U.S.

Peace Corps H

Environmental Education through English Lesson Plans Grades 5 - 8

Peace Corps Romania

2009

August 2009

PCRO EEC Manual

Peace Corps Romania Environmental Education through English Manual

Introductory Information:....................................................................5 Lesson Plans.......................................................................................7 Lesson 1 The Environment How Are We Connected?...............7 Lesson 2 - The Energy Trail............................................................11 Lesson 3 Where in the World.....................................................19 Lesson 4 - Endangered Species.....................................................22 Lesson 5 - Go With the Flow...........................................................25 Lesson 6 Sum of the Parts.........................................................30 Lesson 7 - Littering........................................................................35 Lesson 8 - Its in the Air.................................................................37 Lesson 9 What Do We Do? What Can We Do?............................41 Appendix..........................................................................................45 Lesson Plan Handouts and Worksheets..........................................45 Lesson 1 - The Environment How Are We Connected - Handout and Worksheets .........................................................................46 Lesson 2 - The Energy Trail - Handouts and Worksheet..............51 Lesson 3 Where in the World Handouts and Worksheets....60 Lesson 4 Endangered Species Handouts and Worksheets. .67 Lesson 5 - Go With the Flow Handouts and Worksheets.........71 Lesson 6 Sum of the Parts - Worksheet..................................82 Lesson 7 Littering Worksheet.............................................83 Lesson 8 Its in the Air - Handouts and Worksheet..................84 Lesson 9 What Do We Do? What Can We Do? - Worksheet...86 Lesson Plan Alternatives................................................................87 Lesson 1 - The Environment and How Are We Connected Alternatives: ..............................................................................87 Lesson 2 The Energy Trail Alternatives:..................................88 Lesson 4 Endangered Species Alternatives:............................89 Lesson 5 Go With the Flow Alternatives:.................................93 Additional Activities.......................................................................95 K 4th Nature Walk (Lesson 1)...................................................96 K 4th Mosquito, Salmon, Bear (Lessons 1 and 3)......................96 K 4th Picture of Daily Schedule and Environmental Effect (Lesson 9)...................................................................................96 K 4th Endangered Species Poster (Lesson 4)...........................97 K 8th What if we slept for 100 years? (Lesson 9).....................97 K 8th Nature Scavenger Hunt (Lesson 1).................................97 K 8th Nature Scatagories (Adaptable to all lessons).................97 K 8th Trash Pie (Lesson 8)........................................................98 K 8th Find the Pairs (Adaptable to all lessons, especially Lessons 1, 3 and 5)..................................................................................98 K 8th Making a volcano eruption (Lesson 8).............................98 K 8th Plastic Bag Dispenser (Lessons 7 and 9).........................99 5th 8th Observing the micro-universe (Lesson 1).....................99

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PCRO EEC Manual

5th 8th What has changed in 150 years? (Lesson 9, and adaptable to Lessons 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8)........................................99 5th 8th Make your own topographic map (Lessons 3 and 5). .100 5th 8th Building a 3D landscape from a topographic map (Lessons 3 and 5).....................................................................100 5th 8th Eco Footprint (Lessons 2 and 9).................................100 5th 8th River Box (Lesson 5)..................................................100 5th 8th Product Lifespan (Lesson 2).......................................100 5th 8th The Community Concept (Land Ethics) (Lessons 6, 8 and 9).............................................................................................101 5th 8th Nature Charades (Adaptable to all lessons, especially Lessons 1, 4 and 7)..................................................................101 5th 8th Environmental Letter to Yourself (Lesson 9)..............101 5th 8th Water from Our Homes (Lesson 6).............................103 5th 8th Diversity Poem (Lessons 1, 3 and 4)......................105

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PCRO EEC Manual

Environmental Education Curriculum Cover Letter

This series of lesson plans teaches basic environmental concepts and issues while teaching English. The curriculum consists of nine lessons in the standard format for Romanian curriculum. Each lesson includes a major activity to enhance the learning experience of the students. There is also an appendix of additional or alternative activities for use in conjunction with the lessons. The lessons are designed for Classes five through eight. If taught as a unit, the lesson plans and activities provide an overview of the most important environmental concepts and issues that relate to Romanian students in Classes five through eight. The lessons enhance each other when taught as a unit. However, the lessons and activities may also be used individually. The curriculum begins with the more basic environmental concepts, then presents major environmental issues, and finally focuses on specific topics, such as the water cycle, air pollution, and littering. Each lesson includes activities to demonstrate environmental concepts and issues, to promote active learning by all the students, and to enhance English skills. The design of the lessons allows for flexibility in their use. In fact, flexibility is encouraged. Information should be added or subtracted to tailor the lessons to the abilities and prior education of the students. In particular, the activities may be modified to make them simpler or more complex, or other activities may be substituted or added. While independent group work is encouraged, the teacher can modify the extent of the activities and the sizes of the groups to fit the class size, class character, student abilities, and available time. A series of additional or alternative activities is contained in the Appendix. Activities for younger students are also included. The cover page for the Appendix indicates which topics and class level the activities relate to. This curriculum was developed by Peace Corps Volunteers of Peace Corps Romania, drawing from the teaching experience of, and the lessons designed by, many of those volunteers, as well as from many outside resources that those volunteers have utilized in the classroom.

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Introductory Information:
The Effect of Human Population on the Environment. Humans shape their world. One significant way that humans are different from other animals is that humans can greatly change the environment around them. This is good and bad. It has allowed humans to be very successful as a species and to live almost everywhere on earth. But now: Up to three-quarters of the livable surface of the world has been partially or heavily disturbed by humans; Some scientists estimate that humans have already used up 33% of the worlds natural resources. And our population keeps growing. There are now about 6.5 billion people on the earth, and it is estimated that there will be over 9 billion people by 2060. Future growth will be concentrated in the developing nations. It is estimated that 99% of new population growth will be in developing nations, which will put even more pressure on natural resources. Human Pressure on Natural Resources: Many natural resources are under threat because of human population pressure. These are examples of some of the resources under threat: Forests, Water, Fossil Fuels, Soil and Biodiversity. And consumption of the resources produces waste. Waste Disposal is also an important environmental issue. Forests: Deforestation effects global warming: 20% of greenhouse gas emissions are from tropical deforestation. Indonesia is the worlds 3rd largest producer of greenhouse gases, almost completely from deforestation. Destruction of tropical forests: By 1979, tropical rain forests were reduced to about 50% of their prehistoric size. Aerial and satellite photography show that about 12 million hectares a year are being destroyed. Trees are oxygen factories: August 2009 PCRO EEC Manual 5

1 hectare of trees produces enough oxygen for about 13 people. During photosynthesis, a tree removes the carbon from CO2 and releases the oxygen. Forests and greenhouse gases: 1 hectare of trees can remove 6.5 tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere. A trees dry weight is about half carbon. So oxidizing a mature tree releases about half of its weight as CO2 into the atmosphere. Reduction of Romanian forests: Before man, Romania was 77% forest. Now it is only 28%. Fossil Oil: Oil reserves are being used up. Humans use 84 million barrels of oil every day. About 20 million barrels are used every day for cars and light trucks. A person in a developed nation uses about 11 times more gasoline than a person in a developing nation. The numbers of cars keeps growing. There are now about 750 million cars on the worlds roads. It is estimated that the numbers of cars will grow to 1 billion in the next 20 years. Oil is a non-renewable resource. Fossil oil was created millions of years ago by the decay of microscopic plants in ancient ocean beds. It takes at least a million years or more to create fossil oil. Water: Already many people do not have enough water. Water stress is growing due to the increasing population requiring more water for household use, industrial use, and agriculture, due to pollution of water resources, and due to global warming. In 2000, one third of the worlds population was water stressed. 8% (500 million) of the worlds people suffered severe water stress. Soil: Soil erosion will increase as more marginal land is used to grow crops and all agricultural land is used more intensely. 25 billion tons of topsoil is lost every year through erosion. Biodiversity: Extinction of species Extinction is a normal part of evolution, with a natural rate of about 1 to 10 species a year. But scientists estimate that extinction rates are now 100 to 1,000 times the natural rate. As many as 72 species go extinct every day. Waste from our consumption of resources: Our trash is polluting the world. The trash that we generate can create many problems and it takes longer to decompose than it does for us to create it. Here are some estimates for how long some of our trash takes to decompose: Paper: 2 4 weeks; Cigarette butt: 2 5 years; Plastic Bottle: 300 500 years.

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Lesson Plans
Lesson 1 The Environment How Are We Connected?
Lesson Title The Environment How Are We Connected? Specific Topic Defining the term environment and learning how nature is a connected web of life. Age-level 5th 8th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 20 minutes preparation; 32-42 minutes implementation; Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Define the term environment. 2. Identify the connection between living things. 3. Learn the names of various plants and animals found in their community. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Students participate in a classroom discussion, a group brainstorming game and a connection game. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) The students will be introduced to a definition of environment. Furthermore, this lesson intends to demonstrate our interdependence on the environment through the connections we have with nature. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Black board and chalk or white board and white board markers. Students supply own notebook paper and pens or pencils. String and pens. English to Romanian Dictionary to translate plant and animal names. Handout needed: Lesson 1 The Environment Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Environment

Nature Plants Animals

Food Shelter Water

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PCRO EEC Manual

Air Connection Web of Life Advanced Vocabulary: Dependence Interdependence Biodiversity Oxygen Nitrogen Carbon Dioxide

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PCRO EEC Manual

Procedure Background Definition of Environment. The environment can be defined as anything around us, both living and not living. It is essential to all of us because without it we would not have our basic needs of food, shelter, and water. It is the air we breathe, the sun which gives us warmth, the food and water nourishing our bodies, the roof over our heads, the plants and animals, rocks and streams, oceans and mountains, distant lands, all that is seen, felt, smelled, heard, and tasted. It is our survival and without it, we would not exist. Our Connections: Every time we take a breath, we have made a connection with the trees; they make oxygen for us to inhale. When we drink a glass of milk, we are connected to the cows and the grass needed to make that glass of milk. There are many ways in which we are connected to the plants and animals around us. Most of the time, we do not think of these connections. Sometimes they are hard to see. However, it is important for us to realize that we need other living beings to survive; these connections are essential to life. Preparation Prepare nameplates (Handout). Lesson Step Brainstorming regarding the word environment Groups list things in the environment, participate in a game Length 2-5 minutes 10 - 15 minutes Implementation Description Ask the students if they have ever heard the word environment? Try to get enough information from the students to form a definition. After defining environment, Tell the students that they will now play a game. Each group represents a team. Each team must create a list of things in the environment. They will have 5 minutes to make the list in their teams then each group announces the teams list. The teams read ALL the items on their list. The teams get one point for every unique item on their list that was not said by any other group. Announce the winning team. Note: The teacher should be writing down the words on the board as the students announce them. Draw a circle on the board and write environment in it. Around the environment circle, draw smaller circles with each of the items that the students listed in the game activity. Connect the

Use the game results to construct a diagram

5 minutes

Web of life activity

15 minutes

Conclusions

2 minutes

smaller circles with the environment circle using a line. If there are too many items, just choose an appropriate amount as examples. (5 minutes) (If there is enough time, using this diagram, have the students give a reason why each of the smaller circles is important. Write this reason outside the smaller circles and connect it using a line.) Do a web of life circle. Using the list of things for the game above, have students stand in a circle with their nameplates on (see handout section). Have a ball of string and have them throw the ball to the person they are connected to and then the next one does it to who they are connected to, and so on. Students continue to hold onto their string after the ball is thrown to them. When the ball of string has been thrown to everyone, they will have a web. The teacher could put a ball, cookie sheet, or plastic dish on it to show how strong the web of life is. Then have one person drop his string and the web will fall apart. This shows how important it is for biodiversity of species to occur and how interconnected we all are.

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Students can define the word environment. Students can describe important things in their lives that are part of the environment. Students can describe the connections of living things within the environment. Variations for less advanced English classes 1. During class discussion about the definition of environment, have the entire class think of an appropriate definition based on the answers to the questions you discuss. Again, lead the class to come up with a similar definition as anything around us. 2. After discussion and definition, draw the environment circle, as mentioned in above procedure. 3. Encourage the class to name things in the environment and then draw the smaller circles around the environment circle (see figure 1). After the things have been put in smaller circles around the larger environment circle, the teacher should pick 5-6 of the things named by the students and have the class stand up and act like that thing. For example, if one of the items is a tree the students

can stand up, put their arms in the air, spread their fingers, and sway in the breeze. The teacher should easily be able to think of body movements for at least 5or 6 of the things named. Be creative. (10 minutes for steps 1-3) 4. Have students identify why each thing in the environment that they listed is important. (10 minutes) 5. Students must close their eyes and imagine their favorite place/environment. Might be beneficial to play some classical music in the background during this exercise. Have them think of colors, smells, sights, etc. in this environment. 6. Give students time to draw their favorite place. (20 minutes) 7. Students share pictures with class and tell why they like that place. (10 minutes) 8. Hang the pictures on wall to make an environment art gallery.

