Teaching Resources
Teaching environmental issues in your classroom is a critical component of providing your students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. Discover a wealth Chesapeake Bay related books, multimedia, curriculum guides, individual lesson plans and online data sources.
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- acid rain
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> development Youth Action Guide for the Study and Stewardship of Community Riparian Areas
Holding onto the GREEN Zone is an Earth Science and life science curriculum with a focus on science inquiry and experiential learning. Using questioning, analysis,observation, and investigation,learners will enhance their knowledge of science, boost their critical thinking skills, learn the importance of preserving and restoring vital riparian ecosystems, and have fun. When young people become involved in investigating the GREEN
Zone, they are better prepared to take action
on local watershed issues now and in the future.
They also gain the opportunity to exercise
their rights and responsibilities as citizens and
community members. Both a leader guide and a student action guide are provided. Correlations are provided to National Science Education Content Standards, NAAEE Excellence in Environmental Education—Guidelines for Learning, and 4-H Youth Development Guidelines.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, point source, non-point source, water cycle and movement, photosynthesis, wetland, land use, food web, adaptation, watershed, agriculture, development, stormwater, air pollution and fossil fuels, aquatic grass SAV, ecosystem and biomes, erosion, experiments and investigations, forest, habitat and niche, identification, sediment, soil and rocks, water quality, student action
Estuaries 101 Curriculum - Nutrients in an Estuary
In this activity, students model estuaries, artificially
enriching both fresh and salt water samples with
different amounts of nutrients and observing the growth of algae over a several weeks. They relate their results to the phenomenon of algae blooms in estuaries. They then analyze data for different sites at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve(GTMNERR) in Florida to discover the relationships between nitrogen, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen. Finally, they study how nutrients cycle through an estuary and suggest recommendations for reducing nutrient inputs to estuary waters.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, point source, non-point source, photosynthesis, development, stormwater, water quality, dissolved oxygen
NOAA Get Smart: Smart Growth Lesson
What is Smart Growth, and what advantages does it have compared to other approaches to community development? Teach your students with this lesson! Upon completing this lesson, students will be able to describe the concepts of sustainability and Smart Growth, identify at least three benefits that may be expected from Smart Growth, and discuss at least three different perspectives on Smart Growth that might be found among stakeholders in a coastal community
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
population growth, development, green development, smart growth
NOAA Do You Have Change?: Coastal Change Analysis Lesson
In this lesson students will learn how scientists can monitor changes in the ways land is used in coastal areas. During the lesson, students will explain how satellite imagery can be used to monitor land use change, construct a change table to summarize land cover information, and use a change table to make inferences about land use changes in a coastal region.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
population growth, land use, development
NOAA Who Moved The Beach: Shoreline Erosion
In this lesson students will learn the primary causes and impacts of coastal erosion, and how should human communities respond to this process. In this lesson students will identify coastal erosion as a natural process, explain how human activity can increase the risks associated with coastal erosion, and identify options for reducing risks caused by coastal erosion, and discuss the advantages and problems associated with these options. Students will also analyze and interpret beach elevation data, and make inferences from these data about the relative vulnerability of different beaches to coastal erosion.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
land use, development, erosion, sediment, soil and rocks
Rivers: Lifelines of the Land
This lesson introduces students to river ecology and addresses the societal and environmental impacts associated with dams and their construction. By understanding dams and their effects on the environment, students will propose the construction or abolition of a dam in their hometown or other geographic area. They will think objectively and critically about real issues affecting the future of rivers.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
land use, development, water quality
Dead Zones and Coastal Eutrophication PowerPoint Presentation
This PowerPoint presentation discusses the causes and consequences of dead zones.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, land use, development, habitat and niche, water quality, fish, dissolved oxygen
The Planet Janitor© Coloring Book
This is a coloring book with text in English and Spanish. It focuses on the environmental aspects of energy production and use but also has pictures on solar energy.
Subject(s):
Art, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, development, water and energy conservation, litter, trash and recycling
How Big Is Your Footprint Lesson
An ecological footprint is a way to roughly measure the impact of a person’s choices on the environment. When students go online to calculate how many Earths it would take if everyone on the planet lived the way that they do, they will be astonished. Students increase their awareness of the impact of their choices on the Earth by studying the ecological footprint concept. They also learn how to calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of a set of data.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
population growth, development, water and energy conservation
Estuaries — Finding the Balance Lesson
This lesson will examine the conflict between development and the environment, and the attempts for a sound compromise. Using estuaries as a case study, students will be encouraged to consider the interaction between environmental and economic demands, and to seek a balance that will protect both the estuarine habitat and economic growth.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
population growth, development
Coastal Development Lesson
In this lesson, from National Geographic Xpeditions, students will examine two maps that illustrate the tendency for people in the United States to settle near the coasts. They will use the internet to research some environmental impacts on coastal ecosystems and conclude by writing reports on steps that are being taken to mitigate these impacts in specific parts of the country.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
development
