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Elaine Makarevich

Director of State Leads

Elaine is a New Jersey educator with 30 years of teaching experience in grades K-6. The earth and the natural world have always been a focus of her life and throughout her career as her students learned critical lessons about their planet when visiting her indoor or outdoor classrooms.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

Bees: Pollination Lesson

This lesson introduces the importance of bees to humans, our food supply, and how children can create a healthy habitat for bees. 

 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students generate ideas in response to the question "Why are bees important to us?" Then students watch a video of the book Bee and Me by author Alison Jay.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students create captions for the book Bee and Me to demonstrate the importance of bees. 

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students develop a plan for how they will help bees in New Jersey.

Grade 3-5
Subject Biology,English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Aquaponics and Plants Lesson

This lesson introduces students to the benefits of an aquaponics system, especially in areas where clean soil and water are scarce. 

 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students answer questions about what plants need to grow and make predictions about what an aquaponics system is.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about aquaponics systems by watching videos and having a discussion.

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students set up their aquaponics system in the classroom and create journals for recording predictions and observations.

Grade k-2
Subject Biology
Resource Type Lesson Plan
K-2 Thumbnails
Lesson Plan

Los animales y el clima: Spanish Science Lesson
In this lesson, students learn Spanish phrases about animals, climates, and simple actions to save energy at home. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a music video and play games to learn about animals and why climate is important to the animals.  

Step 2 - Investigate: Students listen to a story from Chile about children taking action to save energy at home. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create postcards in Spanish showing how they will protect Earth’s climate.
Grade k-2
Subject Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan
K-2 Thumbnails
Lesson Plan

Life in Soil Science Lesson
This lesson introduces the idea of soil as an ecosystem and as a carbon sink.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students view a timelapse video that demonstrates the difference between soils with and without invertebrate decomposers.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about the concept of soil as a carbon sink and examine soil samples to learn how to define soil.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students draw and record their findings, demonstrating understanding of soil as an ecosystem and create a model of their soil artistically using found materials in the classroom.
Grade k-2
Subject Biology
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Climate Change Impacts Butterflies: Writing Lesson

This lesson introduces the effects of climate change on the life cycle of the monarch butterfly in North America.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn the Butterfly Rhyme and act it out with visuals.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students play a card game to learn about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly and the effects of climate change on this insect.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students decorate the Butterfly Rhyme with illustrations that show the stages of the life cycle and write about how we can help butterflies.
Grade k-2
Subject Science,English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Monarch Butterfly Habitat: Science Lesson

In this lesson, students learn how climate change affects the habitat of monarch butterflies.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students view and discuss artwork that depicts habitats.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about the elements of a habitat and how climate change affects the monarch butterfly’s habitat.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students create artwork to raise awareness of the plight of the monarch butterfly.
Grade k-2
Subject Science
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Transportation Lesson: Introduction
This lesson explores modes of transportation and the energy they use.

Inquire: Students view or read the storybook Bearly Over the Mountain to learn about different energy sources that power trains.
Investigate: Students generate a list of modes of transportation and make suppositions about what forms of energy each uses.
Inspire: Students create and answer transportation riddles to demonstrate their understanding of this introductory lesson.
Grade k-2
Subject Science,Geography
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Transportation Lesson: Clean Energy
In this lesson, students explore clean energy resources through playing games and reading the picture book Sven's Search for Clean Energy.

Inquire: Students play the National Environmental Education Foundation’s Generations Game to explore natural resources. 
Investigate: Students read Sven's Search for Clean Energy, a picture book about the adventures of Sven and Earthly as they learn about fossil fuels and clean energy.
Inspire: Students connect renewable and nonrenewable energy resources to modes of transportation and create a deck of cards to illustrate what they learned about clean energy.
Grade k-2
Subject Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Transportation Lesson: Around the World
In this lesson, students explore maps and school transportation around the world.

Inquire: Students read an article and view pictures that show unique ways children travel to school.
Investigate: Students play a MapGo Matching Game to review countries around the world and modes of transportation.
Inspire: Students draw a picture of a new way they would like to travel to school.
Grade k-2
Subject Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Transportation Lesson: Design Thinking
In this lesson, students explore the engineering design process, transportation types, and energy use.

Inquire:  Students play the digital game Ari’s Wonderful Ideas.
Investigate: Students explore the steps of the engineering design process.
Inspire: Students use the engineering design process to design and build a transportation vehicle.
Grade k-2
Subject Engineering
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Hip-Hop and Climate: Creative Writing Lesson
In this lesson, students explore the intersection of music and climate change, learn about environmental connections in rap music, and create their own original rap songs.

Inquire: Students share fun facts about hip-hop, learn about hip-hop as a cultural and social movement, and view examples of hip-hop intersecting with environmental concepts.
Investigate: Students research a climate change topic and create a class rubric for evaluating student-created raps.
Inspire: Students create and share an original rap about a climate change topic as a means to express their feelings and emotions through music.
Grade 6-8
Subject English Language Arts,Visual and Performing Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Read-Aloud Guides

Read Aloud Guide: Climate Science Solutions
This guide is designed for use with a climate science nonfiction or nonfiction narrative text that includes a climate change problem and offers solutions. Several options include:
Grade k-2
Subject Science,English Language Arts
Resource Type Read-Aloud Guides
Worksheets

Weather Data and Graphing Activity
In this activity, students observe and record the weather, and then graph their findings. 
Grade k-2
Subject Science,Mathematics
Resource Type Worksheets
reading-lesson-sustainable-seafood
Lesson Plan

Reading Lesson: Sustainable Seafood
Students read and analyze information about where we get our seafood and sustainable seafood practices.

Inquire: Students read and view information to answer, “Where do we get our seafood?”

Investigate: Students read and view information about methods of catching and raising fish for food and its impact on communities and ecosystems.

Inspire: Students read about sustainable practices and consider if the sources of seafood in their community are sustainable.
Grade 6-8
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
SubjectToClimate
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