Lesson 2 - The Energy Trail

Lesson Title The Energy Trail A lesson plan adapted from the Climate Change North website (www.climatechangenorth.ca/index.html) and And the Green Leaves Grow, an environmental education manual by Kristina Vagos Specific Topic How the manufacture of consumer products is linked to climate change through fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. Age-level 5th 10th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to:

1. Trace the energy trail of a product from its very beginning to its final destination. 2. Explain how energy is used in extraction, manufacture and transportation of material for consumer goods. 3. Understand how the manufacture and transport of all consumer goods contributes to climate change. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Through analysis, students discover the links between consumer products, manufacturing and energy use, the burning of fossil fuels, and the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Students learn by tracing the steps that produce the plastic components of a computer from oil in the ground to the finished product being used at home. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) To help students understand that the energy used in extraction, manufacture, and transportation of material and products produces carbon dioxide emissions that are changing our climate. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Notebook, pencil, Chalkboard or large pieces of paper, markers. Handouts needed Lesson 2 - The Energy Trail Vocabulary

Basic Vocabulary: Energy Oil Renewable resource Non-renewable resource Transportation Materials Consumer Products Plastic Climate change Procedure

Landfill / Dump Advanced Vocabulary: Refinery Extraction Greenhouse gases Manufacturing Fossil fuels Light industry Heavy Industry Toxic Waste

Background Energy is used to produce all manufactured goods, from cars, snow machines, tables, and desks to smaller items such as computers, CD players, and toys. And energy is used at every stage of production and distribution to extract raw materials, to process them into finished goods and to package and ship them around the planet. Even the food we eat is planted, cultivated, harvested, packaged, and transported with the aid of machines that burn fossil fuels. Billions of liters of fossil fuel are burned to generate electricity, to power equipment and to make the products we use every day. Since just one liter of gas produces 2.36 kgs of carbon dioxide (carbon from the fuel combines with oxygen from the air when the fuel burns), this means that tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are going into the atmosphere every day. The human appetite for more products is changing our climate. The more stuff that we buy and consume, the more energy is used, the more fossil fuel is burned, the more carbon dioxide is put into our atmosphere, and the more our climate will change. In 1990, each person in Romania produced over 10 tons of damaging greenhouse gases per year. This number has since gone down and in 2006, each person produced just over 7 tons, which is still a significant amount of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere. One of the main reasons for Romanias decline in greenhouse gas emissions is that after the revolution much of Romanias heavy industry shut down and was replaced by lighter industry**. This trend was seen in many exSoviet countries. If we do not want to change our climate, it is important for all of us to reduce the amount of stuff we buy and make good use of what we have. To reduce greenhouse gas production, we need to make careful consumer choices, use and reuse what we have, recycle what we do not need anymore, and waste as little as possible.

**Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented (i.e., most light industry products are produced for end users rather than as intermediates for use by other industries). Light industry facilities typically have less environmental impact than those associated with heavy industry, and zoning laws are more likely to permit light industry near residential areas. It is the production of small consumer goods. One economic definition states that light industry is a "manufacturing activity that uses moderate amounts of partially processed materials to produce items of relatively high value per unit weight. Examples of light industries include the manufacture of clothes, shoes, furniture, consumer electronics, and household items. Conversely, transatlantic freighter shipbuilding would fall under heavy industry. (Wikipedia)

Implementation In this lesson, it is not necessary to know the exact processes of manufacturing, the goal is to have students gain a general understanding that energy, and fossil fuels, are required at almost every stage of processing all our commonly used goods. The key is to indicate each major stage of the process where fossil fuels are consumed. It is fine if you miss some of the stages, you and your students will still discover the endless possibilities of energy use. Developing awareness of how often we use fossil fuel based energy is more important that tracking the exact steps in the process. Simplify the steps based on the grade level of your students. Lesson Step Discuss consumer goods, the use of fossil fuels in creation and distribution, and how all of this contributes to climate change Length 10 15 minutes Description Begin this activity as a class discussion. Discuss the raw material extraction and manufacturing chains with students. The The Fossil Fuel Story handout provides a template for tracing the energy and fossil fuel inputs required when objects are manufactured and distributed. The The Energy Trail A Short Story handout can help explain to students where fossil fuels come from. Every object we buy whether it is made of wood, metal, or plastic requires energy, or the burning of fossil fuels at every step of its manufacture, packaging, and shipping. When fossil fuels such as gas or oil are burned to power factories, trucks, ships, and machines, they emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases causing climate change. Today, many products are made partly or completely out of plastics. Discuss with students how the goods that we consume everyday create climate change. Explain

Create a production diagram of a commonly used product

25 minutes

that fossil fuels or oil are burned at every stage in the manufacturing, packaging, and shipping process. Every step takes energy and that means more carbon dioxide is released and triggers more climate change! As a class, create a diagram or flow chart to indicate the various steps in manufacturing, packaging, and shipping an everyday item. The Follow the Energy Trail handout provides an example that traces where energy is required in manufacturing a computer. If you wish, select another object and use our computer example as a guide. It is best to use a plastic object for this first exercise as it demonstrates that fossil fuels are also used as materials. Create your flow chart on the blackboard or on large mural paper. Follow the steps in the hand out to create the flow chart. Start with an image of the product (computer) at one end, and the basic ingredients at the other end (plastic [fossil fuel], metal, glass). Use images as much as possible instead of simply words. Draw or find a picture of a drill and oil under the ground. Fill in the space in between the ingredients and the product with the energy consumption steps. Use images in your flow chart: If you can use drawings or cutouts of factories, trucks, ships, and airplanes to indicate activities such as manufacturing and shipping, the activity will be more visual for your students. Repeated use of icons or symbols (or labels for steps such as trucking, drilling for oil, heavy manufacturing, parts shipping, and plastic packaging) will also help students. It is critical that students understand the relationship between energy use and carbon dioxide emissions. So at every step of the way, if energy is used to drill for oil, run trucks to transport an item, power manufacturing machinery, heat a

factory, or drive people to work, we are releasing carbon dioxide into our atmosphere and contributing to greenhouse gases and climate change. You may want to use a consistent symbol to indicate carbon dioxide emissions. Once the class flow chart is complete, it is important to help students make the link between fossil fuel use at every stage in the flow chart and the greenhouse gases particularly carbon dioxide emissions going into the atmosphere. Those emissions are a major cause of climate change. Guide the students through one of the following exercises: 1. What was the significance or importance of this lesson? Discuss why we should be aware of the amount of energy an object takes to produce. (1) Oil is a nonrenewable energy source, it is limited, and it emits a lot of carbon dioxide when it is burned. (2) The production of things we use in our daily life, such as toys, computers, TVs, snow machines, etc. consume huge quantities of energy and produce large quantities of carbon dioxide in their manufacturing, packaging, and shipping and in their use. (3) The more stuff we consume, the more energy is used and the more carbon dioxide is emitted. (4) Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle help lower our energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. 2. Rank the products they drew according to the amount of energy needed to produce them from least to most energy intensive. 3. Rate each drawing in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases it emits and the ultimate climate change it causes. 4. Rate products drawn as essential, fairly important, and luxuries?

Conclusions and wrap-up

15 minutes

5. What is the life expectancy of the products they have considered how long would each be used? For example, a plastic container may be just a few weeks old and only used once before it heads to the dump forever while a fridge or a car can be used for 1015 years and so on). What happens to the object after it has been used? 6. How can your purchasing power determine how much greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere? 7. Explore student views on: Countries that consume lots of stuff and emit greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Discuss fairness to future generations and environment. o Other countries that do not consume as much stuff but are being affected by climate change? 8. Ways we could decrease our energy consumption and CO2 emissions (buy less, choose products that are not energy hogs, conserve energy through other choices, and use alternative forms of energy such as solar or wind power.
o

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Evaluate student ability to respond to the exercises at the end of the activity. Variations for less advanced English classes Use the short story (Lesson 2 Handout 4) with visuals to explain how fossil fuels came to be. Outside Resources & Links Information on recycling, reducing, reusing: http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/sw.htm

Information on product life cycle: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD5569. html

Lesson 3 Where in the World

Lesson Title Where in the World - A lesson plan adapted from And the Green Leaves Grow, an environmental education manual by Kristina Vagos Specific Topic Identifying extreme habitats and their importance Age-level 5th 8th Grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 45 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Identify extreme habitats. 2. Explain why extreme habitats are important. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Students take a trip to different ecosystems by creating a skit or joining in a classroom journey with their teacher. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) There are many different kinds of ecosystems in the world. All of which play important roles as species habitats. Tropical rainforests are home to half of the worlds plants and animals, and surprisingly, the Earths deserts are also rich in biodiversity, second only to the tropical rainforests. Exploring the world opens ones mind and makes the Earth seem a bit smaller. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Paper, art supplies. Handouts needed: Lesson 3 Where in the World Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Skit Ecosystem Desert Rainforest Wetlands Arctic Cure

Hot Dry Wet Cold Advanced Vocabulary: Tropical Temperate Deforestation

Species Permafrost

Procedure Background There are many different kinds of ecosystems in the world. All of which play important roles as species habitats. Tropical rainforests are home to half of the worlds plants and animals, and surprisingly, the Earths deserts are also rich in biodiversity, second only to the tropical rainforests. Exploring the world opens ones mind and makes the Earth seem a bit smaller. Learn more about planet Earth and some of the places others call home; take a trip to some extreme ecosystems. This lesson serves to enhance the students knowledge of some of the Earths ecosystems and their importance. Through skits or classroom journeys, the students will travel to the desert in the heat of the midday sun, run sled dogs through the arctic tundra, discover all the richness of the life in the tropical rainforests, and wade in the wetlands carefully searching for alligators. Enjoy your journey! Implementation Lesson Step Hand out and read ecosystem cards Length 15 minutes Description Separate students into four groups and have each group pick an Extreme Ecosystem Card (handout). In the groups, the students will read their groups Extreme Ecosystem Card to the class, making sure everyone in the group gets a chance to read some of the facts on the card. The teacher may want to facilitate group reading. For example, have one student start the paragraph reading aloud and pass the card to the next student in the group after the first has read about three sentences and so on until everyone in the group has read. Have the groups create a five-minute skit about their ecosystem based on the information they have read on the card. The skit must include all people from the group. Each of the skits is performed in front of the class. .

Prepare skits

10 minutes

Perform skits

20 minutes

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Evaluate the students based on how well they portrayed the information given to them on the ecosystem card through their skits.

Variations for less advanced English classes 1. Teacher reads, Journeys into the Unknown (Lesson 3 Handout 2), one trip at a time. (5 minutes each journey). Students and teacher act out journeys as if they were really there. 2. After each journey, the teacher points out where the class has traveled on a map and asks for questions and comments (Q&C) from the class about the place that they visited. Alternate trip and Q&C sessions. (5 minutes for each Q&C session) 3. Give each student a piece of paper. Allow them to draw their favorite journey. (10 minutes)

Lesson 4 - Endangered Species

Lesson Title Endangered Species. Adapted from a lesson plan by www.Breaking News English.com Specific Topic How Internet trade is affecting exotic animals and the conservation of the Romanian Capra Neagra. Age-level 5th 12th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 minutes / classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Identify different reasons that animals can become endangered. 2. Identify what they can do to help reverse the process. 3. Talk about an endangered animal in Romania and what needs to be done to help it. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Students will learn about endangered species. They will read an article and complete the exercises/activities that go with it and come up with ideas to help. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) To highlight the importance of protecting endangered species.

Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Paper, writing utensils. Handouts and worksheet needed: Lesson 4 Endangered Species Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Huge Endangered Protecting Nail in the coffin Extinction Rare Value Demand Market Collectors Medicine Fur Ivory Advanced Vocabulary: Poacher To Poach Creature Exotic Welfare

Procedure Preparation This lesson requires the students to complete activities in the corresponding worksheet. Lesson Step Introduction to article and title analysis Length 10 minutes Implementation Description Tell the class the title of the article Internet Trade Threatens Exotic Animals. Write it on the board, if necessary. Based on the title alone, help the students to complete the section of the Worksheet titled True/False. (For younger classes read the article first [Handout 1] then use the T/F activity to check comprehension.) Read the article Internet Trade Threatens Exotic Animals (Handout 1) with the class and complete the synonym match on the worksheet. Read the article Capra Neagra Conservation (Handout 2) with the class and discuss. This lesson plan has a wide range of additional activities. Please refer to Lesson 4 Lesson Plan Alternatives and tailor this lesson to your class level and interest.

