Category Archives: Social Studies

What’s my Carbon Footprint?

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Students will calculate their carbon footprint.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies
  • Suggested Time: 1 hour

Materials

Chalk/whiteboard, computers with internet access (ideally one per student), Carbon Footprint Worksheet, large paper or poster and markers (optional).

National Standards

Science:

  • Regulation and behavior.
  • Population and ecosystems.
  • Structure and function in living systems.
  • Science as inquiry.

Social Studies:

  • Environment and society.
  • Roles of the citizen.
  • Human systems.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Science:

  • Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. (4)
  • Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem. (5)
  • Science inquiry and applications. (4-6)

 

Social Studies:

  • People have modified the environment since prehistoric times. There are both positive and negative consequences for modifying the environment in Ohio and the United States. (4)
  • Variations among physical environments in Eastern and Western hemispheres influence human activities. Human activities also influence the physical environment. (5, 6)
  • The choices people make have both present and future consequences. (5, 6)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • Define greenhouse gas and carbon footprint.
  • Identify ways carbon dioxide is emitted.
  • Calculate individual carbon footprint.
  • Brainstorm ways to reduce carbon footprint.

Teacher Preparation

Carbon footprint is a calculation of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (like carbon dioxide) an entity is responsible for. An entity may be a country, business, industry, or individual. The footprint measures the direct and indirect amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions also lower the quality of the air we breathe and contribute to other forms of pollution. The average American’s individual carbon footprint is over 20 metric tons, which is double that of people in other industrialized nations. To find out what your footprint measures, try the EPA’s online calculator at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/individual.html. Knowing the size of your footprint is a good first step toward reducing carbon emissions.

Introduction

  • Draw a footprint on the board and write “Carbon Footprint” above it.
  • Then, write the definition on the board: "the amount of greenhouse gases that are let into the atmosphere by a person or organization".
  • Explain that greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are harmful to the earth when too much is let into the atmosphere. Draw or display a diagram of the greenhouse effect, explaining that these gases cause the earth’s temperature to slowly rise. This can affect human, animal, and plant life. These gases can also pollute the air we breathe.
  • Explain that everyone has a carbon footprint, but some people’s carbon footprint is much larger. American’s carbon footprints are usually twice as big as people in other countries, which is bad for the earth. Tell students they will be calculating their personal carbon footprints and learning ways to shrink their carbon footprints.

Activities

  • Distribute the Carbon Footprint Worksheet to each student. Review the definitions of carbon footprint and greenhouse gas while students write them down.
  • To help students understand the last web site, you may need to tell them the chemical abbreviation of carbon dioxide, and the standard abbreviation for pounds.
  • Assign students to computers. They should write their answers on the Carbon Footprint Worksheet. Help students follow the worksheet instructions to log onto the web sites and answer the questions.
  • Regroup as a class. Ask students what causes greenhouse gases to be let into the atmosphere. Students may write these causes inside the drawing of the footprint.
  • Ask students to share their answers to the other questions on the worksheet. Students may write reduction strategies on a large paper or poster to hang in the classroom.

Extensions

  • Students may draw diagrams illustrating the greenhouse effect.
  • Students may research global warming to form an opinion on the issue.
  • Students may encourage their family members to calculate their carbon footprints using the web sites on the worksheet or the EPA’s carbon footprint calculator.

Closing

Ask students how they plan to change their carbon footprint.

Worksheet

See: Carbon Footprint Worksheet

Trash Monster

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Each child brings in one recyclable trash item and the class builds a monster sculpture out of the trash.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Activities

Students will each bring in one recyclable trash item, and together they will build a trash monster sculpture. The class can vote on his/her name and decide on the monster’s super power. Add clothing or accessories to the sculpture as long as they are recyclable. Put the Trash Monsters on display for Halloween. Students may write stories about the trash monster as an extension.

Cold Food Only Day

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Food Journey

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Discover the journey made by different foods, from point of production to your plate.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Math
  • Suggested Time: 1-2 hours

Materials

Chalk/whiteboard, paper and pencils, U.S. and world maps, foods brought in by class and/or teacher, copies of map (1 per student, optional), atlas or computers with internet access (optional).

National Standards

Social Studies:

  • The world in spatial terms.
  • Environment and society.
  • Places and regions.
  • Roles of the citizen.
  • Marginal cost/benefit.
  • The uses of geography.

