Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

This lesson introduces the idea of reduce, reuse, recycle and has students create a classroom waste management plan. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students are introduced to the idea of reduce, reuse, recycle through an engaging video and cut and match sorting activity.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students practice RRR by sorting recyclables in The Great Reuse Reduce Recycle Relay!

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students make a classroom waste management plan using the information they have gained throughout the lesson.

Grade k-2
Subject Science
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students identify the main character in a story and identify their character traits. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students read Saving Planet Earthly and discuss the character traits of the main character, Thoko.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students act out scenarios in small groups, demonstrating their knowledge of Thoko's character traits.

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students choose one scenario and create a comic strip, showing how Thoko would act based on her character traits.

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

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students learn how cultural practices can spread not only ideas and traditions, but also invasive species into new areas. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video outlining invasive species and write a summary outlining their new knowledge.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students play a digital game and a hands-on game to understand how invasive species can outcompete native species in their environments.

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students use guided questions to conduct research about an invasive species in their community and create a presentation to spread awareness.

Grade 3-5
Subject Science,Social Studies,Biology,Geography
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students learn about how climate change is affecting flood risk in New Jersey. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students share their experiences with flooding and watch a video about how climate change has caused increased flooding in New Jersey in recent years.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students build model houses with flood mitigation features and test their designs.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students learn more about flood mitigation tactics and write a short summary of their knowledge.

Grade 3-5
Subject Science,Career Skills
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students analyze videos about students challenging the government to protect natural resources, research why natural resources are a source of conflict, and create a video summarizing their findings. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students analyze two videos portraying young people who are suing the government for its lack of climate action.

 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students research a natural resource to determine why it's a source of conflict and how the United States has addressed the conflict in comparison to other countries' responses.

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a short video explaining why a natural resource continues to be a source of conflict and how the United States is handling this conflict.

Grade 9-12
Subject Social Studies,Civics
Resource Type Lesson Plan

6-8 Thumbnails (4)
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students learn how climate change and deforestation are linked to the water cycle.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students view an Indigenous perspective on deforestation and learn how climate change can lead to deforested areas.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students complete a hands-on activity to investigate the effects of deforestation on erosion and watch a video on deforestation and climate change.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a cause and effect diagram about erosion and the water cycle.
Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan

6-8 Thumbnails
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students learn about extreme weather, create an infographic, and educate others on the knowledge gained from this unit.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch videos to understand why weather is becoming more extreme.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students create an infographic about extreme weather impacts in their area.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students educate others on the knowledge gained from this unit.
Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan

6-8 Thumbnails (3)
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students learn how transpiration plays a role in cooling cities that experience extreme heat due to climate change.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore the idea of transpiration through a hands-on experiment.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about trees' connection to urban heat islands.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a proposal to improve tree equity in their neighborhoods.
Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan

6-8 Thumbnails (2)
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students learn about the water cycle and how climate change impacts its patterns.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students contemplate their relationship with water and observe a demonstration to determine if shifting climates may affect the water cycle.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore an interactive diagram about the water cycle.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students watch a video and complete a series of questions in their student journals.
Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students complete real-world calculations related to the number of solar panels needed to power the average house and how many solar panels could fit on their own home or a local building.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students complete calculations to determine if the average American home could be powered using solar panels.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the Google Project Sunroof site and use data on their home address to solve problems.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students discuss the benefits and drawbacks to using solar energy and explore equity issues related to the affordability of solar panels.
Grade 6-8
Subject Mathematics
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students use algebra to calculate the number of wind turbines needed to power a local community.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a short video introducing wind energy and discuss the possibility of wind energy powering their community.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students complete a series of mathematical calculations related to wind energy.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students discuss the benefits of wind energy using their calculations to support their ideas.
Grade 6-8
Subject Mathematics
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students engage in activities and experiments, applying their learning to understand climate change-induced sea level rise.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore the idea of physical state and changing states through a variety of activities and simulations.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students conduct an experiment to investigate the real-world problem of melting ice caps through the lens of changing states.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students reflect on the impact of sea level rise and how it may affect specific individuals and create a model to represent the changing states of matter in the ocean due to climate change.

Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Chemistry,Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students use chemical reactions that occur in landfills and composting as a vehicle to learn about chemical changes found in their daily lives.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn about landfills, create their own landfill, and begin to discern issues landfills may cause.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the idea of chemical changes and their relationship with landfills through a series of articles, videos, and interactive resources.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students view the results of an investigation started in the Inquire section, compare the chemical differences between landfills and composting, and reflect on the different effects on communities.

Grade 6-8
Subject Science,Chemistry
Resource Type Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students explore various impacts of landfills, learn about the environmental justice movement, and apply their learning to community action.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn about the decomposition rates of items commonly found in landfills and begin to discern issues landfills may cause.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore their local landfills, watch a video on the beginning of the environmental justice movement, and learn about environmental racism.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students learn about the federal environmental justice office and create a community awareness plan about landfills.

Grade 6-8
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan


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