Sharing Our Earth: Reading Lesson

Students learn about sharing and discuss and write about the importance of Earth’s biodiversity.

Inquire: Students activate prior knowledge with a discussion on sharing.

Investigate: Students discover how resources can be shared equally and unequally in a game.

Inspire: Students take part in a read aloud to discover who and what shares Earth, then brainstorm ways to share Earth responsibly with those around them.

Suggestions

• This lesson can be used at any time during the year during ELA and social skills sessions.

• This lesson can be used to reinforce sharing skills and the C3 standards of decision-making when there is scarcity.

• This lesson explores justice and SEL concepts of fostering self-awareness through a fun coloring activity on sharing.

• This lesson highlights the climate concepts of sharing Earth’s resources equally and unequally, along with responsible decision-making.

Prerequisites

• Before this lesson, locate a copy of Love Our Earth by Jane Cabrera or a similar book.
  
• Review and select one of two videos in the Investigate section. Students can watch the Environmental Defense Fund video, Kids explain why we need a vital Earth, or the PBS Learning Media video, Take Care of the Earth: Hero Elementary.
  

Differentiation

• Students can use the provided sentence frames in the Teacher Document for class or group discussions. 

• Visual Sentence Boards are provided to support student responses.

• Anchor charts with essential vocabulary are included in the Teacher Document and can enhance academic language.

• The Population Education resource, Go Fish! can be used as an alternative to the Color Together activity. The resource helps students discover what it means to share resources unequally and in a fair way through a series of food-sharing games.

• Optional Activity: Students can take a school-wide field trip to discover who and what shares Earth’s air, land, and water.

• Optional Activity: Playdough math worksheets are included in the Student Document.

• Other resources that may be used to discuss this topic include the following: 

• This is the Planet Where I Live by K.L. Going and Debra Frasier (book)

• Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers (book)
  

• Saving Earth’s Resources (YouTube Video)

Students will study the Earth and its resources, as well as how to divide up the duties involved in preventing the depletion of these resources. After a careful examination of all the lesson materials and content, this lesson has earned our scientific credibility.

Primary Standards

• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • ESS2: Earth's Systems
    • K-ESS2-2 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.
  • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
    • K-ESS3-1 Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Reading: Literature (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
  • Speaking & Listening (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Supporting Standards

• College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
  • Dimension 2: Economics
    • D2.Eco.1.K-2 Explain how scarcity necessitates decision making.
• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Writing (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.1 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.