Resource: Five New Environmental Lesson Plans Available

Title:	Five New Environmental Lesson Plans Available
Resource type:	Curriculum
Topics:	Business, Ecosystems, Education, Energy, Water
Keywords:	environmental education, curriculum
Audience:	All, Education
Region:	Minnesota Statewide, Outside Minnesota
Summary:	These lesson plans have been developed by state agencies and business for grades 3 through 12 on various environmental topics.
Content:	Do you teach about the environment or health? If so, you can now access five new lesson plans developed by state agencies and business for grades 3 through 12 on various environmental topics. Lesson plans contain connections to Minnesota state science standards and the environmental literacy scope and sequence, along with links to additional related resources. Titles include Water Habitat Site Study, grade 5; Growing Germs in a Petri Dish, Grade 7; Ladybugs to the Rescue, Grade 3; The Business of Recycling, Grades 8-12 and Electricity and Energy Conservation, Grade 6. These lesson plans were developed as part of the We3 (We Learn, We Save, We Win) Education Initiative through the Minnesota Environmental Education Advisory Board as a pilot project to determine educator interest, use and future need. The goal of the project is to engage students with relevant and authentic investigative learning that begins at the classroom level, and expands outward from there to the school, school grounds, students' homes, and community. These lessons will help teachers and students use their classroom and local environment as a "laboratory for systems thinking." Through applying the grade-appropriate concepts and skills across disciplines (with a special focus on science), students will look to their own classroom and local environment in terms of how it impacts, and is impacted by, natural and social systems. Contributing groups include the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Health, and Xcel Energy. These lesson plans can be accessed from the MPCA's SEEK Environmental Web site at http://www.seek.state.mn.us/classrm_f.cfm SEEK (Sharing Environmental Education Knowledge), NextStep's sister web site, also has many additional great resources for educators and others interested in environmental education. Visit the SEEK home page at www.seek.state.mn.us to learn more.
Website:	http://www.seek.state.mn.us/article.cfm?id=4825
Suggested by:	Paul Moss
Added:	03/16/10
Updated:	08/12/11