Energy, Climate, Environment

Lesson 3 "Why it all matters?"

Objective 1

To teach students to develop a critical consciousness around the importance of a healthy environment as it relates to science, social justice and civil rights issues.

Students write a short three to five paragraph expository essay on how they interpret the link between "E-F-P& W" as an issue of social justice and science.

Objective 2

To have students answer the following questions, then create new questions after they have participated in calculating some of there own food waste:

These questions should be answered in a way where students have fun asking them and answering them. This part of the assignment should be shared and enjoyed by all classroom members. With the right engagement the students should be so inspired to want to ask other school community members and family these sorts of questions.

(before waste calculation question: bq)-

(after waste calculation question : aq)-

(new question developed from calculation information: nq)

Lesson Background

Caring about the environment is a natural thing to do, must of us are happy to go to the ocean, hike in the woods, and see the sunrise and sunset. If we were to go out to the beach and saw an ocean filled with plastics and other debris it would more than likely make us feel worried and sad; and we would probably want to do something about it. This is what is happening in our oceans only we can't see it because we spend our time on the shorelines.

Of the 200 billion pounds of plastic people use each year, about 10 percent ends up in the ocean. (31) Filling the ocean with plastic is hazardous to the environment, and therefore hazardous to humans, us.

How about a hike in the woods only to arrive at a forest that used to exist, a forest turned into a man-made tundra. If we continue to deforest so that we can have more gadgets, we will eventually create meadows, those that do not feature the color purple.

Children, our students, can only benefit by understanding the impact they make on the world around them, and explaining ocean pollution is mind boggling for adults as it is almost incomprehensible to understand what 200 billion plastic bottles must look like.

Though it is not easy to understand what 200 billion plastic bottles may or does look like, it is not farfetched to know what the foods we eat and throw away look like. It is not difficult to understand how the people growing the foods we eat, and disposing of the foods we eat may be impacted by the foods we eat. It is easy to calculate our own impact on the environment by simply counting what we eat, throw away, where it comes from, where it goes, and how we can possibly make positive different choices.

The questions are tiered to build a sense of consciousness.

Recycle Questions (Tier 1)

bq: Do I recycle?

bq: Should I recycle?

aq: What have I learned about recycling that proves that recycling is useful?

nq: Student develops her/his own question

Social Justice Questions (Tier 2)

bq: Are there any real changes I can make to make the environment healthier?

bq: Why should I even care about making the environment healthier?

aq: Am I making the environment healthier, why or why not?

bq: How does the idea of making the environment better make me feel?

nq: Student develops his/her own question?

Food Choice Questions (Tier 3)

bq: What are my five most favorite foods to eat?

bq: How are my five most favorite foods packaged?

bq: What do I do with the container my five most favorite foods came in after I eat?

bq: What are my five most favorite foods made of?

bq: Where were my five most favorite foods purchased?

bq: How did my five most favorite foods get to the place where they were purchased?

aq: How much space did my five most favorite foods take up in my paper trash bag?

aq: How did I use and dispose of my five most favorite foods?

Project Development Questions (Tier 4)

(These questions are to be used when students are creating their virtual food stores.)

What do we eat?

Why and how do we make our food choices?

How is what we eat packaged?

Could we package what we eat differently?

Would what I eat be package differently if I bought it a grocery store versus a farmers market?

Can I grow (home or community garden) any of what I eat?

Should we package differently?

Who benefits from the way my food is packaged?

Who does not benefit from the way my food is packaged?

What forms of energy sources were used to package and dispose of the food I eat regularly?

Are there any real alternative energy ways to dispose of the food packaging I eat?

Project

Students will apply questions from tier 3 to our school lunch program. If the students eat the food prepared by the district they will calculate the food questions in the same way as they would if they were to bring food from home; the difference in food should not render a difference in the students ability to participate in the project.

Each student will chose one day per week over the course of five weeks to calculate how much food s/he has consumed and disposed of. After five days of food calculation has been recorded, the students will use classroom resources, science encyclopedias, and the Internet to research the details of the foods they have eaten.

The classroom as a complete community will take a fieldtrip to no less than two grocery stores where each student will be responsible for observing how each store does or does not display foods.

The classroom community will take at least one fieldtrip to a farmers market, where students again will make observations about what is sold, and how the foods are displayed.

The students will be expected to make comparisons between the differences they observed with grocery stores and farmers markets.

Students will create virtual grocery stores in teams of three to five students (class size dependent). Using food cutouts from newspapers, drawings, and photographs each student will work in a team creating a virtual grocery store. After the stores are made each team of students will use city maps to trace the route of a dump truck from the school dumpster to the landfill. A calculation of mileage and energy usage of the truck will be made.

After all students have completed their virtual stores and landfill routes, the students will work in teams to create virtual alternative ways to dispose of food.

After this leg of project has been completed, each student will chose a vegetable of choice and grow it somewhere on school grounds or at home.

After the vegetable is grown, we will prepare a classroom edible lunch. (maybe one of the students will prepare bread.

Maybe students are interested in creating an ethical diet……