Spend several hours exploring your local community and draw a map of the kinds of people and types of buildings found in various places (for example, "big single-family homes," "run-down business area," "new office buildings," "student apartments," and so on). What patterns do you see?

Look ahead to Figure 18-3, which shows the U.S. divorce rate over the last century. Try to identify societal factors that pushed the divorce rate down after 1930, up again after 1940, down in the 1950s, and up again after 1960.

During a class, carefully observe the behavior of the instructor and other students. What patterns do you see in who speaks? What about how people use space? What categories of people are taking the class in the first place?