Read and complete synonym match Read, discuss and complete exercises

10 minutes 30 minutes

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Ask students to name some threatened, endangered, or extinct animals. Ask students about the vocabulary they learned and about different ideas for fighting the extinction of animals. Outside Resources & Links Romanian capra neagra article: http://www.vivid.ro/index.php/issue/80/page/conservation/tstamp/114 7421171 Original endangered species lesson plan: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0508/050817-animals-e.html

Lesson 5 - Go With the Flow

Lesson Title Go With the Flow A lesson plan adapted from The Watercourse and the Council for Environmental Education: http://www.montana.edu/wwwwet/journey.html and And the Green Leaves Grow, an environmental education manual in cooperation with Retezat National Park and Peace Corps. Specific Topic Description and demonstration of the water cycle. Age-level 5th 8th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Describe the movement of water within the water cycle. 2. Identify the states of water as it moves through the cycle. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) With a roll of a die, students simulate the movement of water in the water cycle. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) When children think of the water cycle, they often imagine a circle of water, flowing from a stream to an ocean, evaporating to the clouds, raining down on a mountaintop, and flowing back into a stream. Role-playing a water molecule helps students to conceptualize the water cycle as more than a predictable two-dimensional path. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson)

Marking pens, cardboard or paper to make die. Handouts and worksheets needed: Lesson 5 Go with the Flow Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Dice/Die Water Cycle Rain Snow Cloud Liquid Solid Gas Rivers Lakes Seas Procedure Background All of life on Earth depends on water. The rain falls down nourishing plants and animals. Oceans, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams are habitats to many species. All of the water on Earth is connected in a cycle; it is this cycle that enables life to exist on this planet. In this lesson, students will be introduced to the water cycle. They will examine each part and take a journey through this very important cycle. Preparation For the game, you may have to make the boxes by folding cardboard or paper into dice with six sides. Small boxes such as the ones used for coffee mugs are ideal. On each box, mark the sides based on what is shown on the water cycle table at the bottom of this lesson plan. Mark the large pieces of paper with the words Clouds, Plants, Animals, Rivers, Oceans, Lakes, Groundwater, Soil, and Glaciers. These will each be a station. The appropriate die should be placed at each station. A template for each die is included in the Handouts and Worksheets section. WATER CYCLE TERMS Condensation: the way clouds form in the sky. Water changes from a gas into a liquid. Evaporation: the way water rises from the surface of the Earth; it may rise from the oceans or any other body of water. Water changes from a liquid to a light gas and rises. Precipitation: the way water falls from the clouds down to the Earth. It may fall in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet.

Oceans Runoff Advanced Vocabulary: Glacier Groundwater Precipitation Transpiration Sublimation Evaporation Condensation

Surface runoff: water that flows in streams, rivers, or off of the land after a rain or snow melt. Underground runoff: water that has seeped underground and flows there. It usually becomes part of the groundwater (water naturally occurring underground, some of which is used as drinking water in wells) or may flow into a larger body of surface water, such as the ocean or a lake. Transpiration: the way water is released by plants as a gas back into the environment. Plants need water to survive. They usually suck it up from the ground using their roots. Later it is released through the leaves as a gas. Implementation Lesson Step Discuss Water Cycle Length 5 minutes Description Ask the students if they know why water is so important. They should be able to give the answer that water is needed to survive or something similar to this. Draw a diagram on the board of the traditional water cycle, using the terms above. Have the students help with this. After they have helped you draw the diagram, give each student a copy of the Water Cycle Handout. Now, explain that the water cycle is actually much more complex than these diagrams indicate. Explain to the students that they will be acting out a game which will show how complex the water cycle actually is. This includes nine places where we find water in nature: clouds, plants, animals, rivers, oceans, lakes, groundwater, soil, and glaciers. The students will be moving between all of these stations, demonstrating that the water cycle is much more complex than a twodimensional cycle, where things only move one way. Explain the conditions that make water move, such as gravity, heat from the sun, and electromagnetic energy. Sometimes water does not go anywhere at all, but stays where it is for a long period of time. Assign an even amount of students to each

Introduction of The Complex Water Cycle Game

5 minutes

Acting out the water cycle

25 minutes

station. (If needed the cloud station can have an uneven number). Once the students have their stations, have them identify where water could possibly go from their station. Hand out the dice to each group. Did they get all of the places where water could go from their station? The Water Cycle Table at the end of this plan shows an explanation of where the water can move. Now there needs to be an explanation of how water will move from each station to the next one. In many cases the water will move from station to station as a liquid. In this case, the students need to move in pairs, with a partner, as the water molecules need to stick together. When the water moves as a vapor, to the cloud station, the students can split apart, moving as separate molecules. When they leave the cloud station, they must find a partner to fall as rain with. Students will then line up behind the dice at each station. At the cloud station they will line up single file, but at the others they should line up in pairs and roll the dice together. They will follow the instructions on the dice, moving to the back of the line if it says to stay. At the cloud station, if they move, they grab the person behind them in line to be their partner and they move together without the partner rolling the die. Students should keep track of their movements, marking down which stations they move to and in what order, and when they stay put. After the game has been completed, the students should take the records of where they have been back to their seats. Now, each student should write a story describing how he or she moved as a water molecule and where he or she went. The students should all share their stories. Who traveled the farthest? Who stayed at the same station the longest? Did anyone make it to every station? Did anyone return back to the same station they started at? What does

Writing a story about the water molecules. Sharing the stories and conclusions

5 minutes

10 minutes

this tell us about how complex the water cycle actually is? Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Have each student make a chart with the nine different stations, and draw lines between the ones which a water molecule can move between, writing what state the water is in while it is moving between those stations.

Lesson 6 Sum of the Parts

Lesson Title Sum of the Parts - Lesson plan adapted from Project Wet: Sum of the Parts Lesson Specific Topic How human activity contributes to pollution of a river, and how the pollution can be reduced. Age-level 5th 12th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Distinguish between point and nonpoint - source pollution. 2. Recognize that everyone contributes to and is responsible for a river or lakes water quality. 3. Identify steps to reduce pollution. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) On paper, individual students will develop land along a section of a river. As a group, the students will assemble the individual sections of the river and discuss the pollution caused to the river by their development, how the effect is cumulative downstream, and how they might change the use of the land to reduce pollution of the river. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) To demonstrate how human activity creates pollution; to identify the cumulative effect of pollution on a water shed; and to encourage students to identify ways they can reduce water pollution in Romanian rivers. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Large piece or pieces of poster board, newsprint, or other paper; blue marker. Students will provide drawing pens and pencils for themselves, and items from their desks (e.g., pencil, paper clip, book). Optional worksheet available. No handout. Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Pollution

Watershed Erosion

Agriculture Development Sewage Urban Rural Upstream Procedure

Downstream Advanced Vocabulary: Contaminant Point source pollution Nonpoint source pollution

Background The quality of water in a river or lake is closely related to land uses and natural factors found in its watershed. Natural factors could include easily erodible soil in the watershed which flows into the river causing sediment and turbidity problems. Human use factors within a watershed could include such activities as plowing the land, cutting forests, mining, or building cities. Everyone bears responsibility for the health of a watershed and the water systems (rivers, lakes, wetlands etc.) within the watershed. Individual actions, both negative and positive add up. Understanding a river or lakes water quality and quantity involves investigating the condition of the contributing watershed. If the watershed is polluted, the river will likely be polluted. Watershed investigations are conducted for many reasons. Some studies determine the best method of protecting a river of lake from pollutants. One aim of a researcher might be to determine which areas of the watershed contribute the highest percentage of contaminants. For example, most lake improvement projects address problems in the watershed as well as those of the lake. It would prove fruitless to spend thousands of euros to clean up a lake, if problems in the watershed will only pollute the lake again. When watershed managers investigate land use practices that might affect the quality of water, they are concerned with two general sources of pollutants: point and nonpoint. Point source pollution involves pollutants that are discharged from, and can be traced back to, an identifiable point or source, such as a factorys discharge pipe or a sewage plant. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution occurs when the source of a contaminant is unidentifiable; that is, the pollutant can come from one of many places. Examples of NPS pollution include runoff from agricultural fields containing fertilizer and pesticides, motor oil filtering from urban areas, and sediments from eroding stream banks. Since point source pollutants are identifiable, they are easier to monitor, regulate, and reduce. The protection of water systems from NPS pollution is a much greater challenge because of the widespread and diverse nature of the problem. Land and water managers rely on

methods called best management practices to describe land use measures designed to reduce or eliminate NPS pollution problems. Preparation Prepare a river using the poster board or large pieces of paper. Draw and color a river with the blue marker. The river should run the long way down the middle of the paper. Leave plenty of blank space above and below the river for the students drawings. Divide the river in half down the middle and then crosswise into sections. Each section should include a bit of river and blank spaces above and below for a students drawings. The number of sections should correspond with the number of students or groups of students working together. Number the upper half of the sections (those on the upper side of the river) in sequential order. Put matching numbers on the lower half or each section. Cut out the sections and then divide each section through the middle of the river.

Lesson Step Warm up

Length 5 minutes

Implementation Description Determine student knowledge about watersheds by asking them to name several major rivers in Romania. Have the students discuss where these rivers originate (headwaters) and end. How many counties in Romania do these rivers cross? Choose a river and discuss the predominant types of land uses found along the river. Define point source and nonpoint source pollution and provide examples. Inform students that they have just inherited a piece of riverfront property and a million euros. Have them each make a list of how they might use the money on the land. Pass out pieces of property. Each student gets either a top half or a lower half of one section. Explain that the blue is water and the blank space is land they own. They can now use their one million euros to develop the land as they wish. They should use their pens and pencils to

Creation of a watershed with point and nonpoint source pollution

10 minutes

Reconstruction of the developed watershed and river. Conceptualizin g how each land use in a watershed contributes to pollution, and how the effect is cumulative downstream.

10 minutes

describe the development on their land. When the students have completed their descriptions, ask them to look for the number that was written on their property. Explain that each piece is actually a part of a puzzle. Starting with the number one sections, and proceeding sequentially, have the students assemble their pieces. They will thereby construct the river pathway and adjacent land area in proper order. Have the students describe how they developed their land and how they used water. They should identify any of their actions that polluted or added materials to the river. Have the students represent each of their contributions to the river with an item from their desks (e.g., book, pencil, paper, plastic bag) or with provided tokens, etc. Tell the students to take their items and line up in the same order as their pieces of river front property. They are going to pass their items which represent pollution downstream, with the number one sections being the farthest upstream, and the last numbered sections the farthest downstream. Have them announce what kind of pollutant they are holding before they pass it on. So the number one sections will pass their items to the twos, the twos will pass everything to the threes, and so on, until the last students are holding all the items. Discuss the activity. How did those students toward the middle or at the end of the river feel? Could a student downstream be affected by the actions of a student upstream? Could upstream users alter the water quality for those downstream? Tell the students to reclaim their items.

Demonstration of point source and nonpoint source pollution of the river.

5 minutes

Wrap up

10 minutes

Conclusions & assessment

5 minutes

Explain that the items easily identifiable as their own simulate point source pollution. Other items (e.g., paper clips, pencils, a sheet of paper) may be more difficult to claim, because these kinds of pollutants originated from multiple sources. Tell the students that these represent nonpoint source pollution. Have students write one paragraph discussing how they contributed to the pollution of the river and to what extent their contribution was point source pollution and to what extent it was nonpoint source pollution. The students should detail ways to reduce the amount of pollution he or she contributed.

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Have students express opinions about their individual contributions to total water quality and real examples from their community on the local watershed, discriminate between point source and nonpoint source pollution, and discuss actions that can be taken to protect water quality. Variations for less advanced English classes In place of students writing the descriptions for their river development have the students draw the development.

Lesson 7 - Littering
Lesson Title Littering Specific Topic The length of time it takes for litter to decompose and why we should no longer litter. Age-level 5th 8th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 51 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) 1. Students will learn how long it takes for litter to breakdown. 2. Students will develop a resolution to stop littering. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Through discussion and group work, students will learn how long it takes trash to decompose, why it is bad for the environment, and then will write an oath to stop littering Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) We must take care of our environment and take individual responsibility for our actions. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) piece of paper, plastic bag, plastic bottle, glass jar/bottle, metal can, cigarette butt in a plastic bag, apple core in a plastic bag, piece of paper, cardboard box, cotton sock, piece of wood. Optional worksheet available. No handout. Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: (To) Litter Trash Decompose Never Pledge Plastic Tin

Cotton Glass Cardboard Bag Bottle Reduce Reuse Recycle

Procedure Implementation Description Ask students how many have every littered. Tell them you want honesty and that it is not wrong to admit they have littered. Notes: I even tell them I would have to raise my hand. That usually gets everyone, even their teachers to admit to littering. Ask students to list what they have seen as litter. Notes: I usually help them with the list using gestures. Lay out trash in front of them: piece of paper, plastic bag, plastic bottle, glass jar/bottle, metal can, cigarette butt in a plastic bag, apple core in a plastic bag, piece of paper, cardboard box, cotton sock, a piece of wood. Put students in groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to identify, on a continuum, which decomposes first to which decomposes last. Have each group come up and arrange the trash, from the shortest to longest time for decomposition.

Lesson Step Introduction

Length 1 minute

Information gathering Group activity using discovery method

10 minutes 20 minutes5 minutes for direction s 5 minutes in their groups 10 minutes for each group to report out 5 minutes

Delivery of information

Discussion wrap up

10 minutes

Give them the answers: Loose leaf notebook paper, 2-4 weeks; Apple core, 2 months, cotton sock, 1-5 months; cardboard box, 2-3 months, cigarette butt, 2-5 years; piece of wood, 8-10 years; plastic bag, 10-20 years; tin can, 80-100 years; plastic bottle, 450 years, glass bottle, undetermined/never Wrap up: Is this good for the earth? What can you do to stop this? Notes: I got questions or statements like: there are not enough garbage cans, if stuff is going to stay around that long other generations can pick it up, there are no regulations enforced on littering, one piece will not matter, people do not have this information and do not know it takes

Take action

5 minutes

so long to break down. To which I answered, but is this good for the earth? You can be a teacher. What can you do? We write a pledge that they create. They write this in their notebook and then stand up, raise their right hand and say it aloud. They also sign this pledge. Note: Some have been pretty simple: I promise/swear that I will not throw trash on the ground anymore. I promise/swear I will throw all trash in the garbage can. I even had one student say they should go beyond and pick up one piece of trash per day!