Math:

  • Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems.
  • Understand patterns, relations, and functions.
  • Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates.
  • Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them.
  • Problem solving.
  • Connections.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Social Studies:

  • A map scale and cardinal and intermediate directions can be used to describe the relative location of physical and human characteristics of Ohio and the United States. (4)
  • People have modified the environment since prehistoric times. There are both positive and negative consequences for modifying the environment in Ohio and the United States. (4)
  • Global and other geographic tools can be used to gather, process and report information about people, places, and environments. (5)
  • Variations among physical environments influence human activities. Human activities also influence the physical environment. (5, 6)
  • The choices people make have both present and future consequences. (5, 6)
  • When selecting items to buy, individuals can compare the price and quality of available goods and services. (6)

Math:

  • Multiply or divide to solve word problems involving multiplicative comparison. (4)
  • Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances. (4)
  • Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols. (5)
  • Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm. (5, 6)
  • Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems. (6)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • Read food labels to determine where foods have been shipped from.
  • Locate other states and countries on a map or globe.
  • Calculate the fuel cost of transporting the foods to local supermarkets.
  • Research foods that can be grown and purchased locally.

Introduction

  • Ask students where the food they eat comes from. How does it get to grocery stores?
  • Assign homework for students to look at the food in their homes and find an item from another state or country. Tell students they will learn where food comes from and what it takes to get from there to their plate.

Activities

  • Ask students what foods they brought and where the food came from. Make a chart on the board or overhead.
  • Students should locate those states and countries on a map or globe. You may wish to discuss why foods are imported, such as climate and soil conditions.
  • Ask students how food might travel from those locations. Students may write the most likely type(s) of transportation next to the food on the chart.
  • Use an atlas, map with key, or web sites below to determine the approximate number of miles the food traveled. Add up the miles from all the food on the chart.
  • Calculate the approximate fuel cost for each item. Use the web sites above or local gas prices (this is more difficult for airplane, train or boat, so you may wish to limit this to US items and assume they traveled by diesel truck).
  • Students may add up the fuel cost from all the food on the chart.
  • For the item they brought in, students may draw a picture of its journey. If desired, provide copies of a map for students to trace their foods’ possible journey. Students can include the numbers of miles, fuel cost, and type(s) of transportation.
  • Ask students to imagine all the different foods they eat in a week, and how much fuel is used to transport those foods to local grocery stores. In addition to using fuel, transportation also causes polluting gases to be released into the air.
  • Ask students to think of ways to reduce the amount of money, fuel, and pollution caused by transporting food. How about buying locally grown food and planting a garden?
  • What types of foods can be grown in a garden in your region? Students may research this in books, on the internet, or by interviewing local gardeners (such as parents, students who live on farms, or a teacher). Make a list as a class.

Extensions

  • Students may list the foods they eat for lunch and read the labels to determine where they came from. They may repeat the above activities to add the mileage and fuel cost for all foods. They may present this to their parents to raise awareness and encourage them to buy local foods whenever possible.
  • Try growing vegetable plant seedlings under a grow light in the classroom. When the seedlings are ready, send them home with students with planting instructions.
  • Students may research why certain foods are imported from certain locations. For example, why do avocados often come from Mexico and California? Why do they grow best there? Are there other reasons for importing them?

Closing

After reviewing the lesson, ask students how they might inform others about how transporting food affects the environment. What can they encourage others to do?

Energy Survey

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No Paper Day

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Students research the effects of paper use, identify ways to conserve paper, and sponsor a No Paper Day.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts
  • Suggested Time: 2 class periods, plus the No Paper Day

Materials

Computers with internet access and a word processing program, poster boards and markers, dry erase boards with erasers and refillable markers (optional), classroom laptop set (optional), a few sheets of scrap paper for signs, and paper recycling bins.

National Standards

Science:

  • Behavior and regulation.
  • Population and ecosystems.
  • Properties and changes of properties in matter.
  • Populations, resources, and environments.

Language Arts:

  • Evaluating data.
  • Developing research skills.
  • Communication skills.
  • Communication strategies.

