How to Get Started Teaching about the Environment

Today’s high school curricula are already crowded, but you can start introducing the environment to your program with some simple steps. The Classroom Earth Teacher Advisory Committee, a group of teachers who have experience teaching about the environment, recommends these steps:
 

1.    Start with One Lesson

State standards often prescribe the content for high school lessons, but teachers can be creative in how they teach that content.

Include environmental content in your lesson plan by:

• Using environmental news stories that link to your content goals. Visit websites such as Environmental News Network, or your local newspaper’s site to find articles. The “In the News" section of the Classroom Earth web site features articles with connections to curricula and classroom activities in the Resource Library.
• Searching the Classroom Earth Resource Library for a keyword or term that relates to concepts you are already planning on teaching.

2. Get Students Outside

No matter the topic, teaching about the environment is more effective when students are outside and engaged in hands-on activities that link to their classroom assignments. Going outside doesn’t have to mean traveling far.  Many schools have some access to outdoor space with plants and animals, on the school property or within walking distance of a park, nature center, zoo or museum. For instance:

• A teacher in Nevada crosses the street to a vacant lot to teach students about desert ecology.
• A teacher in Tennessee visits a nearby park where students assess how often it is being used and by whom.
• A teacher in Maryland has students conduct a school yard survey of the immediate school grounds looking for erosion problems, structures for wildlife, biodiversity, impervious surfaces, etc.

3. Understand Your Local Environment

Learn what’s going on in your community. What are the current environmental issues? How many local ecosystems are in your area? What watershed is your school in and how large is it? Local Nature Centers can help be a valuable resource for learning about the flora and fauna in your community. To find a Nature Center nearby, visit National Environmental Education Week’s Nature Center Map.  Other resources for information about your local environment include aquaria, science museums, zoos, state and local environmental agencies and local environmental organizations. 

4. Teach Students How to Think, Not What to Think

Foster an understanding of complex issues and give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world problems. Look for exercises that allow students to explore multiple perspectives on an environmental issue. Create a classroom environment that allows students to discuss their own perspectives safely even when they differ. Provide opportunities for students to respectfully share and debate their understanding of an issue.

5.  Look for Opportunities for Service-Learning

Service-learning is an experiential methodology that combines community service with classroom studies. Community service opportunities are integrated into the curriculum to advance academic goals and objectives. Use environmental projects as the basis for service-learning.

Environmental Service-Learning Ideas:

• Start a recycling program at your school.
• Initiate a stream or lot cleanup.
• Find ways to reduce energy use in your school.
• Plant trees on school grounds or at a local park.

6. Find Community Partners

Explore partnerships with organizations in your community that are working on environmental issues. Some may be able to offer guest speakers, interpreters on field trips, information for lessons, materials or internships for students.

Where to Find Community Partners:

• Community groups and environmental organizations such as Izaac Walton League, Master Gardeners, Audubon, The Nature Conservancy;
• Environmental education facilities;
• “Friends of ____________” (local river, lake, or stream groups);
• Federal Agency Regional Offices, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
• Local and State government agencies, such as the state Department of Environment, Forestry Boards, city or county offices;
• Nature centers;
• Local, state, and national parks;
• Parents;
• University or college professors; and 
• Zoos, science centers and aquaria.

7. Plan for the Future

Once you have incorporated the environment into a few lessons, begin thinking about next semester or next year.  Can you teach a unit that incorporates environmental content throughout the entire subject area? An entire course? Where would you find the support to create a series of lessons on the environment? Research environmental curricula in the Resource Library for examples of multi-lesson topics.  These curricula can model how lessons can link up into an environmentally themed unit to teach larger concepts.

8. Look for Professional Development Opportunities

To help you strengthen your skills and ability to include environmental content in your lesson plans, look for on-line or university-based continuing education courses, local workshops or summer training institutes. Are there state-wide environmental organizations that offer professional development or conferences that focus on environmental education? Check Classroom Earth's Professional Development resources for more ideas.