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Students will throw less trash on their school grounds, both in and out of the building. They will also talk with younger students about not littering on school grounds.

Lesson 8 - Its in the Air

Lesson Title Its in the Air Specific Topic Types of air pollution Age-level 5th 8th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 55 minutes / Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students identify some of the causes of air pollution, the effects of those pollutants, and ways in which they can reduce this pollution. Method (general description of the content of the lesson)

As a class, the students brainstorm the causes of air pollution. Then they participate in a drawing activity to learn more about air pollutants and ways to stop pollution. The older students also perform a newscast play. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) How important is taking a breath? The truth is that plants and animals cannot survive without some type of air to breathe. Plants need a gas called carbon dioxide to make their food and continue living. Human beings, as well as other animal species, breathe in oxygen, which is also a gas. Both carbon dioxide and oxygen occur naturally in clean air (21% O2 and less than1% CO2). Sadly though, people and their actions are continuously polluting the air all over the world. Polluted air is dirty air; it has things, called pollutants, in it that cause harm to living species and the environment. The good news is since people cause most of the air pollution; people can change their actions and help restore clean air. In this lesson students identify some of the causes of air pollution, the effects of those pollutants, and ways in which they can reduce their personal contribution to global air pollution. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) Drawing materials and paper. Handouts needed: Lesson 8 Its in the Air Vocabulary

Basic Vocabulary: Air Pollution Smog Particulate Fuel Wood Coal Gas Power plants Procedure

Air Conditioning Styrofoam Advanced Vocabulary: Monoxide Dioxide Aerosol Ozone Layer Ozone Depletion

Preparation Make a copy of the Pollutant Description Chart (Handout). Cut the chart so that all the pollutants are on individual strips of paper. Gather the strips of paper that have the descriptions of the air pollutants. Remove carbon monoxide from the group. Carbon monoxide is the example pollutant with which the teacher will work. Implementation Lesson Step Length Description Brainstorming 5 regarding air minute pollution and s pollutants Introduce the topic of air pollution. Ask students if they know what the term air pollution means. Have a few students try to define the term. Air pollution is air that contains things called pollutants that cause harm to living species and the environment. Tell the students what makes up clean air: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% carbon dioxide, argon, other gases, and water vapour. Draw a medium sized circle on the chalkboard. In the middle of the circle write air pollution. Ask the students to think of some causes of air pollution. After each cause is given, write the cause outside the air pollution circle and draw a line connecting the cause to the air pollution circle. For more information about the causes of air pollution, consult the sources of the pollutants in the "Pollutant Descriptions" (Handout). Wanted Poster 10 Separate the students into seven groups and Newscast minute s Give each of the seven groups of students: one pollutant description, a copy of the empty pollutant chart (Worksheet), a few pieces of paper, and drawing materials.

Tell them that they will be making a wanted poster in their groups for their group air pollutant. It must contain this information: name, description, where it was last seen (where it comes from), and the caution (why it is dangerous). Use Carbon Monoxide as an example and create a wanted poster with them. Have them put the information for carbon monoxide in their empty Pollutant Charts. They must also write the information for their group pollutant in this chart. The only information, at this time, that they will not have on carbon monoxide is the facts on how to stop the pollutant; they will learn this from the newscast that the teacher will perform next. The teacher performs a mock newscast on how to stop the pollutant and this will show the students what they have to do in their groups. Make sure that they understand that they have to write out a script for the newscast and that the news cast must include all the information about the air pollutant. After the newscast, the students should have all the information about carbon monoxide in their charts. (10 minutes for all of this) Students create and share their posters and newscasts 35minu Give the seven groups 10 minutes to work on the tes "Wanted Poster" and the "Air Pollutant Newscast" for their group's pollutant. After this time, each group will get around 3 minutes to read and show their poster and perform the newscast. The other groups who are watching must fill in their pollutant charts as the information becomes available.

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) Students demonstrate that material has been learned by writing and performing the newscast, and by filling in their pollutant charts.

Lesson 9 What Do We Do? What Can We Do?

Lesson Title What Do We Do? What Can We Do? Specific Topic Human impact on the environment and how to lessen it. Age-level 5th 8th grades Lesson Length / Space Requirements 50 - 55 minutes; Classroom Instructional Goal (outcome that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the lesson) Students will be able to: 1. Identify the human impacts on the environment. 2. List ways in which they can help lessen these impacts. Method (general description of the content of the lesson) Students participate in a listing activity, group discussion, charting activity, and write a pledge to help the Earth. Rationale (brief justification for the lesson) Teach students ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Materials and Aids (what you will need to teach this lesson) scrap paper, big chart paper, tools with which to draw and write for the variation you will need a globe outline for the students to trace (bottom of a can or glass) and string to make necklace badges. Worksheet Needed: Lesson 9 What Do We Do? Vocabulary Basic Vocabulary: Carbon (Ecological) Footprint Resources Impact Spill Effect Change

Activities Helper Advanced Vocabulary: Imprint Sustainable

Procedure Background Everything affects the environment. Some things affect the environment in big ways such as oil spills, ozone depletion, and natural phenomenon. Others leave only small imprints. Everyone affects the environment in different ways. How much do we personally affect the environment? Students will take a trip through their daily routines and discover ways in which they make an impact. After identifying personal impacts, the students will find ways to change their routines in order to lessen their environmental impact. Although they will be making small steps individually, as a group of dedicated, passionate people willing to help, they will be greatly helping the environment. Together they will make a promise to continue to help the Earth live a healthier life. Lesson Step List of Daily Activities Length 5 minutes Implementation Description Organize students into groups of three or four. Each student will create a personal list for their daily activities, i.e., brush teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc. Have them write their list on the provided worksheet. After completing their lists, the students should share their lists with the others in the group. Most of the lists will be similar. For each activity listed, have the students come up with one way in which that activity affects the environment and one way in which they could make a change to help lessen the impact. Have them work in the groups, all helping each other and making suggestions. After all the lists are made, have the students prepare to discuss their personal impact with the whole class. Create a classroom chart, as seen below, to be seen permanently that lists the daily activities, how many students in the class do that activity every day, what kind of an effect that activity has on the environment, and what they can do to change that impact.

Sharing of personal impacts

20 minutes

Discussion of personal impacts

15 minutes

Name of Name of

# of stud ent

whats the effect

whats the change

Ecological Footprint Discussion

5 minutes

Earth Pledge

5 minutes

The classroom chart can be as big as necessary to fit all of the daily activities. Have the students observe the chart and imagine the change in environmental impact if all of them made a promise to change their activities on a day-to-day basis. Relate what you have done to the idea of ecological footprint. Talk about how an ecological footprint is a way to measure whether people are leading sustainable lifestyles. If students have Internet at home tell them they can calculate their carbon footprint at www.zerofootprintkids.com. Give the students another piece of scrap paper to write a Promise to the Earth. On this piece of paper each student will pledge to make a change to help the Earth. Tell them that this is a good way to start helping the environment. Allow them to draw as well as write. Hang each of their pledges around the classroom chart.

Assessment/Evaluation (how to measure outcomes to determine if the material has been learned) On a later date, check their progress by going through the chart activity again. Ask them if anyone has made a change. Record this change on the chart and remind them of their pledge. This could be a weekly or monthly activity. Rewards or awards could be given out to the students who hold true to their pledge. Maybe an Earth friendly party at the end of the year to celebrate their lessened impact. Variations for less advanced English classes 1. Have them draw a picture of the things they do in the morning when they get up, in the afternoon when they get home from school, and at night before going to bed. Give them three pieces of scrap paper or one piece separated into three sections with a line whatever you feel is adequate. Allow 15 minutes for this section 5 for each picture.

2. As a class, discuss the activities they do everyday. Put them on the same type of chart as above so that all the students can see them. Count the number of students doing that activity as a class. (10 minutes) 3. Next discuss the effects each of these activities can have on the environment. Ask questions so that the students participate but help them discover the effects. (10 minutes) 4. Make a list, on the chart, of simple things that they can do as environmental helpers to change their effect on the environment. (10 minutes) 5. Have them pledge to be Environmental Helpers. They will each have to trace the earth below onto a piece of scrap paper, color it, and write Environmental Helper and their name onto the earth (like a badge). (5-10 minutes) 6. Collect the badges that the students made, punch holes in the top, and put a piece of string through the holes so that the badge will go around the students necks like a necklace. Hand them out to the students during the next class period. Announcing that they are the new Environmental Helpers for the Earth. 7. Follow-up this activity by having 5-10 minutes of a day a week for a student to tell what he/she has done to help the environment or just invite them to all talk about what theyve seen or done as environmental helpers. Outside Resources & Links www.zerofootprintkids.com Carbon Calculator plus great resources for students and teachers.

Appendix
Lesson Plan Handouts and Worksheets
The following section contains handouts and worksheets that correspond to the lesson plans. Each lesson plan indicates whether or not a class handout is needed in the Materials section. Every lesson plan has at least one corresponding worksheet, which will provide extra written activities for your class to do and focus on listening and reading comprehension.

Lesson 1 - The Environment How Are We Connected - Handout and Worksheets

Lesson 1 Handout: Nameplates:

Rabbit

Insect

Grass

Tree

Cow

Wolf Grain Worm BeingHuman Bird

Lesson 1 Worksheet 1 - THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR CONNECTIONS Definition of Environment. The environment can be defined as anything around us, both living and not living. It is essential to all of us because without it we would not have our basic needs of food, shelter, water, and space. It is the air we breathe, the sun that gives us warmth, the food and water nourishing our bodies, the roof over our heads, the plants and animals, rocks and streams, oceans and mountains, distant lands, all that is seen, felt, smelled, heard, and tasted. It is our survival and without it we would not exist.

Now draw a picture of yourself and what is in the environment around you.

Now describe your picture to the class.

Lesson 1 Worksheet 2 - THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR CONNECTIONS Here is a list of words. Can you put them in logical order of connection? Explain the links between them. Example: PERSON WORM MILK GRASS COW Answer: PERSON MILK COW GRASS WORM A person drinks milk. Milk is made by cows. A cow eats grass. Grass grows better because of worms. 1. Bird, grain, insect, tree, water

2. Wolf, rabbit, person, plant, dirt

3. Monkey, tree, sun, banana, water

Lesson 2 - The Energy Trail - Handouts and Worksheet

Lesson 2 Handout 1: The Fossil Fuel Story Crude Oil and Hydrocarbons Fossil fuels such as oil and gasoline, as well as other materials such as plastics come from petroleum, also known as crude unprocessed oil. Crude oils vary in color, from clear to tar black, and in viscosity, from watery to almost solid. Crude oil is called a fossil fuel because it comes from the remains of decayed plants and animals that lived in ancient seas millions of years ago. Anywhere where you find crude oil was once a seabed. Fossil fuels and crude oils are considered non-renewable resources because the Earth cannot replace them within our lifetimes. It has taken many millions of years to make the crude oil that is found deep within our earth, yet we use it and take it for granted every day. Crude oil or petroleum is refined or processed to make a wide range of products including: gasoline, oil, diesel, crayons, textiles, kerosene, and very importantly plastics. Although it is hard to believe, the stuff that comes out of oil wells as a black liquid and that has been sitting deep in the earth for millions of years is made into plastics. It might be used to make a plastic fork we use once and throw away, or it could be made into something we use for years like a computer. Crude oils are a useful starting point for so many different substances because they contain hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are molecules that contain hydrogen and carbon and come in various lengths and structures. Chemists can combine them to form different shapes from straight chains to branching chains to rings. Each different chemical shape or structure makes a substance with different properties. Hydrocarbons can take on many different forms. The smallest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), which is a gas that is lighter than air. Longer chains with five or more carbons are liquids. Very long chains are solids like wax or tar. By chemically cross-linking hydrocarbon chains, chemists can make everything from synthetic rubber to nylon to the plastic containers in which we buy our food. Plastics vary in hardness, temperature, tolerance, and resiliency. Hydrocarbon chains are very versatile. Hydrocarbons also contain a lot of energy. Many of the things derived from crude oil like gasoline and diesel oil take advantage of this energy. We use it to heat our homes, run our factories and power our cars and airplanes.

It is great to have all that energy, but when we burn these fossil fuels, we release the stored carbon dioxide. And it is the increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere that is causing too many greenhouse gases and our climate change problems.

