Title: How can we protect our environment?

Grade: First Grade

Team members: Chelsea Smith, Michael LaPlante

Overall Goal: Students will be researching how to protect their environment locally and
globally. They will be finding ways that they can help to protect their surrounding environments.
They will present their solutions via a flow chart presentation to demonstrate their
understanding of the environment.

The lesson will begin with a field trip to Brown County State Park, where they will be
given a tour of the land. The following day, a brief student discussion will take place to help
students to start drawing connections. They will have an EdPuzzle that will provide them with
more context and vocab on the environment. Students will have knowledge of environmental
vocab and an understanding of the different aspects it takes to protect the environment (i.e
land, air, water, etc). They will also gain a better understanding of how they can actively
protect their local environments and why it is important.

Throughout the lesson, students will have to research and explore multiple ways to
protect their . They will also have to consider different possibilities for protecting the
environment and how expensive or inexpensive that possibility will be. They will have to
compare and contrast the possibilities to see which is more realistic and effective in protecting
the environment.

At the end of Project, there will be many similar solutions and different solutions from
which the students will choose to share with the class. For example, some students may focus
on recycling and properly disposing of waste as something that they can actively do in their
local environment/areas. Other students may focus on less car pollution and driving eco-friendly
cars or lessening time in the car by carpooling.

During the presentations, students will have to effectively illustrate their understanding
of environmental terms and solutions using a flow chart diagram. They will back up their
solutions or opinions with facts that they have research themselves. Lastly, they will explain
ways in which they can, as kids, take an active role in protecting the
environment.

Standards and Learning Objectives

Standards Learning Objective Assessment

 While touring through Brown The completion of the
County State Park, student guided packet that
1.LS.3 Make observations of plants
should be able to recognize they will receive at the
and animals to compare the the Yellow Wood trees and State Park.
diversity of life in different The students will be able to
habitats. explain significance to the
habitat of Brown County
State Park.

1.ESS.4 Develop solutions that Presentation of

could be implemented to reduce the Throughout the project the research (flow chart),
impact of humans on the land, students will be able to completion of guided
water, air, and/or other living things identify the impact of packet.
in the local environment humans on the environment.

Students should be able to

formulate solutions that they
believe will be most effective
in protecting the
environment.

Key Terms & Definitions:

Pollution: anything that makes the Earth unhealthy or dirty
Air Pollution: the process of when the air gets dirty and unhealthy for humans
Soil/Land Pollution: destruction of Earths land surfaces
Water Pollution: the contamination of bodies of water
Climate: weather conditions most common to area over a long period of time
Recycle: use again; make waste into reusable materials
Reduce: use less or make less of something
Reuse: use again or more than once

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

This lesson begins by introducing Brown County state park. This will be introduced by taking a
field trip to Brown County State Park! While exploring the serene and well preserved park,
student will start to notice the contrast in the park environment and their local environment in
which the children live.

Once the students have explored and seen Brown County Park, a discussion will take place to
begin the thought process of how they can protect their environment.

Discussion questions
 1. How is the park like your backyard?
2. What differences did you notice between Brown County and your backyard?
3. What was the same between your backyard and Brown County?
4. What animals/plants did you see?
5. How can we protect our areas (i.e backyard) from being harmed?

Lesson Main:
Provide information: After the students have visited and taken the tour of Brown
County, they will fill out a short guided packet about Brown County! After they have finished,
we will discuss the discussion questions above. That night, the students will be given an
EdPuzzle to watch. The video will be introducing key terms, facts about the environment, and
human interaction in our environment! The EdPuzzle and guided packet will be listed in
Resources/Artifacts.

Introduce Driving Question: After they receive some context and knowledge on the
environment, the driving question will be introduced to the students, How can we protect our
environment? Students at this point should be familiar with some ways to protect our
environment via the EdPuzzle video and discussion questions. They should be able to form
some opinions on what they believe will be effective ways to protect our environment and ways
that they as kids can do to help!

Introduce project and research guide: Instructor will begin talking about the
project and providing students with resources (websites) they can use in order to complete the
project and providing the students with expectations and a rubric to further explain what this
project will entail. Students will begin to be divided into groups and be provided with a research
guide that will provide them with search engines that will help them gather information about
the environment and what they can do to help. Each student will participate in the research
process. The should also be gathering articles from the internet that helped them answer the
guided question and develop a solution the pollution. They will use in class time to do so.
Furthermore, students should be brainstorming ways that they, as kids, can help to protect the
environment. They should be realistic and achievable. They will gather those ideas via the
articles they find on internet during class time. They will use their research guide to compile all
the information that they find.

Lesson Ending:

Flow chart using kidspiration: children will work in small groups of 3-4 to bring together the
knowledge of what they learned in Brown County and their research. The students will make a
flowchart for ways to protect the environment on a large scale and ways that that they could
protect the environment on a personal level. The children will have a good majority of class
time to produce this flow chart. Once the children design their flow chart they will share in their
groups and share the views to the class in a presentation style.
After the class all presents the the class a whole will have a discussions with their
opinions guided by the teacher.

Assessment Rubric:
Great 5 Average 3 Poor 0

Delivery of The presentation was The presentation was The presentation was
presentation well organized and all not delivered well with not given with
the students used a little to no enthusiasm. enthusiasm.
great amount of
enthusiasm. Student used creative Student did not use
means, but did not creative means and
Student used creative display much knowledge did not display any
means to display on topic. knowledge on topic.
knowledge on topic.

Guided Packet is 100% Packet is 75% Packet is not

Research completed correctly completed correctly, completed correctly or
Packet and accurate. facts are somewhat at all. Facts are not
accurate. relevant to subject.
Student uses name of
trees to distinguish Student uses name of Tree names are not
between the trees. trees to distinguish noted in the packet at
between trees, some all.
errors made.

Use of The digital project The digital project The digital

technology to successfully conveys somewhat conveys the presentation does not
create the childs child's understanding of conveys the students
presentation understanding of pollution. They solutions understanding of
pollution and the are mentioned, but pollution as well as
solutions are clearly there is not detail. how to protect the
stated. environment.

Group The student For the most part, the The student did not
Collaboration successfully student cooperated and cooperate or
cooperated and collaborated with group collaborate with group
collaborated with members members.
group member.

Creation of The groups plan is The groups plan is The groups plan is not
Plan or well-supported by somewhat supported by supported by evidence
Solution evidence and is clearly evidence and is and is poorly
organized. They have confusingly organized. organized. No
They have only
 identified solutions identified a few solutions have been
that will work best. solutions that will work identified.
best.

Resources / Artifacts:

Guided Packet
(Michael) https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0yIhvD2ED4jV0pEZGhyYVJIeXBsSlpSR3
RnbktWRktHNGhr
Guided Research Packet (Chelsea)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14z3GpfkyGYIGG-
zJNbG687Y4DREP1JsaeeqWnDsqgqk/edit
Example presentation using Kidspiration (Chelsea)