Social Studies:

  • Environment and society.
  • Roles of the citizen.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Science:

  • Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. (4)
  • Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem. (5)
  • Changes of state are explained by a model of matter composed of atoms and/or molecules that are in motion. (6)

Language Arts:

  • Draw evidence form literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (4)
  • Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. (5).
  • Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism. (6)
  • Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. (4, 5)
  • Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understandings of a topic or issue. (6)
  • Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (4-6)
  • Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. (4-6)
  • Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace. (4-6)
  • Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. (4-6)

Social Studies:

  • People have modified the environment since prehistoric times. There are both positive and negative consequences for modifying the environment in Ohio and the United States. (4)
  • Variations among physical environments influence human activities. Human activities also influence the physical environment. (5, 6)
  • The choices people make have both present and future consequences. (5, 6)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • Research current paper use in the United States and its impact on the environment.
  • Identify ways to reduce paper use.
  • Create a poster to inform others about paper use, environmental effects, and paper saving strategies.
  • Plan and advertise a school-wide No Paper Day, including a paper recycling drive.

Teacher Preparation

Gain support from the building principal and other staff to hold a No Paper Day.

Introduction

  • Ask students to brainstorm on the board all the ways that they use paper at school and at home (create two columns).
  • Ask students how the 3 “R’s” can be used to save paper.
  • Inform students that they will be sponsoring a No Paper Day for the whole school, which will combine reducing, reusing, and recycling strategies.

Activities

  • Students should research the following questions, using the web sites below. Display these questions in a paper-free way, such as the board, overhead projector, or PowerPoint slide.
    • How much paper does the United States use every year? How does this compare with other countries?
    • How does paper use affect the environment?
  • Helpful web sites:
  • Students should research ways to save paper. The following web sites are helpful:
  • As a class, discuss findings and record statistics and paper-saving strategies on the board. Help students to consider the following tips for a No Paper Day:
    • Use no new paper, only scrap paper (already been put in the recycle bin).
    • Encourage students to bring lunches in reusable, non-paper lunch bags.
    • Art teachers should use non-paper mediums, preferably re-usable mediums such as canvas or clay.
    • Use paper alternatives such as the chalkboard, laptops (students may email teachers work), or individual whiteboards with refillable dry-erase markers to do classroom work http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Handy-line-Retractable-Refillable-assorted/ and http://www.whiteboardsetc.com/LapBoards.htm.
    • Obtain permissions to unplug copiers and printers for the day, and create signs from scrap paper to explain the reason.
    • Identify exceptions for the No Paper Day (such as toilet paper, tissues, and cafeteria napkins).
  • Plan the No Paper Day campaign. Break students into small groups and assign one of the following activities to each group:
    • Create posters advertising No Paper Day, including a paper recycling drive. Encourage students to bring lunches in a reusable lunch bag, and to bring paper from home for recycling collection.
    • Create a poster about paper use, environmental impact, and paper-saving strategies. Students should present to the class and other classes if possible.
    • Write a letter using a computer word processing program, announcing and explaining No Paper Day to staff members. Email the letter to the staff listserv and ask staff to advertise No Paper Day to their students.
    • Write a checklist of printing tips to save paper, using Microsoft Word. Email this list to staff members and suggest posting a copy near printers in offices, the library, and computer labs. See the web sites above for ideas.
    • Write a PA announcement advertising No Paper Day, including the paper recycling drive. Students from the group may take turns, reading the announcement on different days leading up to the No Paper Day, if possible. Also, create signs to post on printers and copiers explaining why they are turned off during No Paper Day.
  • Hold the No Paper Day, including the paper recycling drive. Students should record the amount of paper collected for recycling and create a follow-up announcement to update and congratulate the student body for its paper-saving efforts.

Extensions

  • The Energy Savings Patrol may add paper recycling to their patrol. Students may look to see whether paper is thrown in garbage cans or recycling bins.
  • Students may write articles before and after No Paper Day for the school or local newspaper. The teacher may contact a local newspaper or news station and invite them to cover the No Paper Day.
  • Students may share their research and printer checklists with their parents or other adults for use in offices and other places of employment.
  • Students may create a plan for saving paper at home and present it to their families. They may hold a No Paper Day at home by turning off printers, using cloth napkins, purchasing recycled toilet paper, using only scrap paper for writing, etc.
  • For sixth graders, discuss the changes the atoms and/or molecules in wood undergo during the paper-making process.

Closing

  • Review the lesson and congratulate students on the success of No Paper Day.
  • Ask students to identify paper-saving practices they could continue on a more permanent basis. Write the plan on the board and ask students to sign their names as a pledge to continue saving paper. Encourage students to be a spokesperson for ongoing paper-saving practices in their other classes.

