Engaging Students Through Global Issues: 2nd Edition, Activity-Based Lessons and Action Projects

The activities in the second edition of Engaging Students Through Global Issues are organized around eight sustainability big ideas (Nolet, 2016). High-quality education about sustainability helps learners investigate the meaning and implications of these ideas and incorporate these ideas into their own thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. When learners dig deeper into the meaning and implications of a sustainability big idea, they are better able to acquire new knowledge and skills and apply that knowledge and those skills in new situations. The eight sustainability big ideas that frame the activities in ESTGI are: Connecting with Nature, Equity and Justice, Health and Resiliency, Interconnectedness, Local to Global, Peace and Collaboration, Respect for Limits, and Universal Responsibility

Singular They: Lesson Plan

Singular They - Now, the singular they is addressing another problem with English grammar: There is no room for gender identities other than the he/she binary of singular pronouns. Grammarians are drawing lines in the sand over this return to they as a singular pronoun

Big World, Small Planet – Module 3: Meeting Human Needs Sustainably, Teacher Edition

Big World, Small Planet – Module 3: Meeting Human Needs Sustainably, Teacher Edition We live in an interconnected world. Movies, music, news, manufactured goods like clothing and electronics, and people travel across the globe. With this much exchange of ideas, culture, and material goods, our actions in one region are sure to affect people living in other regions. Understanding how and where we connect can help us understand how we might impact others. This understanding can also help us find ways to make these new lines of contact work benefit of all

Carbon Farming: Lesson Plan Recommended for Grades 8 - 12

Carbon Farming & Agroecology in California Farmlands: The mounting scientific evidence of climate change and predictions for the future (sea level rise, increasing droughts, flooding from extreme weather events, and global temperature rise) carries with it a need for human action. Both adaptation and mitigation are necessary action pathways upon which society must embark. Adaptation, or dealing with the inevitable changes already happening, is distinct from mitigation, which minimizes the predicted consequences through activities that reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This lesson focuses on mitigation activities possible through the lens of agriculture, specifcally agriculture practiced in an agroecological fashion. Many terms are used interchangeably when it comes to mitigating climate change on farmland, including climate smart agriculture, agroecology, and carbon farming

Engaging Students in Conservation: Beaver Restoration - Lesson Plan

BEAVER RESTORATION IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST - Lesson Plan The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is a social, mostly nocturnal mammal well adapted to survive in – and create – wetlands. Balanced with a broad, flat tail and powered by webbed hind feet, adult beavers can swim underwater for as long 15 minutes, staying warm with dense, dark brown fur coats that are waterproofed with secretions from special oil glands. Beavers are perhaps best known for their ever-growing, sharp incisors’ capacity to fell entire trees. Though nourished by the thin cambium layer of living cells beneath the trees bark, beavers use most of the branches and stems (along with mud and many other materials) to construct lodges for dwelling and dams for expanding aquatic habitat

Water, Science, and Civics: Engaging Students with Puget Sound, An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended for Grades 9-12

Imagine a classroom where students are mastering social studies and science content as they: create digital public service announcements that educate the local community about how to decrease water pollution. propose solutions at town hall meetings to keep Puget Sound healthy. Water, Science, and Civics engages students in these types of lessons. Not only do students master standards, but they also develop 21st century skills related to digital literacy, media literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration with peers, and taking multiple perspectives. They become thoughtful leaders who participate in problem-solving activities similar to ones they will encounter as active citizens in the future

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use - An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended for Grades 3-5

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use begins by introducing students to foundational energy science. The lessons then shift to focus on personal energy use, energy sources and their impacts, and transportation fuels. The unit culminates with an energy conservation lesson that showcases young people from around the world implementing energy conservation strategies in their homes, schools, communities and beyond. This lesson can be used as a launching pad for a classroom action or service project. This unit was designed to contribute to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance Education Team’s goal of strengthening overall science literacy of students in areas particular to the biofuels. The pre and post assessment can be administered before and after this unit to measure student growth in content knowledge, personal attitudes, and personal behaviors about energy

Understanding Sustainability: A Social Studies Curriculum, Recommended for Grades 9 - 12

Understanding Sustainability: A Social Studies Curriculum, Recommended for Grades 9 - 12 This unit of study encourages students to explore a variety of topics related to global sustainability. Students will develop an understanding of important sustainability concepts and their interconnections, such as resource consumption, human population growth, and poverty and social equity. They will investigate historic examples of civilizations that failed to respond to gathering threats to the survival of their economies, societies, and natural environments. Drawing on the lessons of past civilization collapses, students will consider how to create a sustainable future for people in today’s local and global communities, taking into account both personal and structural solutions to current challenges. At the close of the unit, students will envision and design a sustainable future for themselves and others

Big World, Small Planet – Module 4: Wants Versus Needs: Pushing the Boundaries, Teacher Edition

Big World, Small Planet – Module 4: Wants Versus Needs: Pushing the Boundaries, Teacher Edition We live in an interconnected world. Movies, music, news, manufactured goods like clothing and electronics, and people travel across the globe. With this much exchange of ideas, culture, and material goods, our actions in one region are sure to affect people living in other regions. Understanding how and where we connect can help us understand how we might impact others. This understanding can also help us find ways to make these new lines of contact work benefit of all

Big World, Small Planet – Module 1: Getting Started with Sustainability, Teacher Edition

Big World, Small Planet – Module 1: Getting Started with Sustainability, Teacher Edition We live in an interconnected world. Movies, music, news, manufactured goods like clothing and electronics, and people travel across the globe. With this much exchange of ideas, culture, and material goods, our actions in one region are sure to affect people living in other regions. Understanding how and where we connect can help us understand how we might impact others. This understanding can also help us find ways to make these new lines of contact work benefit of all