Introduction
What will happen to the Earth in the future? What is global warming and how does it affect us? This is by far the most critical environmental problem we face. We must do something before it is too late. We must take an active role and it should start with our children.
According to two of New Haven Public Schools science curriculum standards, students must understand the process of scientific inquiry (1.0) and students must understand the dynamics of the Earth (4.0). This unit will touch upon these two science standards and the fourth grade unit on the Earth's oceans and atmospheres. The principal objective of this unit is to have creative, critical thinkers who are able to understand the basics of global warming. This unit will provide elementary school teachers with hands-on activities that will integrate science, mathematics, language arts, and art. This unit will be used in a fourth or fifth grade classroom in New Haven, Connecticut, but it may be adapted to other grade levels or areas.
In the third grade science curriculum, students learn about the Solar System. They study the basics, the Sun, the planets, and their position in the Solar System. In fourth grade we build on this knowledge and focus closely on the Earth, particularly the oceans and atmospheres. Unfortunately, I have noticed that students do not know very much about the Sun and its relationship to us on Earth. Therefore, as an introduction to this unit, we will focus on the Sun, as a main source of energy, and the Earth. Then, we will discuss the greenhouse effect, the consequences, and ways we can help.
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