Waste Web Quest

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Complete a web quest to learn about waste and recycling.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts
  • Suggested Time: About 2 hours, as one or two sessions

Materials

Computers with internet access, Waste Web Quest worksheet, paper and pencils.

National Standards

Social Studies:

  • Environment and society.
  • Roles of the citizen.

Language Arts:

  • Developing research skills.
  • Evaluating data.
  • Communication skills.

Science:

  • Science as inquiry.
  • Regulation and behavior.
  • Population and ecosystems.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Social Studies:

  • People have modified the environment since prehistoric times. There are both positive and negative consequences for modifying the environment in Ohio and the United States. (4)
  • Variations among physical environments influence human activities. Human activities also influence the physical environment. (5, 6)
  • The choices people make have both present and future consequences. (5, 6)

 
Language Arts:

  • Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. (4, 5)
  • Determine the meaning of general academic & domain specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade level topic or subject area. (4, 5)
  • Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. (4, 5)
  • Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. (6)
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings. (6)
  • Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. (6)

Science:

  • Scientific inquiry and applications. (4-6)
  • Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. (4)
  • The total amount of matter is conserved when it undergoes a change. (4)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • Explain why it is important to reduce waste.
  • Answer reading comprehension questions using information about waste and recycling from web sites.
  • List possible solutions for reducing waste, using the 3 “R’s”.
  • Write a plan in paragraph form for reducing waste in the community and in the home.

Introduction

  • Ask students to list items they threw in the trash yesterday. Point out how much trash was thrown away by just one class in one day.
  • Ask students to raise their hand if their family recycles on a regular basis.
  • Reading the following passage to the students: "Every day you throw away something. So do your friends, neighbors, and almost every person on earth. Right now the world population is 6.5 billion people, and the U.S. population is 300 million. That’s so many people throwing away lots of trash! So much trash is a big problem and raises some serious questions. Where will all the trash go? How does it affect our planet? What happens to the trash once it leaves a house? Are there solutions to this problem? This trash problem may not seem important now, but the problem will only get worse as you grow up and live in a world with more people, more trash, and increasing damage to the environment. Today you will be learning more about what we do with trash and what impact trash has on the environment. Your goal will be to gather information and then come up with solutions for the waste problem."

Activities

  • Distribute the Waste Web Quest worksheets. Tell students waste is another name for trash. Remind students to read over the questions before starting the assignment. They do not need to read every web site in its entirety. Students may complete the work individually or in groups, depending on the number of computers.
  • Continue the same day or the next day as desired: once students have answered the questions, students should return work individually or in groups to write a plan in paragraph form for solving the waste problem in the community. Ask students to include ways to involve others in reducing waste.
  • Students should then work individually to write a plan in paragraph form for reducing waste in their homes. Again, their plan should include ideas for involving the whole family in reducing waste.
  • Once students have completed their plans, discuss their waste solutions as a class.

Extensions

  • Students may present their plans in the school and/or to their families.
  • Students may get credit for implementing the plan in their home (get parent/guardian signature to confirm).
  • Students may plan and hold a no waste lunch day. For ideas, see http://www.recycleworks.org/schools/lunch.html

Closing

Ask students how they will change their personal habits to reduce waste.

Worksheet

See: Waste Web Quest Worksheet

Draft – O – Meter

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Students do a draft audit at home.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Art

Materials 

  • Pencil
  • Tape
  • Plastic food wrap

Activities

Students will learn an easy technique to find drafts in their homes and classrooms.

  1. Cut a 12cm by 25cm strip of plastic wrap.
  2. Tape the shorter edge of the wrap to a pencil and let the rest hang freely.
  3. Blow plastic wrap gently and note how sensitive the wrap is to air movement. Drafts mean that air is leaking into or out of a building. This means either a loss of heat in winter or a loss of air conditioning in summer.

Trash Monster

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Each child brings in one recyclable trash item and the class builds a monster sculpture out of the trash.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Activities

Students will each bring in one recyclable trash item, and together they will build a trash monster sculpture. The class can vote on his/her name and decide on the monster’s super power. Add clothing or accessories to the sculpture as long as they are recyclable. Put the Trash Monsters on display for Halloween. Students may write stories about the trash monster as an extension.