This document outlines a student project on pollution. It introduces the student team and essential question of how humans impact the environment and how to reverse effects. It provides guiding questions on identifying pollution sources and their ecosystem impacts. It describes activities for students to research their personal carbon footprint, create a video about reducing carbon waste, and investigate local water pollution sources by testing samples and creating a multimedia presentation. It aims to help students understand different pollutants and how personal behaviors can affect the local environment and community.
3. The Big Idea Human Impact on the Environment: Pollution
4. Essential Question How do humans impact the environment and how can we reverse those effects?
5. The Challenge Identify local sources of pollution and create logical solutions to improve the environment for the future in our community and the world.
6. Guiding Questions How can you identify the sources of pollution and explain their effects on the ecosystem? How have human actions impacted the survival of organisms in the ecosystem? How can we evaluate the effects of air, water, and soil pollution on society? What remediation practices will allow the environment to return to its original state; which will not?
8. Use the carbon footprint calculator to figure out your personal carbon footprint through a few multiple questions. What is your carbon footprint? How does this compare to your friends and neighbors? How does it compare with other states/countries? Carbon footprint VIDEO PROJECT After researching carbon footprints and the affects we have on the environment as individuals, put together a news story showing viewers how they currently waste energy in their everyday lives and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint as a community.
9. The reason why we included this activity in our project is because we want students to …. CARBON FOOTPRINT the purpose of…
11. Students will investigate different water sources around the area where they live. They will conduct an experiment of different water samples and filter them. They will collect and compile their findings, justifying why one source may have more pollutants than another. MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION Students will create a multimedia presentation incorporating pictures, video and audio of their results. Investigating water pollution
12. The reason why we included this activity in our project is because we want students to understand that different pollutants are everywhere. By doing this project, students will gain an understanding of why different pollutants infect certain areas and reasons why they are there. Also, students will be able to get a hands-on look at how pollution infects streams and rivers in our community. This will allow them acknowledge their own behaviors and how they themselves may be responsible for pollution in their own community by incorporating technology and different types of media into their learning. INVESTIGATING WATER POLLUTION the purpose of…
13. The Department of Public Information issued a press release in 2007 regarding the increase in population over the next 40 years. Read this press release to familiarize yourself with trends in global population. Once you have read the press release please look at the data provided on population growth as well as the data on CO2 emissions for the countries of the world. Compare the CO2 emissions of the top 5 countries in population growth with that of the United States. Use this information with what you have already learned about pollution to hypothesize the effects that population growth will have on global pollution. How does population growth affect pollution?
14. the purpose of… How Does population growth affect pollution? The reason why we included this activity in our project is because we want students to look at the way population growth will impact the amount of pollution that is being produced each year. Until students start to notice trends and look past the here and now we will continue to play catch up. Our students need to realize that unless we get innovative with our use of fossil fuels and start to create sustainable energy sources we will have a serious problem on our hands within their lifetimes.
