Energy, Climate, Environment

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 09.07.07

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction and Rationale
  2. Objectives
  3. The Essence of the Earth
  4. The Natural State of Affairs
  5. When Things Go Awry and Upset the Natural Balance
  6. What's Happening to Our Environment?
  7. What's Plastic Got to do With Climate Change?
  8. Strategies Employed During Implementation
  9. Independent Research
  10. Classroom Activities
  11. Teacher Resources
  12. Student Resources
  13. Interactive Websites for Students
  14. Appendices
  15. Endnotes

Energy, Climate, Environment: What's Plastic Got To Do with It?

Doriel I. Moorman

Published September 2009

Tools for this Unit:

Strategies Employed During Implementation

Direct Teacher Instruction. This will involve a whole group presentation, demonstration or discussion of a key concept. While employing this strategy general information will be imparted to the entire class with the completion of an assignment.

Interactive Internet Websites

Students will use websites to gain further knowledge on a particular topic that is either assigned to a pair or self-selected from the menu for independent work. Some suggested websites have been included but there are others available that you may also find as you browse the Internet.

  • http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/warming6.htm
  • http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids
  • http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/iotd/archive.php
  • http://earthguide.usc.edu/earthguide/diagrams
  • www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/facts_and_figures

Informative Text Reading - Students will participate in reading, comprehending, analyzing, and responding to informative text material. The content of the material will be related to the unit content and structured toward helping to answer one of the four major questions for each of the topical areas.

Independent Self-Selected Menu Assignments - Students will select topics to research further from a menu of choices. They will also select the process for investigating the topic further engage in hands-on activities; interpreting graphs and drawing conclusions; metric conversions; or interpreting documented statistical material and presenting a summary of it in an alternate format.

Think-Pair-Share - Students will be introduced to the unit through visual imagery accompanied by music. A plastic bottle will be visible on the desk at the front of the room. Students will be paired up to discuss what they think the unit will be about.

Whole Class Group Work - During the Whole Class group lesson content will be presented with the entire class engaged in the same activity and involved in group discussion, my intent is that these whole group lessons will involve an appropriate demonstration, presentation, or reading. Often this may be a math lesson.

Small Group Work including the completing activities that may result in a product or discussion and group decision or conclusion.

Self-Selected Menu Choice Activities - The Menu Activity lessons will provide students with choices of independent tasks that when completed will present written documented information, supporting statistical data, graphic representations, and/or illustrations that further answer the essential questions for a particular section

After completing the learning activities in this unit, the students will be prepared to and will begin to evaluate some things that can be done as responsible consumers. They will focus on identifying behaviors that would have the biggest impact and make the greatest contribution to controlling and/or minimizing our negative impact on the earth's atmosphere, with the intent of averting the maximum consequences of global warming.

Comments:

Add a Comment

Characters Left: 500