PreK-8 Environmental Education
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Hands-On Activities to Engage Learners
Charting Diversity. Birds and Worms. Pollution Search. These are some of the 96 hands-on interdisciplinary activities found in Project Learning Tree’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. Topics include forests, wildlife, water, air, energy, waste, climate change, invasive species, community planning, and more. Each activity is tailored to specific grade levels and learning objectives. The materials provide educators the tools they need to bring the environment into their classrooms — and their students into the environment.
“For the active teacher who is looking for help in lesson planning a new unit, or a teacher who is starting a new curriculum, PLT is a fantastic place to go. The hands-on approach and critical thinking requirements of each lesson fulfill the expectations of today’s classroom.”
– Charles Schnabel, Medina County Career Center, Ohio
Features:
- 96 multidisciplinary activities that integrate core discipline areas, including STEM subjects, reading, writing, and social studies (See Activities Tab)
- Background information and science content for teachers
- Alignment to state and national education standards, including connections to Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) three-dimensional approach
- Supporting features, such as literature connections, technology extensions, differentiated instruction, and student assessment tools
PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide provides a structured alignment to both national academic benchmarks and state-specific standards. Learn more about the connections between PLT materials and academic standards including the Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards, The C3 Framework, STEM, and additional nonformal connections such as Girl and Boy Scout programs.
For explicit NGSS alignment and K-8 activities, check out the newest edition of this resource: PLT’s Explore Your Environment K-8 Activity Guide
Login to download supporting materials such as appendices and teaching tips.
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Are You a Bigfoot?
Students use a carbon footprint calculator to analyze their personal contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere and design a solution for reducing their carbon footprint.
Climate Time Machine
Students explore the geologic history of a region of the world to see how past climatic changes have altered the landscape, and they create museum exhibits to model what earlier climate patterns can reveal about current global temperature trends.
Is It Only Natural?
Students explore various factors that have caused climate change in the past, analyze carbon dioxide levels over time, and construct a claim, supported with evidence and reasoning.
The Carbon Cycle
Students model the movement of carbon atoms in the carbon cycle and explore the relationship between atmospheric carbon and plants.