Classroom Activities
Hands-on Activities
The majority of this unit involves students completing hands-on activities, including three separate labs. Because there is little time dedicated to content delivery, students are expected to have completed all assigned readings, notes, and checks for understanding prior to coming to class. By doing this, students satisfy the SEP of obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Specific instructions and deliverables for each of the following activities are freely available by emailing michael.doody@colonial.k12.de.us.
Cookie Mining Lab
In this lab, students simulate the impacts of MTR by attempting to mine chocolate chip ore from a cookie. However, there are several principles to consider as students mine their cookies. First, not all land is equal – some has more ore, some is harder to mine, etc. To mimic this, I give students the option of buying different types of cookies (one standard chocolate chip cookie, one soft chocolate chip cookie, and one chunky cookie). Students also purchase mining tools (paperclips, toothpicks, and popsicle sticks) and cannot use their land. Before mining students must record their cookie’s topography as well as their initial environmental impact. I give students seven minutes to mine their cookie. When time is up, students have an additional two minutes to reclaim their land and return the cookie to its original topography. When the reclamation period is up, students trade places with a partner and complete two assessments. The first is of the additional environmental impact of the mining operation. Failure to clean up the site results in environmental penalties in addition to damaging the surrounding ecosystem. Violations are recorded in a data table. Students also complete a secondary assessment of the indirect impacts of their mining operation. Their mining grid contains streams, forested land, deer habitat, fertile topsoil, and scenic vistas. Students fellow a specific set of rules to determine if the mining operation degraded any of these attributes. For instance, if students pollute the headwaters of a stream, all of the connected water downstream is degraded. Likewise, if students degrade too much forested land, the deer habitat is degraded. The degradation of natural attributes does not count against the students financially, but opens their eyes to the far-reaching impacts mining can have on ecosystems. The second assessment is of the amount/quality of the ore mined from the cookie. The money earned from mining is recorded in the same data table from above. Students determine whether they earned a profit from their mining operation. Finally, students are asked a series of analysis questions that force them to apply their knowledge of mining and its environmental impacts and consider competing environmental and economic principles. In this way, students analyze and interpret data, and construct explanations. This lab can be completed in one ninety-minute class period.
Tube Sock Pollution Lab
To model PM pollution, students will secure tube socks to various vehicles in the school parking lot and then analyze the socks under microscopes for evidence of various PM types. To complete this lab, students will secure new white tube socks to the exhaust pipe of a car and let the car run in idle for five minutes. Once the sock is removed it can be cut into sections and placed under a dissecting microscope to identify regions with significant pollution. These smaller sections can be further examined under higher magnifications using a traditional microscope. Students then quantify the amount of pollution on their section and compare data with their peers. This activity challenges student to analyze and interpret data and use mathematical reasoning to construct explanations about the nature of PM pollution.
Ideally, students test cars of different ages and engine types in order to show how PM pollution varies. An ideal sample set includes a diesel engine, an older car, a newer car, and a hybrid or electric car. To satisfy this, I complete portions of the activity ahead of time and have students simply test older and newer cars in our school lot. Though this is not directly related to the PM pollution from burning coal, it is close enough and a powerful demonstration for students. This lab takes two ninety-minute periods.
Effects of Acids Lab
To demonstrate the effects of acids (from acid deposition or AMD), students construct model ecosystems with an unconfined aquifer, a lake, farmland, and unique topographical features using plastic containers, clay, soil, fast-growing plants, tap water, and dilute acids. In order to satisfy the plan part of the plan and conduct investigations SEP, students are given their materials and tasked with setting up the ecosystem without much guidance from me. Students are split into several groups of three students, and each group receives slightly different instructions and materials from me. For instance, one group acts as the control. Another group receives soil with a greater buffer capacity. Other groups may receive different acid types or concentrations. Each group is charged with getting their plants to grow and must collect the following data during the experiment: plant growth (height in cm), soil pH, and water pH. After collecting data for five class periods, students compare their data and discuss the impacts of acid on their ecosystems, drawing from their lab experience and their content knowledge from reading in the textbook. In addition to planning and carrying out the experiment, students analyze and interpret data and construct explanations in this lab.
The initial set up of this experiment takes about forty-five minutes, and students need about ten minutes in class after that to collect their data. On the final day of the experiment, students need about thirty minutes to discuss their results and breakdown their specific experiment. They answer a series of analysis questions as homework.
Write Your Own FRQ
In order to prepare students for the AP exam, I typically assign an FRQ at the end of each major topic. However, since the College Board redesigned their exam format and a great deal of previously released questions are no longer applicable, I am challenging my students to write their own questions. Students are given this assignment over parts of three class periods. On the first day, students collaborate with one another to discuss the elements of an FRQ, the different aspects of coal mining and environmental impacts, and write a first draft of their question. I provide students with reference questions and rubrics for similar topics to get them started on this process. On the second day, each student revises their first draft and then creates a rubric for their question. At this point, I give students approval or guidance on how to modify their question. There are three requirements that students must meet in order to have their question approved: 1) the question must have multiple parts, 2) there must be some quantitative analysis involved in answering the question, and 3) the question must integrate content from previous units in some way. On the last day of the unit, students trade with a partner so that they answer a peer’s question. The author of the question then evaluates their peer using the rubric they wrote and assign them a grade, which I validate and correct if necessary. The use of Higher Order Thinking on this assignment is wrapped up in students constructing explanations, thinking mathematically, and engaging in argument from evidence.
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