Conservation and Environmental Awareness

In this lesson students will conduct investigate their own trash consumption and become aware of how improperly handled trash impacts the environment. Emphasis Building conceptual knowledge regarding where our waste goes once it is disposed of. In addition, students will comprehend the difference between types of trash (biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable) and their affect the environment.

A middle school activity that promotes environmental protection. Students will research contemporary issues using a variety of sources, use that information to create an original persuasive pieces, and then create four songs based on environmental topics.

Answer questions to calculate your estimated greenhouse gas emissions and learn how you can reduce your climate impact.

Students will: Define attributes of an energy efficient "green" school. 2. Identify areas of energy waste in their school by: comparing their school to that of a LEED certified school; b. identifying areas that are within the school's capacity to change; c. auditing the school's recycling program.

Students use waste paper make recycled paper in the lab

An internet resource for grades 3-5 on: Water, Land, Air, Energy, Falcons, and Recycling Original unchanged by this contributor, current: Copyright © 2010 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All Rights Reserved

Contains information on a variety of non-hazardous materials recovered for recycling in the United States.

Provides ways that plastic is used to conserve resources and steps to take for reducing, reusing and recycling plastic.

James Lovelock's personal view on environmentalism and current efforts in recycling and reduction are quite unique. Students will have an opportunity to explore a very different point of view from a prominent scientist and the multitude of green movements.

Provides general guidelines for writing a biological waste disposal policy and how to dispose of several types of biohazards.

Students will: Participate in a class discussion of their ideas and opinions related to energy conserving efforts that could directly impact their school experiences 2. Read articles related to energy costs and consumption 3. Use computation skills to determine the economic effects of rising energy costs on average households 4. Analyze data from a graph to determine the types of energy currently used in the U.S. 5. Participate in a class discussion of key terms related to energy including fossil fuels, renewable and non-renewable resources, greenhouse gasses, and global warming 6. Participate in a simulation activity and conduct research and create a project that will be used to teach others about alternative/renewable energy sources 7. Teach classmates about a specific alternative/renewable energy source using a model, experiment, diagram, or interactive or multimedia display 8. Participate in a class discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of using alternative energy sources

Student reading about oil spills for Pollution Unit: http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Coll_Group_ECOCharterSchoolCommunity/Pollution

In this lesson students will: become familiar with the concept of water conservation; become aware of their own water use and how to conserve water; and discuss ways that they can help to raise awareness in their families and among their peers.

This is a link to the NG Water Footprint Calculator, a lot of interesting facts about water, conservation tips, and an opportunity to pledge to use less!

Raising Your Water IQ is an inquiry based approach to teaching middle school students about Texas water resources and how to conserve water resources for today and the future. Four messages are central to this study: Where Does Our Water Come From? Who Uses Water and How Do We Use It? Why and How Do We Conserve Water? How Can We Plan Our Water Future? Activities and lesson plans in this curriculum offer structured opportunities to practice the concepts in a classroom. Watersheds and surface water systems are related to groundwater systems. Point and non-point source pollution is explored in hands-on and minds-on activities. Students gather and graph data for their own water usage at home and go further to investigate water use in Texas. A "Water in Texas" web quest and accompanying web resources encourage students to ask questions and gain understanding about their own local environment.