Curated OER
Carpooling and the Environment
Students investigate carpooling and determine to what extent it occurs in their community for a carpool challenge. In groups, students create a survey then collect, calculate and record data to determine how much pollution could be...
Curated OER
Building a Healthy City (Final Project)
Learners construct a scaled model of a city that provides for the economic and cultural needs of a community while maintaining high quality air and water to protect the public health. They articulate, in a presentation, the locations of...
Curated OER
Plastic Poison
Students explore the processes used in the making of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The types of pollution caused in the manufacturing and use and the problems in the disposal of this product is examined in this lesson.
Curated OER
Who Needs Power?
Young scholars articulate the connection between energy consumption and the global economy. They identify and define the connection between energy consumption and environmental health. Students formulate suggestions concerning how the...
Curated OER
Endangered Species
Students research the issue of species endangerment by exploring threatened animals, their habitats, and the environmental challenges associated with them. They explore the relationships between living things and their environment....
Curated OER
Science-Observation Skill Builders
Pupils explore observation while making connections between observation skills and careers (like how farmers observe the weather). They view a variety of nature photographs on the computer and practice their observation skills by...
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...
Curated OER
Make Your Own Biodegradable Plastic Stuff
Students identify the four basic natural resources. They distinguish bettween renewable and non-renewable resources. Pupils recognize that all natural resources are needed by living plants and animals. Students list consequences for...
Calvin Crest Outdoor School
Survival
Equip young campers with important survival knowledge with a set of engaging lessons. Teammates work together to complete three outdoor activities, which include building a shelter, starting a campfire, and finding directions in the...
Teach Engineering
Skin and the Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation
Though UV radiation can damage skin, it isn't all bad. The third installment in a six-part series allows the class to study the structure and function of skin. They learn about the different types of skin cancer and the SPF rating...
Teach Engineering
Electromagnetic Radiation
How can nanoparticles be used in the battle against skin cancer. Class members take on the question as they gather information about electromagnetic radiation, specifically ultraviolet radiation. Pupils learn about the mathematical...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Winning Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...
National Park Service
Glaciers and Water
Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to observe first-hand...
Pulitzer Center
Extractive Industries
Here is a chance for environmental studies classes to take a critical look at crises occurring around the globe by reading articles and viewing video clips. The human activities under scrutiny are the extraction of oil, logging, and...
PBS
Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...
Teach Engineering
Above-Ground Storage Tanks in the Houston Ship Channel
Introduce your class to storage tank failures caused by major storms with an activity that looks at how the concepts of Archimedes' Principle and Pascal's Law affect the storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel. The background...
Teach Engineering
Flame Test: Red, Green, Blue, Violet?
Let the true colors shine through. Pupils conduct a flame test to identify an unknown element. Class members calculate and prepare specific molarity solutions of three chemicals. Using their observations of the colors emitted, they...
Curated OER
Environmental Concerns (1) Analysis of Lead in Paint (2) Analysis of Water
A scenario and background information are provided for two different open-ended experiments that experienced chemistry classes can perform toward the end of the school year. In the first, they design a method for testing flakes of paint...
Curated OER
A Recipe for Air
Young scholars create a pie graph using M&Ms to demonstrate the composition of air. They label each section of the graph, and list the fractions from largest to smallest.
Curated OER
The Wind & Sun: Powerful Alternatives
Students examine the power that is possible from the sun through an interactive program. They also analyze how energy turns into different forms in different parts of the human body. They finally explore how wind is created and how wind...
Curated OER
A Study of Hydra Cluster Galaxies
Students analyze a designated galaxy with a partner or in a small group.
Curated OER
Out With the Old, In With the New
Learners study China's cultural and economic complexities through a slide show that is written, read, and photographed by a Peace Corps Volunteer. They answer the questions: What does SARS stand for? [Severe acute respiratory syndrome]...
Curated OER
TOXIC TECHNOLOGY
Students examine what they already know about computer recycling and cconsider how computer recycling is contributing to a global toxic waste problem by reading and discussing the article, ""Poor Nations are Littered With Old PC's,...
Curated OER
Making Decisions: Packaging and the Environment
Students work in small groups to redesign the packaging of several common items. They attempt to reach the goal of 25% reduction in packaging materials currently used and explore the impact of various materials and designs in landfills...