Matter and Energy Unit Part 7: The Environment

This unit consists of 11 lessons of about 50 minutes and 25 pages of printable work bundle. The work bundle chronologically follows the entire set of interactive slideshows (hundreds of amazing slides). Students record fill-in notes on the red slides, answer questions, includes important video links, built-in assessments, review games, design a sustainable home project, and much more. The slideshows are engaging and interactive throughout. Everything can be uploaded to Google Classroom if you wish, and arrive fully editable.

Note to Buyer: This unit paints a clear message that the environment and its life sustaining systems are in a state of peril. It will also describe that our current relationship with the environment is out of balance. The unit will highlight a number of environmental problems, provide solutions / alternatives, challenge current systems, and discuss the importance of achieving sustainable systems. Everything arrives editable. Please read the description below.

This unit focuses on key themes in environmental studies. This lesson bundle begins discussing how matter can be recycled but energy cannot. The Law Conservation of Matter is then described and student volunteers head up to the board for some step by step readings about the topic. The idea that most of our products go from cradle to grave is described. A neat class activity has the students find an item and then trace the energy and raw materials required to extract, transport, manufacture and deliver the item to the students. Students create mini posters to describe the whole process. Environmental Studies is then described (red slides = important notes). Some environmental case studies are described (hydraulic fracturing, Love Canal, Pincher Oaklahoma, Coltan in the Congo). Tragedy of the Commons is then addressed. The teacher gets the class together on the floor and then without instructions drops candy in the middle. A few grab most of the resource. This activity moves into the tragedy of the commons and the takers of the common resource are highlighted. Lots of discussion will emerge. The lesson moves into the essential question if greed is good? Resource Allocation is described. Over consumption is addressed throughout as are electricity vampires. The 4 R's are addressed and some wasteful packaging highlighted. A neat project has your students showcase wasteful packaging or the creative reuse of an existing product. Frugality and strategies of frugality are then described. Human Population growth is then addressed as is carrying capacity. Some nice video links are provided. Students then see the expanse of cities and urbanization (East Coat Megaopolis). This leads into a neat project that has your students design a sustainable home. All of the requirements to the project are provided in the slideshow and handouts. I have the students use Google Sketch-up which most will enjoy. Solar passive design as well as other renewable forms of energy go into the design. The 11th hour is mentioned and teacher can purchase or visit the link to watch using the internet (Optional but recommended). The Lesson ends discussing renewable forms of energy in a step by step approach. This is a very powerful and discussion creating lesson bundle that covers much more than described above. If you are looking for a lesson with waffles, this is not it.

Also included... is a waffle free Climate Change / Global Warming Lesson Bundle. Please read the description below.

This PowerPoint begins with a saddened student in the hall and a report card. The issue of why care about climate change is addressed as adolescents have so much else to worry about. Slides then address that climate change will impact everybody's lives. A step by step sequence of slides (I try to only have one focus point per slide) shows how climate change deals with the cryosphere, the oceans, the land, and the atmosphere. Branches of science that are also involved in the study of climate change are addressed. A definition of anthropogenic (human created) climate change is provided. Reference to how climate change has to do with the Carbon atom is shown. A link to Part I of a five part series about Carbon Todd "It's all about carbon" is provided. This is a really good segment about global warming. Each part is about 3.5 minutes and I break up the whole video into segments spread throughout the PowerPoint. Carbon reservoirs are pointed out in a series of slides. Natural and unnatural sources of greenhouse gases and factors that can control climate change are described with supportive images. Some history associated with the human species and fuel use from our origins until now is shown. Fossil fuels are addressed as is carbon (borrowed light) from millions of years ago locked underground. Part II of the Carbon Todd Link is provided. The Earth's natural carbon cycling is addressed. A series of challenge slides help students review photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Differences in hemispheres (land masses) and seasonally variations in global CO2 is described. A link for Part III of the Carbon Todd "It's all about Carbon" is provided. Another link to a website that has students calculate their carbon footprint / how many Earth's would the world need if everyone on the planet lived like you is provided. The Greenhouse Effect is then described in a series of slides. A few challenge based activities have students demonstrate an understanding and then a demonstration is provided where the teacher places two bottles in the light, one is covered, the other is not. Temperature differences are recorded. A Link to Part IV and V of the Carbon Todd Series is provided. Next, students create three cartoon characters of three guest speakers from an NPR radio broadcast (link provided). They then listen to the interviews and record information about the speakers next to the cartoon character. (The interviews are really neat) Lot's of graphs and step by step visuals show increasing carbon dioxide levels and are followed by temperature. Images of Ice Caps then and now are shown. The big negative impacts of climate change are described in a series of slides including sea-level rise. This section of the PowerPoint covers a lot. A link is provided to listen to the opposition for a bit. (An interesting segment listening to the founder of the Weather Channel) A really neat activity looks at who do we blame. Teacher brings in a cake, passes out note cards with countries names on them (PowerPoint includes directions). The PowerPoint then describes how much of a cake (The Climate Change Problem) they are responsible for. The Unites States only has one card, and gets a large slice of the cake. Asia gets the largest slice of the cake, but is shared by many etc. A final message about picking two lottery tickets plays out the future and has the students choose some future scenarios. A link to "An Inconvenient Truth" is provided. A hidden box games concludes the PowerPoint where Carbon Todd is revealed after each slide removes parts of the boxes hiding him. Students try and guess the picture as boxes are being removed. This is a really neat PowerPoint that dives deep into Climate Change but is not overwhelming. This PowerPoint does describe other factors that may control climate other than human emissions but is clear in its message that enhanced climate change is a real and serious issue.

Some Areas of focus in this PowerPoint include: Thermodynamics, Industrial Processes, Environmental Studies, The 4 R's, Sustainability, Human Population Growth, Carrying Capacity, Green Design, Renewable Forms of Energy, Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change, and much more.

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