Geography

What's Up in the Environment has produced three long-term projects focusing on water issues: Contaminated Water, Watersheds, and Wetlands. Each project provides step-by-step instructions and resources for educators to get their students involved in local water issues.

In this lesson for grades 9-12, students work in teams to design a heat- and water-conserving “green roof” of plant material for an urban apartment building. They address economic and community considerations of green roof design.

Students will:
Study design decisions that affect energy transfer between a building and the outside environment.
Identify and consider decisions involved in improving a building’s energy profile.
Analyze economic and community aspects of green roof options.

Congress answered this question in the preamble to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, recognizing that endangered and threatened species of wildlife and plants "are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people."

Coastal resources are under constant threat from natural processes and human activities. News media regularly feature stories of damage to coral reefs, estuaries, fisheries and other resources caused by storms, ship groundings, oil spills, chemical releases, and many other events. Modern coastal resource management includes using science and technology to protect and restore coastal resources affected by such events. These efforts can include removing pollutants and invasive species, repairing damaged habitats, restoring natural ecosystem processes such as water flow, and re-introducing native organisms.

By examining the case of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in 1986, students study the adverse effects of high doses of radiation on biological systems.

In the early 19th century, the Lewis and Clark's Expedition was charged by President Jefferson to map the Louisiana Purchase. During their exploration, they also collected and recorded plant and animal species, kept detailed records of the diversity of life, drew and painted examples of the plant and animals, and named these newly identified species. Students will focus on a two- week period in 1804, and select one plant and one animal species to research. They will draw each plant and animal species and create a journal entry for each item. From the Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge.

This lesson focuses on how engineers use various techniques to provide solutions to oil spills or other threats to natural water resources. Students work in teams to analyze an "oil spill" in the classroom, then design, build and test a system to first contain and then remove the oil from the water.

Discuss the oil spill with your students using this fact sheet. The Subsea Oil Recovery System is a large structure that can be placed over the largest leak source in the Transocean Deepwater Horizon Rig. The system is designed to collect hydrocarbons from the well and pump them to a tanker at the surface, where they will be stored and safely shipped ashore.

Developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and the X PRIZE Foundation, the Fuel Our Future Now Online Knowledge Center provides science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) interactive resources and teaching tools.

The I-STEM Resource Network supports K-12 teachers and leaders working to implement high academic standards towards STEM literacy for all students. Their resources include lesson plans, curriculum units, professional development opportunities and more.

Resources pertaining to environmental education:

-Do You See What I See? Plant Identification

-Avalanche!

-Creating a 3D Model and Corresponding Topographic Map