Lesson 2 Handout 2: Following the Energy Trail

The following are some of the steps where energy and fossil fuel use is required in the manufacturing of an everyday plastic item a computer: Start the exercise by drawing a computer at the end of what will become a flow chart. Then turn to the beginning of the flow chart. What kinds of materials that are used to make the components of a computer?

plastics for cases, circuit boards, gears, fans bases, cd trays, and so on metal for fan motors, wiring glass or silicon for memory and logic chips

Are any of these materials made of fossil fuels?

Yes, plastics are made from oil or petroleum, which are fossil fuels.

Trace the energy trail of the plastic components of the computer. (You may also want to follow-up this exercise by tracing the energy trails for other materials used to make the computer.) So if oil is required for plastic production for computer components, what energy using steps are taken to get oil?

The petroleum trail to plastic

Crews drive and fly all over the country to prospect for oil Seismic crews use chain saws to cut lines to allow rigs to do seismic testing Oil rigs are transported to areas that have potential Crews are driven in to operate rigs Bunkhouses and kitchens are hauled in to house and feed crews Oil is burned to heat the bunkhouses and camp buildings Diesel powers the oil drills Service companies drive into sites to service and work on equipment Oil is trucked or piped (pipelines are built) to refineries Workers drive to work at the refineries Refineries use energy to heat the oil and break it down into different components

Plastic esters are trucked from refineries to plastic manufacturers

The plastic manufacturing trail

Manufacturers construct molds for forming plastic Workers drive to work at the factories Factories are heated and cooled Machines process plastic into finished components. These machines are likely to be powered by electricity produced by coal generation plants (or by other sources such as hydropower What are the greenhouse gas implications of these? Hydro is a renewable resource that does not produce emissions). Components are packaged for shipping With what? Plastic, paper and cardboard are all used to wrap and box the components of the computer if it is to be assembled at another location (this is very true with cars as well parts may come from warehouses all over the world to make one car or computer) Parts are trucked from factories to supplier warehouses Warehouses are heated, fork trucks move materials around within them Parts are trucked from supplier warehouses to computer producers Workers drive to work for suppliers and warehouses. Assembly of the final item (note: other manufacturers, making other parts for the computer will be doing their own assembly this may or not require energy.)

The computer trail

Different components of the computer might come to an assembly plant from many different manufacturers each component has its own specific energy trail Workers drive to the computer assembly plant Assembly facility is heated and cooled Computers are assembled by a mix of machines and people Completed computers are packaged Computers may be distributed to wholesalers and their warehouses or directly to retailers Retailers heat and cool their stores Salespeople drive to stores Shoppers drive to stores Shoppers drive home Once home shoppers dispose of the packaging, what options are there for dealing with the packaging? Cardboard and paper can be recycled.

Garbage trucks pickup discarded packaging and take it to a landfill site Computer is plugged in and used

Lesson 2 Handout 3: Materials List The Materials Out of Which Your Favorite Thing Could Be Made Where the Materials Come from in the Environment comes from Petroleum and Natural Gas - petroleum and natural gas are found in the ground it takes the earth millions of years to make petroleum and natural gas they are made when plants and animals break down (decompose) in order to get to the petroleum and natural gas, drills are used to dig a deep hole through the dirt and rock metals are found in the ground and are dug out of the dirt and rock glass is made from a certain type of sand called silica sand which is found in the ground this sand is combined with two other things that are found in the ground limestone and soda ash these three things are combined and heated up which makes the glass comes from Petroleum and Natural Gas - petroleum and natural gas are found in the ground it takes the earth millions of years to make petroleum and natural gas they are made when plants and animals break down (decompose) in order to get to the petroleum and natural gas, drills are used to dig a deep hole through the dirt and rock cotton plant Sheeps fur Cows skin silk worms trees trees

Plastic

Metal - this includes aluminum, gold, silver, bronze, brass, iron, copper, zinc, and more

Glass

Polyester/Nylon

Cotton Wool Leather Silk Paper Wood

Lesson 2 Handout 4 Fossil Fuel Story Energy Trail, A Short Story

In the beginning, a long, long time ago roamed dinosaurs and other creatures on the earth. The environment was filled with pristine forest (In Romania, 74% of the country was forest and trees before man came along). Birds, trees, clean rivers existed in this pristine environment. Over time, as things died, they fell to the forest floor. And in a millions or so years, oceans came and then receded. Left behind was a treasure called fossil fuel or black stuff. Man came along and discovered this black stuff (fossil fuel, petroleum) and thought, Hey, maybe I can use this. Many years later man developed it enough that turned into my favorite thing, my laptop. The journey to my laptop required, that man and his brothers (and cousins) learned how to extract the fossil fuel from the ground, convert it in a refinery plant, build a plastic manufacturing plant, and a computer plant and then package it. The package went to a retail store and then I bought it and took it home, all packaged in a cardboard box, with packing material.

Lesson 2 Worksheet Look at the text in The Energy Trail (Handout 1) and answer the questions below in complete sentences. What color(s) is(are) crude oil?

Why are crude oils considered non-renewable resources?

Name four products of crude oil or petroleum.

What is the smallest hydrocarbon?

How do we use crude oil in our daily life?

Why is burning fossil fuels a problem?

Lesson 3 Where in the World Handouts and Worksheets

Lesson 3 Handout 1 Extreme Ecosystem Description Cards Rambling in the Rainforest There are two types of rainforests in the world, tropical and temperate; both are in danger. Every minute, 133,546 square meters of trees are cut in the worlds tropical rainforests; scientists estimate that at the current rate of deforestation, nearly all tropical rainforest ecosystems will be destroyed in the next 30 years. In the United States temperate rainforests, only 3% of the original forest remains, mostly inside Olympic National Park. Tropical rainforests are found close to the equator. Fifty-seven percent of the tropical rainforests are found in Central and South America. The largest temperate rainforests are found in Pacific North America. Both ecosystems share a lush and wet environment with rich biodiversity. However, tropical rainforest are warm and moist and have annual precipitation of about 1016 cm, and temperate rainforests are cool and get about an average of 254 cm of precipitation per year. These very important ecosystems are home to over half of the Earths plant and animal species; this includes a number of people. It is thought that we may never discover all of the species that exist in the tropical rainforests, as there are so many living in this ecosystem and the rainforests are disappearing rapidly. Some of the species living in the tropical forests are the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, Indian cobra, bamboo, sugar cane, and rubber trees. It is also thought that there may be unknown cures to be found in the tropical rainforests. Perhaps an unfound plant species holds the cure for cancer within its roots. In the Pacific Northwest cougars, black bears, lichen, and elk inhabit the temperate rainforests. Rainforests are beautiful places and totally extreme ecosystems! Welcome to the Wetlands The wetlands are known as the Earths kidneys; they have extraordinary cleansing powers and help control the flow of water around the globe. They are almost always in transition between land and water, but are sometimes both land and water. They may be covered or soaked by water year-round or exist seasonally or temporarily. Due to their transitory state, they are very hard to define, and this lack of a clear definition makes them hard to protect. However, because of their global importance in the water cycle, their protection should be of a top priority to all. They are home to many species such as turtles and frogs, and are regularly used as resting places for migratory birds. Wetland plants add oxygen to the waterways and act as shelter and food for many animals. In addition to being a great habitat, wetlands help

stop flooding by acting as a sponge and soaking up extra water. They also purify water and can even detoxify water; they also help control the flow of water. Sadly, though, the wetlands are in danger. They were never thought to be important to people. So human beings began destroying the swamps, marshes, bogs, and flood plains and turning them into good, useable land. In fact, humans have turned over half of the wetlands into land to be used for their purpose. After all, who needs a smelly swamp infested with mosquitoes in their backyard? The truth is we do! One hundred and twenty hectares of wetland disappears each year to be used for development or farmlands. However, we are still learning about the importance they play in the water cycle and how we cannot live without them. We must protect them soon! They are an extremely important ecosystem.

Dabbling in the Desert The desert is the land of extremes, extreme heat and extreme dryness. Temperatures during the day can exceed 38C, which is not uncommon for a desert day. It rarely rains or snows; the typical annual precipitation is less than 25 cm. Due to the desert dryness, there is no moisture in the air to help trap the suns heat during the day. Therefore, desert nights can be very cold, somewhere between 5 and 10C. There are two types of deserts, hot and cold. In the hot deserts, precipitation falls in the form of rain. The largest desert in the world is a hot desert, the Sahara Desert in North Africa. The second largest desert is the Gobi Desert in Northern China and Southern Mongolia; it is a cold desert. Cold deserts get snow instead of rain. The Earths deserts are second only to tropical rainforests in the variety of plant and animal species. Every plant and animal living in the deserts has evolved to live in such an extreme environment. Desert plants have the ability to collect and store water and also have features that prevent water loss. Water is a big issue in the desert because there is little of it to go around. Some of the animals never drink water, but get their water by eating seeds and plants. Heat is also a concern for desert species. Many animal species avoid the heat because they are nocturnal, that is, they are only active only at night. Others live primarily underground also avoiding the heat of the sun. Deserts are hot and dry, but are the homes of many animals and plants. If traveling to the desert, remember to take cover from the sun and bring lots and lots of water! The desert is an ecosystem of extremes. Traveling to the Tundra The arctic tundra is located around the North Pole and covers 1/5 of the Earths surface. Except for the top layer of soil, the ground is frozen all year round; this is called permafrost. Water is not available for most of the year, as the average annual precipitation is less than 25 cm, which is equivalent to a deserts annual rain or snowfall. The average annual temperature is between 12C and 6C. However, temperatures can be as high as 0C in the summer and as low as 51C in the coldest of winters! Can you imagine living in such a cold place? Surprisingly, some people do live here. In fact, there are many different groups of people living in the arctic tundra. The Inuits, who live mostly in Northern Canada, have a 5000-year-old history. Some of the other groups of people living in the tundra are the Yupik and Inupiat of Alaska and Russia and the Aleut, but there are many more who thrive in the Arctic. The truth is that the species living in the arctic tundra have a hard life, but they are well adapted to their frigid home environment.

For example, the arctic fox is able to withstand temperatures of 50C, and therefore, does not hibernate. Other animal species, besides people and foxes, who call the tundra home are the polar bear, golden eagle, grey wolf, and caribou. The plants in the arctic tundra have a short growing season during the summer. They usually grow fast in tight clumps, which are low to the ground, in order to avoid the cold. Some of the groups of plants resemble little cushions and are referred to as cushion plants. Other plants have evolved red leaves because the red pigment in the cells allows the plant to absorb more heat from the sun. The arctic tundra is cold, has little water, and long winters, yet many call it home. It is truly an extreme environment!

Lesson 3 Handout 2 Journeys into the Unknown Tundra Okay, kids here we go. We are traveling to the Arctic Tundra. What will it be like there and how will we prepare? Bundle up because it will be cold. The temperatures rarely go over 0C. Protect your face, hands, eyes, head, body, and feet. Come on lets dress for the cold. Lets pack some water because it rarely snows or rains in the tundra, and well need to take some food because food is hard to find in all the snow and ice. How will we get around in the snow and ice? We are going to use a sled and some dogs to pull us; that is how some of the native people do it. So jump on your sled and lets take a ride. Bring your camera and binoculars. Maybe we will see a polar bear or a reindeer. Lets mush! Its not so cold when you are all bundled up. This place is beautiful and very, very white. Tropical Rainforest Now its time to enter the tropical rainforests of Brazil in South America. Unlike the tundra it is very warm here and rains all of the time. We still must dress appropriately. Take off your warm winter jackets and hats. Bring umbrellas and wear raincoats or ponchos; its going to rain and rain. We still must pack food and water because we are not used to finding these things in the rainforest. There are so many different kinds of plants and animals we must be careful about where we walk and what we do. We dont want to crush a plant or bother an animal. So walk carefully in a single file line. We have hired a native guide to take us through, as it would be very easy to get lost in such a thick forest. So follow me and Ill follow the guide. Bring your cameras and binoculars there will be lots to see: huge trees, animals of all kinds, and plants with amazing colors and leaves. Now lets climb to the canopy, above the trees. This is where most of the rainforest species live. What a trip! Wetlands Welcome to the wetlands, one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. They are responsible for cleaning the water system, help in controlling the water flow on the planet, and act as resting places for migratory birds. We are going to visit the Everglades in Florida State. You must dress appropriately. You may need the raincoats, but more importantly, you will need a mosquito net for your body. Mosquitoes love the swampy water. If you want to wade in the water, you may need rubber boots, but dont wade for too long. The Everglades are home to the American Alligator. Yikes! We will bring food and water. So pack a snack. How will we get around? Well ask some of the locals to take us in their rowboats. Come on. Get into your boats and explore the wetlands. Watch out for seemingly harmless logs that maybe alligators. Have fun and help row the boat. Remember to take pictures and look for things with your binoculars. Desert

Our last trip and this will be a tough one. We are headed to the largest desert in the world called the Sahara Desert. It lies in Northern Africa and is a hot desert, which means that when it gets water it comes in the form of rain. We must wear light clothing that covers our entire body and a hat that shades our head. Also, pack some warmer clothes for the cold nights. Bring lots and lots of water because it is almost impossible to find. Pack food too. We cannot walk in the deserts for a long time with everything that we have packed, so we are going to ride on camels backs. Camels are able to go a very long time without water because they have adapted to their environment. So get onto your camel and thank the camel for taking you for a trip in the desert. Lets go explore! We have lots to see. Surprisingly, deserts are filled with plants and animals of many different types. Bring your cameras and binoculars.

