Curated OER
Creating Community - A Function Of Design
Learners discuss the physical and human impacts of community design. They identify traditional neighborhood design elements and evaluate them with features of conventional suburban development.
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
Curated OER
What Type of Community?
Students compare and contrast suburban, rural and urban communities. They read books such as The Little Red Hen and identify the type of community in each book. Using computer software, they write about each type of community and...
Curated OER
The Industrial Revolution
Tenth graders explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution. In this Industrialization activity, 10th graders take notes on a SMART Board presentation and conduct research on urbanization, enclosure, assembly lines, boarding houses,...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...
Curated OER
For the Love of Publication!
What is a ‘Zine? Although the referenced PBS video that launches this study of self-published magazines is not available, the activities detailed and the step-by-step directions for creating ‘Zines would engage young writers. This...
Curated OER
Extinction Extravagance
Students brainstorm and discuss what it means for a species to be considered endangered and/or extinct. They research animals in Puerto Rico and choose one that is considered endangered and create a poster about it. In addition, they...
School Improvement in Maryland
Smart Growth
New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and...
Curated OER
Urban Changes
Students explore how landscapes undergo constant changes with urban development. They plan and build their own "city" by including features that have minimal resource demands to sustain the city itself.
Curated OER
Rural-Urban Migration in the 1990's
Learners consider the reasons why people relocate from one area to another. For this relocation lesson, students read an article that includes research and statistics on which age, education level, etc., of the population moves the...
Curated OER
Urban Safari: A Walk on the Wild Side
Students discover the urban ecosystem through a series of activities. They explore both the biotic and abiotic factors of the urban environment.
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Killer Coal
Students research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental health impacts of mining and burning coal. They discuss conservation of mass as it relates to combustion of organic compounds.
Curated OER
Shrinking Spaces
Students describe the impact of population growth on the environment. They describe how cities affect their surrounding environment and explain how cities are handling growth and its resulting effect on the quality of life. They visit...
Curated OER
The True "Cost of Cool!"
Eighth graders study hidden environmental costs in things we buy. For this consumerism lesson students watch a video about consumerism and analyze advertisements in teen magazines.
Curated OER
The Industrial Revolustion
Pupils create artistic posters to show the differences between key vocabulary words. They show the differences between a rural, agrarian, urban, and industrial lifestyles. They evaluate the benefits and problems, the human and natural...
National Academy of Sciences
Global Warming: Facts and Our Future
According to the United Nations, climate change affects every country on the planet. This research project encourages scholars to explore the factors that affect climate change from different perspectives: climate scientist, policy...
Global Oneness Project
Exploring Cultural Sustainability
Small groups learn about a present-day nomadic culture in Mongolia and the threats to its existence by exploring a photo essay. The resource includes thoughtful discussion and writing prompts about cultural sustainability, the...
Curated OER
The Industrial Revolution
Tenth graders analyze the impact (costs/benefits) of the Industrial Revolution on various groups of people in society (gender, children, socio-economic class, etc.). They then evaluate the impact of industrialization on the environment.
Curated OER
How to Teach the Legacies of the 1960s
Students consider which aspects of world around them have roots in 1960s, research and compare 1960s to today with regards to Civil and Women's Rights, Vietnam, counterculture, music, voting, and economic rights, and explore legacy of...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Sustainable Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....
Carnegie Mellon University
Transportation
Teach your environmental studies, life science, or engineering class how an internal combustion engine works using the first few slides of the accompanying presentation. Then, focus in on the resulting carbon emissions. Finally, take a...
Gobal Oneness Project
Sports for Social Change
After watching a short online film about a soccer player Nolusindiso Plaatje and his help with the Grassroot Soccer program, a community education effort aimed at spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention, use a lesson...
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Coal
Students investigate the chemistry of coal. This instructional activity serves as a review of conservation of mass, simple reactions and equation balancing. During the instructional activity, students research chemical components of...
Curated OER
Ecology
Students make connections between their daily lives and the usage of natural resources as they relate to the importance of environmental quality. In this ecology activity, students listen to the story The Lorax by Dr....