What kinds of adaptations do people make to different environments?
Adaptation is sometimes necessary for physical survival, as in the case of orchids. But adaptation happens in less dire situations, too. In many cases, human adaptation involves social and emotional well-being. Immigrants, for example, adapt to new homelands, and members of religious, ethnic and other minorities adapt to life in places where people meet them with varying degrees of acceptance. How do you adapt? Here’s an example. Maybe you like to sleep until 10, but your school day starts at 8. You have to adapt your sleep schedule to accommodate the demands of your environment. You have to go to bed earlier than you’d like so that you can get up in time in the morning. What other adaptations do you make? (If you have ever moved to a new home, you might want to think especially about that experience.) Choose one or two adaptations you have made, and write a journal entry. Then, read “Birmingham 9 to 5,” which profiles members of the Muslim community in Birmingham, Alabama. Divide the