Lesson 3 Worksheet Listen to the descriptions of different ecosystems. Write which ecosystem belongs to each word or phrase. Ecosystems - Rainforest, Wetland, Desert, Arctic Tundra

Gorilla Mosquito Inuit Purify water Lizard Tropical Sahara

(ex.) Rainforest

Extreme heat Golden eagle Earths kidney Permafrost Migratory birds Nocturnal animals Caribou Gobi

Lesson 4 Endangered Species Handouts and Worksheets

Lesson 4 Handout 1 Article Internet Trade Threatens Exotic Animals by Breaking News English.com The worlds endangered species are in danger from the Internet. Online shoppers are buying huge numbers of exotic animals. This is another nail in the coffin for many creatures already threatened with extinction. Poachers, collectors wanting stuffed rhino heads and Chinese medicine already threaten thousands of species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wrote a report called Caught in the Web Wildlife Trade on the Internet. It found thousands of rare animals for sale in its one-week Web search. The report is the tip of the iceberg. Experts value the illegal global animal trade at billions of dollars a year. The World Wide Web makes the situation worse. Trade on the Internet is easy, cheap, and anonymous. The result is a cyber black market where the future of the worlds rarest animals is being traded away, said IFAWs Phyllis Campbell-McRae. She also warned: Trade in wildlife is driven by consumer demand, so when the buying stops, the killing will too. Buying wildlife online is as damaging as killing it yourself.

Lesson 4 Handout 2 Article Capra Neagra Conservation by Silviu Petrovan (Vivid) The beautiful, rare and endangered Romanian capra neagra will be driven to extinction if there is no ban on hunting it. One of the most enjoyable trophy hunts in Europe is how a hunting website advertises the capra neagra (eng: black goat) to international trophy hunters. Once found in quite large numbers high up in the Fagaras, Bucegi and Retezat mountains, its population suffered terribly after the First and Second World Wars when demobbed soldiers returned home, often carrying guns, and found the capra neagra an easy animal to shoot and eat. Strangely, it was the communists that saved the capra neagra from being completely wiped out in Romania; under communism the capra neagra was protected and poachers were severely punished. It was hunted only occasionally, by high ranking figures in the communist regime, and so prospered to reach populations of several thousand. But over the last decade, as hunting became a sport favored by Romanias newly rich and as foreign hunters were given greater access to Romanian game, capra neagra numbers have severely declined once again. The last several years has seen a running battle between NGOs interested in protecting the capra neagra on the one hand, and the Ministry of Agriculture on the other, with accusations of incompetence, negligence and abuse flying from both sides. With hunters queuing to pay up to 4,000 euros per animal, and animal welfare activists accusing the ministry of greatly exaggerating capra neagra numbers so as to capitalize on a higher hunting quota, while all this squabbling was going on nothing short of a massacre was perpetrated. Last autumn an effort by the ministry to relocate four adult capra neagra to the Rodnei national park seemed, at last, to be official recognition that the numbers were declining. Although wellintentioned, this costly operation to relocate the wild animals was severely blighted by the deaths of two of the four capra neagra during the operation, undoubtedly because of the stress involved. Even after this most unfortunate event the debate rages on, as both sides still make accusations and an increasing number of calls demand a stop to the hunting until there is concrete evidence of the total number of capra neagra remaining in the wild a situation that is not confined to this animal, but also exists in the case of the brown bear and the lynx, whose numbers are similarly under great threat from hunters.

Until that moment, I personally can only wonder, after two trips to see this amazingly beautiful animal in the Retezat Mountains National Park, what can be so enjoyable about shooting an animal which doesnt run at the sight of humans but, rather watches them with curiosity. I was able to observe the group in the picture for more than half an hour at a distance of less than 25 meters (my camera has a mere 4X optical zoom), watching them graze and relax in the last sunny days of October, knowing that the guide that took us there awaited the third group of legal hunters that season, this one from Germany, which would arrive the day after our departure. True enough, hunting is not permitted in the park but evidence suggests that this is not always respected and anyway there is no proof that individuals shot outside the park boundaries are not actual park residents in search of food or shelter, as the capra neagra is almost always on the move. I could have probably shot the capra neagra with a water pistol. There is no heroism or sense of adventure in killing such a docile animal, even more so now that it faces extinction in our mountains. Silviu Petrovan is a founder of Societas Herpatologica Romaniae.

Lesson 4 Worksheet 1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the articles headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. There are people who want to buy stuffed rhinoceros heads. Internet shoppers are increasing the threat to endangered species. Many animals die in coffins that are nailed down. A one-week Web search found huge numbers of animals for sale. Many animals are being smuggled on icebergs. The Web makes the problem worse because traders are anonymous. There is a large black market in exotic animals. A conservationist told consumers to kill animals themselves. 2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. endangered huge nail in the coffin creatures found illegal tip anonymous warned damaging setback cautioned discovered top massive secretive illicit threatened harmful animals T/F T/F T/F T/F T/F T/F T/F T/F

Lesson 5 - Go With the Flow Handouts and Worksheets

Lesson 5 Handout 1 The Water Cycle

Lesson 5 Handout 2 Water Cycle Dice Soil

Plant

Cloud

Ground Water

River

Soil -One side Plant (Water is absorbed by plant roots) -One side River (The soil is saturated and the water runs into rivers) -One side Groundwater (Gravity pulls the water down through the soil) -Two sides Clouds (Heat energy is added to the water, so the water evaporates and goes to the clouds. -One side Stay (Water remains on the surface (perhaps in a puddle, or adhering to a soil particle)

Cloud

Stay (Soil)

Plant

Cloud

Cloud

Cloud

Cloud

Plant: -Four sides Clouds (Water leaves the plant through the process of transpiration) -Two sides Stay (Water is used by the plant and stays in the cells)

Stay (plant)

Stay (plant)

River

Lake

Ground Water

Ocean

Animal

River: -One side Lake (Water flows into a lake) -One side Groundwater (Water is pulled by gravity; it filters into the soil) -One side Ocean (Water flows into the ocean) -One side Animal (An animal drinks the water out of the river) -One side Clouds (The water is heated by the sun and evaporates in the clouds) -One side Stay (The water remains in the current of the river)

Cloud

Stay (river)

Clouds

Soil

Glacier

Lake

Ocean

Clouds -One side Soil (Water condenses and falls on soil) -One side Glacier (Water condenses and falls as snow onto a glacier) -One side Lake (Water condenses and falls into a lake) -Two sides Ocean (Water condenses and falls into the ocean) -One side Stay (Water remains as a water droplet clinging to a dust particle)

Ocean

Stay (cloud)

Ocean

Cloud

Cloud

Stay (ocean)

Stay (ocean)

Ocean -Two sides Clouds (Heat energy is added to the water, so the water evaporates and goes to the clouds) -Four sides Stay (Water remains in the ocean)

Stay (ocean)

Stay (ocean)

Lake

Ground Water

Cloud

Animal

River

Lake -One side Groundwater (Water is pulled by gravity; it filters into the soil) -One side Animal (An animal drinks water) -One side River (Water flows into a river) -One side Clouds (Heat energy is added to the water, so the water evaporates and goes to the clouds) -Two sides Stay (Water remains within the lake or estuary)

Stay (lake)

Stay (lake)

Animal

Soil

Cloud Soil

Animal -Two sides Soil (Water Cloud is excreted through feces and urine) -Three sides Clouds (Water is respired or evaporated from the body) -One side Stay (Water is incorporated into the body)

Stay (animal)

Glacier

Ground water

Stay River Cloud (glacier)

Glacier -One side Groundwater (Ice melts and water filters into the ground) -One sideStay (Ice Clouds evaporates and water (glacier) goes to the clouds (sublimation)) -One side River (Ice melts and water flows into a river) -Three sides Stay (Ice stays frozen in the glacier)

Stay (glacier)

Groundwater

River

Lake

Lake

Stay (Ground Water)

Groundwater -One side River (Water filters into a river) -Two sides Lake (Water filters into a lake) -Three sides Stay (Water stays underground)

Stay (Ground Water)

Stay (Ground Water)

Lesson 5 Worksheet Draw a line from the word to the definition. Condensation Water that flows in streams, rivers, or off of the land after a rain or snow melt. The way water is released by plants as a gas back into the environment. Plants need water to survive. They usually suck it up from the ground using their roots. Later it is released through the leaves as a gas. The way clouds form in the sky. Water changes from a gas into a liquid. The way water falls from the clouds down to the Earth. It may fall in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet. The way water rises from the surface of the Earth; it may rise from the oceans or any other body of water. Water changes from a liquid to a light gas and rises. Water that has seeped underground and flows there. It usually becomes part of the groundwater (water naturally occurring underground, some of which is used as drinking water in wells) or may flow into a larger body of surface water, such as the ocean or a lake.

Evaporation

Precipitation

Surface runoff

Underground runoff

Transpiration

Lesson 6 Sum of the Parts - Worksheet

Listen as the text is read aloud. Fill in the missing words. The quality of water in a river or lake is closely related to land uses and natural factors found in its _________. Natural factors could include easily ________ soil in the watershed that flows into the river causing sediment and turbidity problems. Human use factors within a watershed could include such activities as plowing the land, cutting _______, mining, or building cities. Everyone bears responsibility for the health of a watershed and the water systems (rivers, lakes, wetlands etc.) within the watershed. Individual actions, both negative and positive add up. Understanding a river or lakes water quality and quantity involves investigating the condition of the contributing watershed. If the watershed is polluted, the river will likely be ________. Watershed investigations are conducted for many reasons. Some studies determine the best _______ of protecting a river of lake from pollutants. One aim of a researcher might be to determine which areas of the watershed contribute the ________ percentage of contaminants. For example, most lake improvement projects address problems in the watershed as well as those of the lake. It would prove fruitless to spend thousands of euros to clean up a lake, if problems in the watershed will only pollute the lake again. When watershed managers investigate land use practices that might affect the quality of water, they are concerned with two general sources of pollutants: _____ and nonpoint. Point source pollution involves pollutants that are discharged from, and can be traced back to, an identifiable point or source, such as a factorys discharge pipe or a sewage plant. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution _______ when the source of a contaminant is unidentifiable; that is, the pollutant can come from one of many places. Examples of NPS pollution include runoff from agricultural fields containing fertilizer and pesticides, motor oil filtering from urban ______, and sediments from eroding stream banks. Since point source pollutants are identifiable, they are easier to monitor, regulate, and reduce. The protection of water systems from NPS pollution is a much greater challenge because of the widespread and diverse nature of the problem. Land and water _________ rely on methods called Best Management Practices to describe land use measures designed to reduce or eliminate NPS pollution problems.

Lesson 7 Littering Worksheet

Look at the items. Put them in order by the time it takes them to decompose from fastest to slowest, and then guess how long it takes to completely decompose! Cotton sock, Cardboard box, Tin can, Paper, Piece of wood, Glass bottle, Plastic bottle, Apple core, Cigarette butt, Plastic bag ITEM DECOMPOSE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. TIME TO

Lesson 8 Its in the Air - Handouts and Worksheet

Lesson 8 Handout Pollutant Description Chart

Lesson 8 Worksheet - Empty Pollutant Chart

Lesson 9 What Do We Do? What Can We Do? Worksheet

Lesson 9 Worksheet What Do We DO? What Can We Do? Everything affects the environment. Some things impact the environment in big ways such as oil spills, ozone depletion, and natural phenomenon. Others leave only small imprints. Everyone impacts the environment is different ways. How much do you personally impact the environment?

Write out your daily schedule Morning Bedtime Brush teeth (example) Noon Evening

For each activity in your daily schedule what change can you make to lessen the impact on the environment? (Write in complete sentences.)

Lesson Plan Alternatives

The following activities provide alternatives for some of the lesson plans that correlate directly with and were designed specifically for the lesson.

