Environmental Science

I am so excited about Earth Day! In fact, I think we should celebrate Earth Day all week! The words of Theodore Roosevelt, one of the greatest leaders of conservation movement, remind me to pause and reflect on our vast blessings:"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune."

Just a Dream is a terrific book by Chris Van Allsburg, and it's perfect for Earth Day or any day! Download a free packet of discussion questions and writing activities to go with the book.

Easy Prep Activities for Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

About a month ago, I shared a special activity I developed for Earth Day called Green Court Claims. You can read my blog post, "Green Companies? Let the Jury Decide!" for a full explanation of the activity. For now, I'll just share that students investigate companies' claims that their products are "green" or earth-friendly. Students research the facts behind the claim, discuss the arguments on both sides, and present those claims to their classmates. Their classmates become the jury and decide whether those claims are valid in order to reach a verdict. You'll find everything you need in this free lesson packet on my Science page on Teaching Resources. You'll find the Common Core Alignment details at the back of the packet.

Green Court Claims is a research and writing activity in which students identify "green" claims that companies make and decide if those claims are justified.

Are Green Companies REALLYGreen? Let the Jury Decide!

April is an exciting month, filled with special holidays. From Poetry Month to National Jelly Bean Day, these occasions provide an opportunity to engage kids in unique learning experiences. The seasonal activities in this packet will ensure that your students are on task and learning even as the warm weather beckons! You'll find several pages of directions followed by more than 2 dozen pages of printables.

An online animal encyclopedia where you can learn about all your favourite animals, and even some you may have never heard of!

An Internet treasure hunt involves searching the Internet for valuable nuggets of information. In this hunt, you will explore questions about the rain forests on our earth. Your clues will be found within the web sites listed below the questions. Search your clues carefully to discover the wondrous treasures of the rain forest!

This lesson is based on a 20-minute video createdby Annie Leonard that explains where our stuff comesfrom and the problems faced by our stuff-driven society.You can find the video at http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff. I highlyrecommend that you preview the entire video yourself before showing it to your class.It’s most appropriate for 5th grade and up. Even though it’s only 20 minutes long, thisvideo will take several class periods to watch and discuss completely. Below aresuggested activities and discussion questions.

How can you transform almost any assignment into an adventure? Use foldables! Foldables are so much fun to make, and when students create their own, they seem to take more pride in their work. Lately I've noticed lots of great blog posts by teachers who love foldables as much as I do, so I created this Fantastic Foldable Freebies Link Up. You can learn more and find other great examples of foldables at the bottom of this blog post.