Lesson Plans

Kindergarten to 2nd Grade:

The Rascals

http://thinkearth.org/curriculum/second-grade

This lesson can be used with second grade

• This lesson addresses Step 2: Attitudes of appreciation and concern for the environment
• This unit introduces children to the conservation of the natural environment
• This lesson discusses and reinforces the use of environmentally responsible behaviors

My World, My Responsibility

This lesson can be used with kindergarten

• This lesson addresses Step 1: Awareness of the relationship between the environment and human life by teaching children to reduce the impact we have on our local environment at the classroom level
• Spend one week in “trashcan-less” classroom
  • Why should we throw trash in cans instead of on ground?
  • How can we produce less trash?
    • Create poster about solutions
• Explore causes of air, land, water, and noise pollution

3rd Grade to 5th Grade:

Biodiversity in the Schoolyard

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/18409/developing-assessments-for-the-next-generation-science-standards

This lesson can be used with grades 3-5.

• This lesson addresses Step 3: Understanding of human and natural systems and processes by learning about the concepts of biodiversity through a series of four assessment tasks
• Students investigate, analyze data, and provide explanations for phenomena regarding biodiversity

Animal Adaptation

This lesson can be used for grades 3-5

• This lesson addresses Step 3: Understanding of human and natural systems and processes by exploring how and why animals adapt to their environments

• Research/investigate specific animal and report back to whole class
  • Create poster about animal, facts, adaptations, etc and present to class
• Project: design an animal fit to survive in a given environment
  • Why is it important for animals and humans to have the ability to adapt to changes in the environment?

6th Grade to 8th Grade:

Where did the Water go? – Watershed Study

http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/MS-ESS_Watershed_Study_version2.pdf

This lesson can be used with grades 6-8.

• This lesson addresses Step 3: Understanding of human and natural systems and processes through research and data analysis on New York’s water system
• Students calculate the volume of water entering and exiting the watershed
• Students find that some of the water has gone “missing”, and reconsider their model throughout the task to around for the missing water by including outputs not initially included in the starting model, such as evapotranspiration

Destroy or Not to Destroy

This group of lessons can be used in grades 6-8.

• This lesson addresses Step 5: Capacity for personal and collective action and civic participation through the writing of a persuasive letter regarding the impact of land development
• The teacher will have to supplement the framework already provided in this group of lessons

9th Grade to 12th Grade:

Will the Air be Clean Enough to Breathe?

https://concord.org/stem-resources/will-air-be-clean-enough-breathe:

This lesson can be used in grades 9-12

• This lesson addresses Step 3: Understanding of human and natural systems and processes by examining air quality through a series of online modules
• Students will explore real-time air quality data with maps from the United States EPA.
• Students will run experiments with computational models to investigate how pollutants flow in the atmosphere and look at how factors such as wind, sun, rain, geography and pollution affect air quality

Ecosystems – Finding Solutions for Michigan Ecosystem Issues/Problems

This lesson can be used in grades 9-12

• This lesson addresses Steps 4 and 5: Problem solving and critical thinking skills, and capacity for personal and collective action and civic participation
• Students will select from a list of environmental/ecological issues in Michigan
  • Do some research to figure out what is the current problem
  • Brainstorm for different ideas to possibly solve the problem
    • Develop at least 10 possible solutions
  • Select one or two ideas and develop those ideas further and research multiple perspectives
• Using chosen idea, develop a simplistic or elaborate model of how this idea could possibly solve or improve the Michigan environmental issue/problem topic