Lesson 1 - The Environment and How Are We Connected Alternatives:

Alternate Activity 1 As a class discuss what all humans need in order to live: food, water, oxygen, and shelter. Have students work in groups. Assign each group either food or shelter. They must make a list of connections involved in the subject they were assigned. They have to think about what they eat or where they live and figure out how those things are linked with plants and animals. For example, if they drink milk they would write milk-cow-grass. Alternate Activity 2 Give each group a piece of large poster paper or 4 pieces of smaller paper taped together. Have the groups create a picture of all their connections. For example, a cow chewing grass under a tree which is making oxygen for the cow and the person who is in her wooden house (the wood was provided by the trees) drinking the milk from the cow and so on. Later, hang the pictures in the classroom environmental art gallery. Alternate Activity 3 1. Tell the students they are now going to play a game. Clear a big enough space for the activity. This game will show them that sometimes the environment appears to be very chaotic and have no order. However, it can be looked at differently with a little twisting and turning of their minds. 2. Give each student a nameplate copied from the Handout section. Each nameplate has a type of plant or animal on it. If the class is studying a specific type of ecosystem at this time, you may want to create your own nameplates for that ecosystem i.e., rainforest or desert. 3. Separate the students into groups of ten (or approx. ten); the group MUST have an even number of students. The teacher should participate if the number is not even. Have the groups stand close in a circle together. There will probably be two or three big circles depending on how many students in the class. 4. Begin by telling the students the rules of the game. 5. Each student must hold two different peoples hands. 6. Before repeating a person, everyone must have one hand taken in a connection. 7. Now its time to start making connections. One of the students starts the game by saying what animal or plant he/she

represents. Then looking around the circle, he/she takes the hand of another student who represents something needed to survive for the first student or something that depends on what the first student represents. For example, the first student is grass, that student can hold hands with the cow or a worm. The grass needs the worm to put air in the soil for better growth and the cow needs the grass for food. This goes on until all hands have made connections. 8. Tell the students to look at the tangle theyve made by connecting hands; its the connection knot. It should indeed appear to be tangled. Without letting go of the connections, the students must untangle themselves to form a circle again. Warn them not to hurt themselves, but tell them it can be done if they all work together. 9. Once back in a circle form, have the students observe again (some students may have to face outside the circle due to the tangling). This is the circle of connection they made out of the tangled knot. Sometimes its hard to see the connections we make each and every day. However, if one is aware of the connections they become very clear and almost simple.

Lesson 2 The Energy Trail Alternatives:

Alternative Activity 1 1. Have each student think of their favorite object. It cannot be living. Tell them not to tell anyone because it needs to be a secret to play the game that they will play later. 2. Students should spread out all over the room so they can work without anyone else seeing their objects, which they will draw on a sheet of paper. They can build little barriers out of books if necessary to allow for more privacy while drawing. 3. Now have them draw their favorite object on a sheet of paper. After finishing the drawing, have the students write what resources from the environment were used to make their object by referring to the Materials List handout. 4. The aim of the game is to guess the other students favorite object by asking about what environmental resources were needed to make it. Then discovering the materials, the parts of the object, and finally the object itself. The student guessing can ask twenty yes or no questions about what the object is made of, requiring the use of the materials list again. The guessing student can ask things like, Is the object made from trees? Then the other student answers yes or no. Depending on the students answer, the guessing student will now know a bit about the object. The class only has 20 questions and the person who correctly guesses the object wins the game. Each student gets a turn being the guesser. 5. Have the students write a thank you note to the Earth for their favourite objects. (5 minutes, optional)

Alternative Activity 2 Renewable Energy sources: Identify renewable energy sources and discuss how these sources produce fewer or no GHGs. Discuss the possibility of making many of the products we consume by using alternative energy sources. Describe the journey of a product and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be released if we used clean, renewable energy sources. Alternative Activity 3 Environmental Impacts: Have students list or map out the social and environmental impacts of a product they frequently use. For example, air and water pollution, toxic wastes, overflowing landfill sites, health problems, animals negatively impacted by climate warming, economic problems, famine and flooding in warmer countries. Alternative Activity 4 Save Energy: Brainstorm ways to reduce energy and fossil fuel consumption (buy less stuff, reduce, reuse, recycle, walk more, turn off lights, share what you know about conservation and climate change, write letters, start a newsletter).

Lesson 4 Endangered Species Alternatives:

Alternative Activities International Fund for Animal Welfare 1. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. 2. LETTER: Write a letter to the IFAW boss. Tell him/her what you think of the trade in exotic animals on the Internet. Give him/her advice on what he/she should do to try and stop the illegal trade in exotic animals. Read your letters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all have similar thoughts and advice? Alternative Activities - Endangered Species 1. PRODUCTS: In pairs/groups, talk about what you think of the following examples of trade in animals: A crocodile skin handbag Ivory bracelets An elephant-foot stool Chimpanzees as A fox fur coat pets Elephants as Rhino horn medicine pets

Tiger meat

2. ANIMAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word animal. Share your words with your

partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 3. ANIMAL TRADING: In pairs/groups, talk about these opinions. Do you agree or disagree with them? a. Trading in animals is no different from farming and killing animals. b. There is little difference between using leather from cows and snakeskin. c. It is OK to use exotic animals in traditional Chinese medicine. d. Businessmen want big profits, so many animals will struggle for survival. e. People caught selling endangered species should get 30 years in prison. f. People will never stop buying fur coats or ivory bracelets. g. The best answer is to breed the animals and legalize the sale of their products. h. A tiger skin coat looks absolutely beautiful 4. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text. Share your questions with other classmates/groups. Ask your partner/group your questions. 5. WHICH WORD? In pair/ groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning? Was there a relationship between the correct and incorrect words? 6. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings. 7. STUDENT EXOTIC ANIMALS SURVEY: In pairs/groups, write down questions about endangered species and Internet trading. Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers. Go back to your original partner/group and compare your findings. Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings. 8. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text: endangered tip huge worse collectors black medicine traded report driven search killing

9. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible): a. endangered species are in b. Online shoppers are buying c. another nail d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Stuffed thousands of rare animals for The report is the tip The World Wide Web makes a cyber black Trade in wildlife is driven when the buying stops, rhino heads the situation worse huge numbers of exotic animals by consumer demand of the iceberg the killing will too sale danger from the Internet In the coffin market

10. QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION: STUDENT As QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B) What did you think when you first read this headline? Did the headline make you want to read the article? What do you think about endangered species? How would you feel if the giant panda became extinct? Do you have a responsibility to protect the worlds threatened creatures? What would you do if you saw someone wearing a tiger skin coat? Do you think it is OK for animals to be killed for Chinese medicine? What do you of someone who wants a stuffed rhino head in his/her living room? Why do people want to buy exotic animal products? Should leather and fur products be banned? STUDENT Bs QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A) Did you like reading this article? What do you think about what you read? What penalty should be given to traders in endangered species? Do you think people will ever stop buying exotic animal goods? Do you think there are particular countries that like to buy exotic animals and products? Mike Tyson has a pet tiger. What do you think about this? Which animal would you most like to protect and why? What should the world do to stop the trade in endangered animals? Do you think endangered animals should be farmed to cut out the black market and stop poaching? Did you like this discussion? AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner/group and tell them what you talked about. What question would you like to ask about this topic? What was the most interesting thing you heard?

Was there a question you did not like? Was there something you totally disagreed with? What did you like talking about? Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions? Affects them on a smaller scale does the weather seem different than what their parents remember? Are the summers hotter and/or the winters colder? Is food becoming scarcer? Which was the most difficult question? 11. WHICH WORD? Delete the incorrect word from the pairs in italics. Internet trade threatens exotic animals BNE: The worlds endangered / dangerous species are in danger from the Internet. Online shoppers / shippers are buying huge numbers of exotic animals. This is another nail in the heart / coffin for many creatures already threatened with distinction / extinction. Poachers, collectors wanting stuffed rhino heads and Chinese medicine already treat / threaten thousands of species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wrote a report called Caught in the Web Wildlife Trade on the Internet." It found thousands of raw / rare animals for sale in its one-week Web search. The report is the tip / top of the iceberg. Experts value / worth the illegal global animal trade at billions of dollars a year. The World Wide Web makes the situation worse / worry. Trade on the Internet is easy, cheap, and anonymous. The result is a cyber black market where the future of the worlds barest / rarest animals are being traded away, said IFAWs Phyllis Campbell-McRae. She also warned: Trade in wildlife is piloted / driven by consumer demand / supply, so when the buying stops, the killing will too. Buying wildlife online is as damaging as killing it yourself. Alternative Activities Exotic Animal Farming Role Play This role-play is to discuss whether or not exotic animals should be farmed to cut out the black markets in animals and products. This may protect animals in the wild. Team up with classmates who have the same role as you. Develop your roles and discuss ideas and strategies before the role-play begins. Introduce yourself to the other role players. Role A EXOTIC ANIMAL FARMER You can breed thousands of Siberian tigers for sale. You know you can reduce the price of tigers for pets, fur, and for use in Chinese medicine. You believe animals must be used in Chinese medicine. You are a conservationist and want the animals in the wild to survive. You have plans for cloning exotic animals to sell. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY EXOTIC ANIMAL FARMING IS GOOD. Role B CONSUMER You think exotic animal farming is the best answer to animal conservation. You feel sorry for the millions of animals who die while being illegally smuggled across borders. You like exotic animal

products but have never bought any because you are a conservationist. Animal farming means you can now buy a tiger skin coat. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY EXOTIC ANIMAL FARMING IS GOOD. Role C CONSERVATIONIST You think exotic animal farming is a terrible idea. It sends people the wrong message that profits are more important than animals. Animals have rights. You think legalizing animal farming will increase poaching. You think cloning will destroy all wildlife. You think exotic animal farmers should go to prison. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY EXOTIC ANIMAL FARMING IS TERRIBLE. Role D EXOTIC ANIMAL You are tired of worrying about whether or not you or your family will be caught by poachers. You cannot sleep at night. Dozens of your relatives and friends have been taken to be pets or medicine. You have heard many bad things about animal farms. Animals should be left alone in the wild. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY ANY USE OF ANIMALS IS NOT FAIR Change roles and repeat the role-play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role-plays. In pairs/groups, discuss whether you really believe in what you said while you were in your roles.

Lesson 5 Go With the Flow Alternatives:

Alternative Activity 1: Have students investigate how water becomes polluted and is cleaned as it moves through the water cycle. For instance, it might pick up contaminants as it travels through the soil, contaminants that are then left behind as water evaporates at the surface. Challenge students to adapt the Water Cycle Game (page 21) to include these processes. For example, rolled-up pieces of masking tape can represent pollutants and be stuck to students as they travel to the soil station. Some materials will be filtered out as the water moves to the lake. Show this by having students rub their arms to slough off some tape. If they roll clouds, they remove all the tape; when water evaporates it leaves pollutants behind. Alternative Activity 2: Have students compare the movement of water during different seasons and at different locations around the globe. They can adapt the Water Cycle Game (change the faces of the die, add alternative

stations, etc.) from page 21 to represent these different conditions or locations. Alternative Activity 3: Get the students to act out the water cycle for other members of the school or for their families. Is anyone else surprised the water cycle is so complex?

Additional Activities
The following activities can be used in addition to lessons, as time fillers, as substitutes or can be the basis for a new lesson. They are organized by grade appropriateness and indicate which lesson(s) they would work well with. Activities suitable for Classes K 4th Nature Walk (Lesson 1) Mosquito, Salmon, Bear (Lessons 1 & 3) Picture of Daily Schedule and Environmental Effect (Lesson 9) Endangered Species Poster (Lesson 4) Activities suitable for Classes K 8th What if we slept for 100 years? (Lesson 9) Nature Scavenger Hunt (Lesson 1) Nature Scatagories (Adaptable to all lessons) Trash Pie (Lesson 8) Find the Pairs (Adaptable to all lessons, especially lessons 1, 3, & 5) Making a volcano eruption (Lesson 8) Plastic Bag Dispenser (Lessons 7 & 9) Activities suitable for Classes 5th 8th Observing the micro-universe (Lesson 1) What has changed in 150 years? (Lesson 9, and adaptable to Lessons 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8) Make your own topographic map (Lessons 3 & 5) Building a 3D landscape from a topographic map (Lessons 3 & 5) Environmental Letter to Yourself (Lesson 9, Lesson 1 and then repeated with Lesson 9) Eco Footprint (Lessons 2 & 9) River Box (Lesson 5) Product Lifespan (Lesson 2) The Community Concept (Land Ethics) (Lessons 6, 8 & 9) Nature Charades (Adaptable to all lessons, especially Lessons 1, 4 & 7) Environmental Letter to Yourself (Lesson 9) Leave No Trace Ethics (Pre- or post- activity for the series of lessons) Water from Our Homes (Lesson 6) Diversity Poem (Lessons 1, 3 & 4)

K 4th Nature Walk (Lesson 1)

Walk through the forest with kids and point out various species of trees, animals, birds, etc. In a small area, see how many different species of life they can find. Encourage them to use all their senses. Sit down by a tree and close your eyes and do nothing but listen to nature.

K 4th Mosquito, Salmon, Bear (Lessons 1 and 3)

This works great for large groups. Lay down two long pieces of string about 3 meters apart from each other. Split group in two. Instruct each group to walk away from their line and discuss IN SECRET, in a circle. Each group is to choose one animal: a Mosquito, a salmon, or a bear. Each group chooses by predicting what the opposite team will choose. Bear eats the Salmon, Salmon eats the Mosquito, and the Mosquito stings the bear. When each team has chosen, instruct them to walk to their line. On the count of 3, they are to reveal their animal. The Mosquitos buzzzzzzz, the Salmon put their hands up to act like gills on a fish, and the bear grrrrrrr. Whichever team wins chases the other team and tries to tag them. The losing team tries to run to a safe area (designated by facilitator). Any members of the losing team that are tagged switch teams. Continue until there is only 1 team.

