Classroom activities
The classroom activities shared here will follow a unit on the atmosphere and weather where students will have learned about the basic components that make up Earth's atmosphere and will have learned the difference between the ozone that is a natural part of the atmosphere and the ozone created at ground level on Earth primarily due to emissions from motor vehicles. We will have discussed the "bad" ozone as it relates to air quality, but not yet as it relates to human health specifically. The data table above will become a daily part of class through a daily update from www.enviroflash.info which will send a report about local air quality every day.
In addition to the activities that will be listed here, students will have opportunities to make observations of diseased lungs, including ones with emphysema and lung cancer. The pathology laboratory at a local hospital makes available to teachers various organs that have been preserved so students can see the actual parts found inside humans. The organs chosen for observation very often show various disease conditions. Even in a set of healthy lungs, there are very often carbon deposits, which most often occur in city dwellers. I am hoping to schedule a time for the hybrid school bus to come to our school for students to see what it looks like and hopefully give them an opportunity to ask questions about the difference between it and the regular school bus.
Determining Size and Scale
Objective: Students will gain understanding of relative sizes of particles unseen as they relate to substances they can see.
One of the first activities to begin this unit will be to help students understand the size of the harmful particles we are discussing. The terms micron and microgram will be new for them, so to help with the understanding of how small these measurements are, I will use a couple of activities to demonstrate these concepts. Students will have had a very basic introduction to the metric system at the beginning of the year, so they should know the approximate size of a meter and a millimeter. To begin the discussion of the size of a micron, I will have students look at one strand of hair and compare it to the millimeter marking on a metric ruler. After having them estimate the size of the hair, I will share an overhead called "How Big is a Micron?" that shows that a human hair is between 50 and 70 microns compared to a grain of pollen that is 30 to 50 microns. After that initial look at sizes, I will introduce the idea of particulate matter in the air. Figure 1 will be used to help students grasp the general sizes of specific particles. Although students know (after our atmosphere unit) that there are things in the air we cannot see, they still do not quite understand this. I will be using a diffusion activity using water and food coloring to show that as the food coloring is diluted in a systematic way with chem trays, you eventually can no longer see it. Since the students are moving the material, they know there is still a substance in the water even though they cannot see it. This activity would also relate to studies about contaminated water and how much contamination must be present to cause harm. The "Powers of Ten" video will be shown as part of this lesson. This video shows in a very unique way what increasing or decreasing by powers of ten means.
Understanding the Respiratory System
Objective: Students will create drawings and models of the alveoli in the lungs to get an idea of how and where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.
After a basic introduction to the respiratory system and its structures, students will learn about alveoli as the places where gas exchange takes place. Students will first draw sketches of the alveoli and capillary connection and use color to represent the exchange of gases in the respiratory system. Once drawings are completed and checked for accuracy, students will be asked to create a model of their drawings. They will have the option of working independently or with a partner. They will be given a variety of materials to choose from that can represent the parts they are modeling. After creating their models, students will be asked to share their models and explain why they chose the materials they did.
Airborne Pollutants
Objective: Students will gain an understanding of some of the particulates that are present in the air around the school.
Students will be collecting samples of particulates over a few days time to determine the types of particulates that are present around our school. Students will prepare petri dishes with gridded bottoms so that some quantitative analysis can be done on the particulates gathered. The petri dishes will be lined with a layer of Vaseline, so that they can easily pick up any airborne particles. Students will choose areas around the school where they think the most particulates might be present over a week's time. I will let students brainstorm about places to put the petri dishes, hopefully guiding them toward the bus lot as well as the car pickup area. After several days to a week's time, we will gather the petri dishes and determine if there are any differences in the types of particulates gathered or any differences in the numbers of particulates gathered. After discussion of the types of particulates present on the petri dishes, I will remind students that the fine particulate matter that is most harmful to us cannot be seen on the petri dishes. However, we can still use the information about the large particulates to infer where the worst fine particulates might be. As a class, we can discuss changes that can be made in the daily routine at school that might reduce student exposures to the worst particulates.
Evil Hitchhiker - Creative Writing Activity
Objective: Students will use knowledge of respiration to create a story of a pollutant as it enters the human body.
Students will write a story about an evil hitchhiker which has attached itself to an oxygen molecule and made its way into the body. The evil hitchhiker will represent one piece of particulate matter that is emitted by a car. Students need to follow the path of this hitchhiker as it makes its way into the body. Students will need to identify all body parts passed on the journey from the time the hitchhiker first enters the body to the time it either exits the body or takes up permanent residence. Students need to create a scenario of what it could do inside the body and how it could affect different organ systems, functions, and normal development.
Persuasive Writing Activity
Objective: Students will write letters to people responsible for transportation decisions in our school system and county and will create plans for reducing the amount of driving time by family members.
In order to promote the idea of students being active participants in society, they will write letters promoting stricter emission controls, better public transportation options, and greener school buses. Students will be given the option of writing to county government officials, state government officials, or to write a letter to their parents and other driving family members about the importance of decreasing driving time.
Students will be asked to keep a record of mileage on their family's main vehicle for one week. After recording that mileage, they will discuss with the family ways to reduce the amount of mileage they put on the car each week. Each family will set a goal and using those numbers, students will use the information about pounds of carbon dioxide produced by a gallon of gas to help families learn how much carbon dioxide they are keeping from the atmosphere by cutting back on driving time.
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