who you are and what you like. Include
decorations that represent aspects of yourself such as likes/dislikes,
hobbies, clubs, symbols of your dreams, important memories, how you think
of yourself.
6-Do not just turn in pictures taped to the poster. Your grade will be
reduced by 50% for that portion of the project grade.
We will put these posters around the room so everyone can take a look at
what the material and non material culture your generation holds.
PART II: What is teen culture?
The final write up must answer the above research question and include the
following components:
1-DATA COLLECTION
-Organize data from the posters of various teen bedrooms on the
attached worksheet.
-Categories/Coding:
-group your data using the components of culture (values,
symbols, norms, etc.)
-group your data using the themes/patterns you observed
(technology, faith, relationships)
-Note: include definitions for all the categories and codes used
In your data collection
2-SUMMARY/FINAL CONCLUSION: TYPED, MIN. 2 PAGES, 12 POINT
FONT, COMIC SANS
-Write a brief summary/final conclusion based on your data that
answers the following questions:
A-What is teen culture? What do teenagers like? How do they
act? What are their personalities like? Include the categories
from your data collection in your response? What glimpse of
the “truth” does your data and categories reveal?
B-What examples of material and/or non material culture did
you find? From their room, could you categorize teens that are
The “jocks”, the “brains”, the “edge”, the “artsy” teens as we
discussed in class? Why or why not?
C-What are the major differences (in terms of material and non
material culture) between male and female bedrooms? What are
the reasons for these differences? What do these differences
reflect about the gender roles of women as compared to men in
society?
CULTURE ASSESSMENT: WHAT IS TEEN CULTURE?
PART II
DATA COLLECTION AND ORGANIZATION
As you view the posters, take notes on examples of material and
non material culture that you find in the bedrooms. The more
examples you can find, the better. Remember to number them.
MATERIAL CULTURE (shoes, make up etc.)
NON MATERIAL CULTURE
Symbols (swim team ribbons, sponge
bob etc)
Def:
(continue number from last page)
VALUES/BELIEFS
(education, voting, patriotism)
Def:
NORMS (neatness, follow rules
Def:
Based on the data that you collected, what are some themes
and patterns that you observed? For each theme/pattern,
define it and then identify the examples of material and non
material culture that illustrate it.
THEMES/PATTERNS
DEFINITIONS
EXAMPLES
WHAT IS TEEN CULTURE? GRADING RUBRIC
POSTER:
______25 points
1-CONTENT
Min. 6 pictures (4 of walls, 1 of prized possession, and 1 miscellaneous)
2-EFFORT
Evidence of time spent and hard work, sufficient number of
decorations to reflect who you are, creativity and introspection
3-PRESENTATION
Neat, organized, eye catching
DATA COLLECTION:
______15 points
1-data from the posters are neatly organized on graphic organizer
2-Categories
-data is grouped using the components of culture
-data is grouped using the themes/patterns
-definitions included
FINAL CONCLUSION:
______20 points
All 3 questions were answered with sufficient details, examples and the use
of data as support.
TOTAL POINTS
Due Dates:
Poster BoardFinal Conclusion-
_____60 Points