Activity 92: A Look at Lifestyles
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By examining the historical attitudes of American Indians and American pioneers toward the environment and natural resources, students can reflect on their own lifestyles, and identify trade-offs between simple subsistence and the modern technology-based living.
This is one of 96 activities that can be found in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. To get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s PreK-8 Guide.
The PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide is a supplementary curriculum that is multi-disciplinary, with an emphasis on science, reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.
Each activity displays explicit connections to practices and concepts expected by the following national academic standards so teachers can easily see where the materials will fit into their lesson plans:
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
- Common Core Toolkit, includes
- English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA)
- Mathematics (CCSS.MATH)
- College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies (C3)
Our professional development further demonstrates these connections, as well as to state and local standards, contact your state coordinator.
STEM: A Look at Lifestyles
Use this PLT activity to examine products in today’s technology-based world and reflect on present, past, and future attitudes toward natural resource consumption.
Islandborn
Islandborn Age Range 5-8 years Written by: Junot Diaz Illustrated by: Leo Espinosa Published by: Penguin, New York, 2018 ISBN-13: 978-0735229860 Recommended Reading This book gracefully grapples with challenges of immigration. The main character, a 6-year-old girl named Lola, moved to the United States with her family when she was so young that... Read more »
Circle Unbroken: The Story of a Basket and Its People
Circle Unbroken: The Story of a Basket and Its People Grades K-2 and 3-5 Written by: Margot Theis Raven Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis Published by: Square Fish, New York, 2004 ISBN-13: 978-0312376031 Recommended Reading A young girl sits in her grandmother’s lap and learns how to sew a basket made of natural sweetgrass. The... Read more »
Wishtree
Wishtree Grades 3-5 and 6-8 Written by: Katherine Applegate Illustrated by: Charles Santoso Published by Feiwel and Friends (Macmillian), 2017 ISBN-13: 978-1-250043-22-1 Recommended Reading This book’s narrator is a “two hundred and sixteen rings old” oak tree named Red. Red is a community wishing tree—and every May 1, adults and children alike bring their... Read more »
A Walk on the Tundra
A Walk on the Tundra Grades 3-5 Written by: Rebecca Hainnu and Anna Ziegler Illustrated by: Qin Leng Published by Inhabit Media Inc., 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1-926569-43-7 Recommended Reading Have you ever picked a flower because it tastes tangy and sweet? Have you learned how to prepare your grandmother’s most delicious meals? Do you know... Read more »
Chocolate: Sweet Science & Dark Secrets of the World’s Favorite Treat
Chocolate: Sweet Science & Dark Secrets of the World’s Favorite Treat Grades 6-8 ISBN-13: 9780544175662 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015 Recommended Reading For thousands of years, chocolate has been used as a comfort, a treat, a cure, a currency, and even a sacred symbol. Explore the social, economic, and environmental angles of chocolate production with... Read more »
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? Ages 3 and up. ISBN: 0873588282 Published by Cooper Square Publishing LLC, 2003 Authored by Carmela LaVigna Coyle Illustrated by Mike Gordon Recommended Reading Do you ever wonder if princesses… climb trees? eat vegetables? play in the dirt? wear torn jeans and a messy old shirt? At the... Read more »
EE Resources
Climate Challenge Board Game
Games4Sustainability can help you incorporate a sustainability-themed game in your activities to improve your understanding of important global issues today. Narrow your search from among 100+ games and simulations by filtering the games by the UN Sustainable Development Goals or use the advanced search for more options. Challenges include topics of food, climate, security, and... Read more »
Our Relationship with Energy
Energy makes everything we do possible. In this TEDxMileHighWomen event, energy journalist Joran Wifs-Brock talks about Our Relationship with Energy, or as she explains, the broken relationship. Use this presentation with high school students to help them consider the ways we use energy in our own life and the communication breakdown between flipping a switch... Read more »
The Garden of Wisdom: Earth Tales From the Middle East
This first-hand account of nature and environmental issues in the middle east is great for ages 7 and up. Written by award-winning author Michael Caduto and illustrated by Odelia Liphshiz, The Garden of Wisdom: Earth Tales From the Middle East brings together traditional stories about earth, stewardship, and protecting endangered species. Gathered from oral tradition,... Read more »
Wilderness.net
Learn about wilderness history, the values and benefits of wilderness, and threats to wilderness at this website. This interagency repository of information about the more than 750 Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service wilderness areas contains K-12 classroom resources. At the website, you will find webquests, quizzes,... Read more »
FoodSpan: Teaching the Food System from Farm to Fork
Resources from The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future introduces students to food-system topics and issues. Explore questions such as: What are the strengths and weaknesses of local food systems? How is our food supply dependent on ecosystems? Find slides, handouts, and other supplemental materials on their FoodSpan: Teaching the Food System from Farm... Read more »
Plant for the Planet Video
Inspired by Wangari Maathai, 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner founded “Plant for the Planet” and has planted more than 500,000 trees in Germany which he says will help sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Watch Felix’s video, part of the Young Voices on Climate Change series, to learn about his efforts to plant trees for a... Read more »
ASL Kids
ASL Kids is an app that introduces users to the world of communication by sign language. that can be downloaded on Apple or Android devices. ASL Kids also has a YouTube channel with over 200 videos teaching words and phrases in sign language.
Login to download supporting materials such as appendices and teaching tips.
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