K 4th Picture of Daily Schedule and Environmental Effect (Lesson 9)

1. Have the students draw a picture of the things they do in the morning when they get up, in the afternoon when they get home from school, and at night before going to bed. Give them three pieces of scrap paper or one piece separated into three sections with a line whatever you feel is adequate. Allow 15 minutes for this section 5 for each picture. 2. As a class, discuss the activities they do everyday. Put them on the same type of chart as above so that all the students can see them. Count the number of students doing that activity as a class. (10 minutes) 3. Next, discuss the effects each of these activities can have on the environment. Ask questions so that the students participate but help them discover the effects. (10 minutes) 4. Make a list, on the chart, of simple things that they can do as environmental helpers to change their effect on the environment. (10 minutes)

5. Have them pledge to be Environmental Helpers, They will each have to trace the earth below onto a piece of scrap paper, color it, and write Environmental Helper and their name onto the earth (like a badge). (5-10 minutes) 6. Collect the badges that the students made, punch holes in the top, and put a piece of string through the holes so that the badge will go around the students neck like a necklace. Hand them out to the students during the next class period. Announcing that they are the new Environmental Helpers for the Earth. 7. Follow-up this activity by having 5-10 minutes of a day a week for a student to tell what he/she has done to help the environment or just invite them to all talk about what theyve seen or done as environmental helpers.

K 4th Endangered Species Poster (Lesson 4)

Make a poster on one of the worlds endangered species. Include information on the animals lifestyle and habitat, the dangers it faces and the products made from it. Show your posters to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out about similar animals or things?

K 8th What if we slept for 100 years? (Lesson 9)

If we slept for 100 years, what would the world look like and what would we do? Individuals or groups can dream, draw, write, act, discuss, etc. possible scenarios. Such activities help people to envisage new possibilities for more sustainable relations with nature. Materials: Pen and Paper, coloring materials

K 8th Nature Scavenger Hunt (Lesson 1)

One way to run a nature scavenger hunt is to hand out an egg carton and a list of 12 items to collect - e.g., natural items which are: soft, spiky, blue, strong, beautiful, old, fragile, yummy, sharp, smooth, closed, open, wet, dry, from an animal, dead, etc. (be creative). Materials: printed list of items, something to put gathered material

K 8th Nature Scatagories (Adaptable to all lessons)

1. In the given amount of time, students make a list pertaining to a topic or subject. 2. One student reads an answer aloud.

3. If even one student matches the answer then all students having the answer must mark it out. If no other student matches the answer, the student "keeps" the answer. 4. The next student reads an answer aloud. Follow step three. 5. Continue the process until all answers have been read aloud. 6. Students count the total number of answers that he/she was able to "keep" to determine the winner.

K 8th Trash Pie (Lesson 8)

Talk about what ends up in a landfill-make a pie chart and have them glue pieces of trash in the sections of the pie chart.

K 8th Find the Pairs (Adaptable to all lessons, especially Lessons 1, 3 and 5)
About 50-100 photos have to be printed in pairs. Put the photos facedown on a table. Participants have to stand around this table. Each participant flips 2 pictures in order to find the pair. If she or he didn't find the pair, she or he will put the pictures back in the same place and the next one will turn over two pictures, taking in account the position of the pictures that already were turned over. Participants can help each other. When the group finds a pair, they take those pictures out of the game after is explained what the picture represents. The participants have to flip all the pair as soon as they can.

K 8th Making a volcano eruption (Lesson 8)

Ingredients. small drink bottle. 60 ml water. 1 tablespoon baking soda. 1/4 cup vinegar orange food coloring few drops of dishwashing detergent Small square of tissue Making the eruption Place the water, soap, food coloring and vinegar in the drink bottle. Wrap the baking soda in the tissue and drop into the bottle. The volcano will then erupt. For extra realism The volcano can be made more realistic by enclosing the structure in a home made play dough. Mix 6 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 4 tablespoons of cooking oil, and 2 cups of water in a large bowl.

Mix the ingredients by hand until smooth and firm. Add more water to make the mixture if necessary. Build up the mixture around the drink bottle to create the mountain. Lava channels and vegetation can be built around the volcano. The chemical reaction. NaHCO3 + CH3COOH --> Na+ + H2O + CO2 + CH3COO Carbon dioxide is released creating the fizz.

K 8th Plastic Bag Dispenser (Lessons 7 and 9)

You are recycling to make it and it helps to recycle those plastic bags we all end up with Supplies: Long Sleeved Shirt (you no longer want/need) Ribbon Sewing Needle Thread 1. Cut one sleeve off or cut both off if you want to make one for a friend. 2. Fold down the fabric of the sleeve (from where it was attached to the shirt) and stitch in place. 3. Now attach the ribbon with a few stitches. Voila! Bag Dispenser! Simply fill with plastic bags and hang. Pull out bags from the cuffed end.

5th 8th Observing the micro-universe (Lesson 1)

Peg out a 1 meter x 1 meter (3ft x 3ft) square in a patch of nature. Sit in the square for an hour, focusing only focus on what is inside the square. Observe the terrain and the myriad of natural dramas which are unfolding on the micro-scale. Materials: pen and paper

5th 8th What has changed in 150 years? (Lesson 9, and adaptable to Lessons 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8)
What has changed in the last 150 years? Brainstorm as many things that have changed as you can. This is ideal for small groups run it as a brainstorming competition. Ask groups to read their lists out to the whole group. Discuss the main themes, the surprises, etc.

Materials: pen and paper, flip chart

5th 8th Make your own topographic map (Lessons 3 and 5)

Put a rock in the box and cover it with sand. Give the students a sheet of paper and a pencil. Pour a little sand out, until the tip is visible. Have the students draw what they see, from above the rock. Pour more sand out, draw, etc, until all the rock is showing. Have the students show the drawings-it should be a topographic image of the rock. Then bring in a real topographic map and have learn what all the symbols mean, so they can envision how the flat map looks in 3D.

5th 8th Building a 3D landscape from a topographic map (Lessons 3 and 5)

In a sandy, muddy area, have the students take a 2D topographic map, and create the image in 3D-(build what is on the map). This is a good tool to teach detail and observation.

5th 8th Eco Footprint (Lessons 2 and 9)

Discover the eco footprint of each individual (how much impact they put on this earth). Http://www.myfootprint.org/ http://www.footprintnetwork.org/webgraph/graphpage.php? country=romania

5th 8th River Box (Lesson 5)

Have the kids construct a river box and then demonstrate the flow of water and power of erosion. Http://www.nps.gov/archive/badl/teacher/riverboxes.htm

5th 8th Product Lifespan (Lesson 2)

Pick a consumer product and follow the path, from creation to the landfill.

5th 8th The Community Concept (Land Ethics) (Lessons 6, 8 and 9)

Discussion: Do you believe that the land is part of our community? Do you think many people today have environmental ethics that they stand by? Why are some things viewed as more important than others when it comes to making ethical decisions? What would you think of an ethic that put your importance on the same level as a single tree? As a forest? Where do you draw the line between the importance of nature and the importance of society? Do you need to draw a line? What land ethic would you like to see developed, an ethic that prevents people from littering, or an ethic that discourages people from building on valuable wetlands or forests? Others? After discussing the above questions, appoint you and your crew as the National Land Ethics Committee for the Romsilva. As a committee you are to draft a new plan for parliament, initializing Land Ethics and Land Management. There are a wide range of topics to discuss (wildlife, roads, timber, range, etc.) So pick three to concentrate on.Would you change the current management techniques? If so, what would you propose to congress? After discussing the above questions, split your crew into three groups. One group is a development firm that wants to build a Kaufland or similar box store in a small Romania community. Another group is made up of local citizens who live nearby the building site: teachers, parents, shop owners, conservationists. The third group is the Environmental Board that will decide whether or not to give the permit. The developers need to convince the Board that their business venture is beneficial to the people of the community. The local citizens have many questions and concerns. The Board must consider both sides and make a decision.

5th 8th Nature Charades (Adaptable to all lessons, especially Lessons 1, 4 and 7)
Teams elect one member at a time to act out a nature word/phrase without speaking, writing, etc. Only miming is allowed. No talking or drawing.

5th 8th Environmental Letter to Yourself (Lesson 9)

Allow participants to find a place to themselves, in a designated area, and allow them a designated time to sit quietly and reflect on their time in nature. Supply them with a piece of paper and ask them to write a letter to themselves, 3 months in the future, explaining how they plan to live more environmentally friendly. Gather the letters and in 3 months, mail the letters to the participants.

Supply envelope if needed and ask participants to address it to themselves.

5th 8th Leave No Trace Ethics (Pre- or post- activity for the series of lessons)

Very important-teach students and adults how to exist in an area, using minimal impact to nature. Teach the Leave No Trace Principles of outdoor ethics from www.lnt.org Plan Ahead and Prepare Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you will visit. Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies. Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6. Repackage food to minimize waste. Use a map and compass to eliminate marking paint, rock cairns or flagging. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow. Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams. Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary. In popular areas: Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites. Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy. Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent. In pristine areas: Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails. Avoid places where impacts are just beginning. Dispose of Waste Properly Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter. Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products. To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater. Leave What You Find Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts. Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them. Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species. Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches. Minimize Campfire Impacts

Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light. Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires. Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand. Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, and then scatter cool ashes. Respect Wildlife Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. Control pets at all times, or leave them at home. Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter. Be Considerate of Other Visitors Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience. Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail. Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock. Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors. Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises

5th 8th Water from Our Homes (Lesson 6)

Students find out what happens to the water from their homes by acting out the process. See below for the parts and the actions that go along with them. 1. The teacher should assign the roles to all the students. Again, see below for how many students play each role. Tell each student what actions he or she will be doing. 2. Clear a space for the students to do their parts. 3. Have each part practice. Then have all the students get up. Place them in the appropriate spot to do their acting. The drains/flushes should come first, then the pipes, and so on, until the sea. Have the drains/flushes act first, then the pipes, and go down the line until the sea is finished acting. (5 minutes) 4. Put the students into groups of 3 or 4 students. Give them a piece of scrap paper, and ask them to make a list of stuff they put down the drain or in the toilet. 5. Have them decide what types of pollution they are creating by using the Water Pollution Causes and Effects paper they received earlier. (5 minutes) 6. Next, tell the students what types of things primary wastewater treatment plants remove from the water. Primary wastewater treatment removes some of the bigger solid biodegradable material from the water going into the river. It also removes some of the trash and rocks that have gotten into the sewer systems. However, if trash is dumped directly into the river, it

does not go through this process and is never removed from the water. The chlorination process, which happens after the water has been treated, removes most of the bacteria and viruses. Primary treatment does not remove toxins from the water and cannot remove all of the biodegradable wastes. The river still receives these pollutants after treatment. Have the students cross out from their list those things that primary wastewater treatment removes. 7. Tell the students to observe what pollution from their homes still goes into the river. Parts, Actions and Number of Students Drains and Flushes: 4 students make swishing sounds - spin in circles and say Anything put in your sinks, bathtubs, or toilets goes through us and to the pipes. Pipes: 4 students hold hands make chugging sounds and say We take the wastewater to the treatment plant. Treatment Plant: 3 students hold hands in a circle and say I clean some things out of the water. River: 5 students stand in a line hands on the waist of the person in front of them - walk in place and say I carry the water to the sea. Sea: the remainder of the class big circle of students they bob up and down and say I collect all the water from the river and everything in it!

POLLUTION EXAMPLES EFFECT Biodegradable Wastes animal wastes These wastes feed certain (excrement) (including bacteria. This bacteria human) and food scraps uses too much oxygen in the water leaving not enough oxygen for other species to live. The waste can also spread diseases. Plant Nutrients sewage, animal waste, This type of pollution allows (phosphates and fertilizer runoff, some things to grow really

nitrates) Heat

detergents (soaps), and industrial (factory) waste water used to cool power plants or other industrial (factory) equipment

Sediments

Toxins

Radioactive Waste

quickly. This rapid growth of the competition causes others to die. This type of pollution heats up the water. As the temperature of water goes up, the quantity of oxygen in the water goes down. This can cause species to die. soil erosion from This type of pollution fills in construction, certain lakes and ponds, damages farming and logging ecosystems, can kill certain techniques, flooding, species and the eggs of and runoff from city fish, and increases the streets and parking lots temperature of the water (heat see above). industry, farming, home This type of pollution can wastes improperly have huge effects on all disposed of in drains life. Toxins cause serious and toilets health problems for human beings and could lead to death. However, they also have the same effect on other species. discharge from This type of pollution factories, hospitals, causes cancer and uranium mines sometimes death in human beings. It has a very harmful effect on most species.

5th 8th Diversity Poem (Lessons 1, 3 and 4)

1. Using a big piece of flip chart paper or poster paper, write the letters D-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y in a column on the left hand side of the paper. If the students are of reading age, ask them what this says, if they are not tell them it says diversity. 2. Next to the letter D, have the class brainstorm phrases about diversity that begin with the letter D, for example, dancing trees or differences everywhere. Write their responses next to D. 3. Do the same for the rest of the letters. 4. When you have finished with all of the letters. Have the class chose which phrases they like best. They can vote if necessary. Make sure the phrases work well together.

5. Using the backside of the poster paper, write the finished poem. It should look something like the example. DIVERSITY

Delicate flowers Indigo skies Vast country Elegant butterflies

fluttering by

Radiant sunsets Soaring eagles Ice capped

mountains Trees galore Young children playing