Classroom Activities
Sample Lesson I (may take two to three class sessions)
Provide instruction on the natural green house effect and how an increase in the concentration of green house gases impacts the green house effect causing global warming.
Have each student examine a graph that shows the concentration of the three greenhouse gases most affected by human activities, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide for a period covering the past 800-1000 years. Engage students in a discussion of how to interpret what the graph represents with regard to the concentration of greenhouse gases during the period covered.
After providing instruction on how a mean (average) is derived and what it represents, provide each student with a copy of the Mauna Loa Monthly Mean Carbon Dioxide graph. Discuss the reason for the fluctuation of the yearly monthly means as reflecting the seasonal differences of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of the amount of vegetation available to absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Have students read the graph and come up with a monthly mean for each ten-year period. It might be a little difficult for fifth graders to identify the mean for each year within the ten-year period. However, for those capable students, and I did have some in my fourth grade from the previous year, challenge them to go further after completing the assignment for each decade.
After they have recorded the mean concentration for each decade, have them calculate the percent of change from the previous decade. Discuss their calculations and their results. Engage students in what the information they calculated represents and how it might be used in anticipating future changes. Have them calculate an average mean for the next decade using the information from their previous calculations. Allow students to work in pairs as desired.
Sample Lesson II (may take two class sessions and for completion)
After teacher instruction of the concepts of global climate change and its relationship to trash, students will work in groups of four with pairs reading different sets of informative text readings. After reading, each student will generate a 'fortune teller' that teaches the information for the piece of text they've read. Students will generate the questions and formulate the answers. Students will be provided with the specifics of what type of information must be gained by the individuals playing their 'fortune teller' game through their questions and answers. They will then exchange their 'fortune tellers' with other pairs of students in order to facilitate an exchange of information learned.
As students work in groups of four they can organize themselves in any way they choose for the generation of the 'fortune tellers'. They can choose to work as a group and specialize, work as an assembly line or work individually with everyone completing their own 'fortune teller' from beginning to end. My students participate in an annual Meaningful Economics competition that involves a production component that involves producing a product with a specific set of materials. This is a perfect opportunity to integrate production practice into this assignment.
Anyone playing the game with their 'fortune teller' should be able to ascertain, from the information included on the 'fortune teller', what the problem or issue is that is being addressed, what is causing it or the contributing factors, and what some alternatives and/or solutions to the problem or issue are. (See Appendix B for folding instructions)
Sample Lesson III (may take two class sessions and possibly some work done at home for completion)
After instruction on Greek and Latin root words and affixes and modeling the decoding of a sample word, students will be assigned a word of their own. Using a glossary of terms and any additional words that you may choose to add, students will be assigned a specific word. Two of the variety of methods I use for making assignments include selecting a word that has been written on an index card from a box or other receptacle or students obtaining a number as they enter the classroom that matches a word that has been assigned the corresponding number.
Students will generate a quality vocabulary word booklet for their assigned word. The word booklet will have three panels including a front cover, an inside left panel and an inside right panel, and a back cover. An 8 ½ by 11 inches piece of plain white paper is folded in half from an initial landscape position. The cover will include the word in bold letters and an illustration that visually depicts the word. The inside left panel will include the word decoded into its component parts including the root word, suffix, and/or prefix that they have decoded for meaning using Latin and Greek roots and affixes, the definition of the word, part of speech, and other correctly spelled forms of the word. Students must identify the Greek or Latin origin(s) and their meanings. The inside right panel will include an illustration with a caption that demonstrates how the word is related to the content of the unit. The caption must include the word or some form of the word assigned. The back cover will have a list of 3-5 other words that are derived from the same Latin or Greek origins identified for this word.
The vocabulary booklet will be graded according to a predetermined rubric that is shared with the students during the initial assignment. Students will have the opportunity to grade their own booklet according to the rubric upon completion prior to turning it in for teacher evaluation.
A selection of words suggested for this activity include Anthropogenic, Atmosphere, Biosphere, Carbon, Dioxide, Chemical, Combustion, Consumption, Condense, Cryosphere, Equilibrium, Emission, Fossil, Fuel, Cycle, Hydrosphere, Methane, Ozone, Petroleum, Sequestration, Stratosphere, Teleconnections, Troposphere, Cyclones, Polymer, Polyethylene, Mitigation, Biogenic, Deforestation, Permafrost, Glacier, Depletion, Radiation, Evaporation, Transpiration, Recycle, Symbiosis, Precipitation, Respiration, Variable, Bioaccumulation, Infiltration, Photosynthesis, Compose, Decompose, Compact, Transform, Discreet, and Organic. Online sources for unit related glossaries are:
- http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/full_glossary/glossary.php
- http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/glossary/index.html
- http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/glossary/
Sample Research Projects
Research and identify the specifics of Delaware's Bottle Law. (or other relevant state of choice)
Research methods of recycling that are available to consumers.
Evaluate the effectiveness of current recycling methods.
Examine current recycling efforts and identify ways to increase consumer participation.
Identify alternative methods of producing plastic materials that would reduce the use of petroleum as a raw material.
Identify alternative products consumers can use that would lead to reducing the use of plastics.
Explain the aspects of the Industrial Revolution that could be viewed as contributors to global warming.
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