National Academies Press: OpenBook

Resources for Teaching Middle School Science (1998)

Chapter: 3. Environmental Science

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Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Focusing on microorganisms

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

CHAPTER 3
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environmental Science—Core Materials

3.1 Environments.

Full Option Science System (FOSS) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1993.

Program Overview The Full Option Science System (FOSS) program is a K-6 science curriculum consisting of 27 stand-alone modules. The 8 modules for grades 5-6 are organized under topics in the life, physical, and earth sciences and in scientific reasoning and technology. They can be used in any order. The FOSS program is designed to engage students in scientific concepts through multisensory, hands-on laboratory activities. All modules of the program incorporate 5 unifying themes—(1) pattern, (2) structure, (3) interaction, (4) change, and (5) system. The components of a FOSS module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 5-6. Environments introduces students to several basic concepts of environmental biology. Structured investigations in both terrestrial and aquatic systems develop the concepts of environmental factor, tolerance, environmental preference, and environmental range. In this unit, students observe interactions in a terrarium, investigate the environmental preferences of isopods and beetles, determine the water tolerance of seeds and plants, monitor environmental factors in freshwater aquariums, and investigate the salt tolerance of plants and brine shrimp eggs.

Environments consists of 6 activities and requires 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 6 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7826-0070-0), $101. Complete module, $399. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.2 Issues, Evidence and You.

Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Ronkonkoma, N.Y.: Lab-Aids, 1995.

Program Overview The Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) series consists of 2 year-long courses—1 for middle and early secondary school (Issues, Evidence and You) and 1 for high school (Science for Citizenship in the 21st Century). The program focuses on science and technology and on interactions of science and technology with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. Materials include a teacher's guide, student books, and a kit of materials. (SEPUP is the second phase of a project that began as CEPUP—Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Reading level: middle 10. Issues, Evidence and You, designed to be completed over the course of a year, offers 65 activities that require students to collect and process scientific evidence about real issues of current individual and community interest. Students then use the evidence they accumulate to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions to the problems being studied. The course has 4 parts: (1) "Water Usage and Safety," (2) "Materials Science," (3) "Energy

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE—CORE MATERIALS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 5 of this guide.

Each curriculum annotation has a two-part entry number: the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter. For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2; and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic Information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication

  • Number of edition, if applicable

  • Authors (an individual author or authors, an institutional author, or a project or program name under which the material was developed)

  • Series title

  • Series developer, if applicable

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication

Recommended Grade Level

The grade level for each piece of material was recommended by teacher evaluators during the development of this guide. In some instances, the recommended grade level may differ slightly from the publisher's advertised level.

Key to Content Standard: 5-8

The key lists the content standards for grades 5-8 from the National Science Education Standards (NSES) that are addressed in depth by the item. A key is provided for core materials and supplementary units. (See appendix C.)

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information appears at the end of each entry. Included are—

  • Prices (of teacher's guides, student books, lab manuals, and kits or units)

  • Publisher/supplier (The name of a principal publisher/supplier, although not necessarily the sole source, for the items listed in the price category. Appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers," provides the address, phone and fax numbers, and electronic ordering information, where available, for each publisher and supplier.)

  • Materials (various sources from which one might obtain the required materials)

Readers must contact publishers/suppliers for complete and up-to-date listings of the program resources and support materials available for a particular unit. Depending on the developer, these items may be required, optional, or both; they may be offered individually and/or in kits, packages, or boxes. Materials may change with revised editions. The prices given in this chapter for selected resources or materials are based on information from the publishers and suppliers but are not meant to represent the full range of ordering options.

Indexes of Curriculum Materials

The multiple indexes on pp. 449-78 allow easy access to the information in this guide. Various aspects of the curriculum materials—including titles, topics addressed in each unit, grade levels, and standards addressed—are the focus of seven separate indexes. For example, titles and entry numbers are listed in the "Title Index" on pp. 450-54. The "Index of Authors, Series, and Curriculum Projects," on pp. 455-57, provides entry numbers of any annotated titles in a particular series.

Overviews of Core and Supplementary Programs

Appendix D, "Overviews of Core and Supplementary Programs with Titles Annotated in This Guide," on pp. 441-48, lists, by program or series, the individual titles annotated in the sections "Core Materials" and "Supplementary Units" in the five curriculum chapters.

Use," and (4) "Environmental Impact."

In part 1, students are introduced to the problem of waterborne diseases, the problem of biological risks from the water supply, and the use of water treatment processes to control these risks. Students investigate the issue of risks and benefits of chemicals in the environment, and they apply what they have learned about water quality, toxicity, and risk to make a decision about how to clean up groundwater contamination. Among the activities in part 1, students analyze data and information about the 1849 cholera epidemic in London, they perform a simulated investigation of the effect of a potentially toxic substance on a group of rats, and they conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of water samples.

In part 2, students explore the environmental impacts related to the production, use, and disposal of plastics, metal, and other materials used to make consumer goods. They investigate, for example, the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to preventing the corrosion of iron, and they observe a simulation of the incineration of hazardous waste.

In part 3, students learn about the availability of different energy sources; they relate what they learn about these energy sources to energy efficiency and to themselves as energy consumers. Among the activities in part 3, students investigate energy conversion through the study of simple electrochemical cells, they use a calorimeter to investigate the

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

heat exchange between hot and cool water, and they examine the costs and trade-offs involved in energy decisions for their school and community.

In part 4, students apply their new learnings to the issue of whether or not to build a factory on an imaginary island within a community. They determine the economic, environmental, and political implications of decisions about obtaining and processing raw materials and about handling transportation and waste disposal issues.

The teacher's guide, in loose-leaf-binder format, provides science background, materials lists, information on advance preparation that is needed, step-by-step teaching summaries and procedures, safety notes, and assessments. Reproducible masters for student worksheets and transparencies are included. Students are required to keep personal journals of their experiences and of the evidence they collect.

Student Books Three student books accompany this 4-part course (the third book contains the investigations for parts 3 and 4). Each activity includes a brief introduction, procedures, and any necessary safety information. Readings expand on the investigation or provide secondary evidence that is not possible or safe to collect directly.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter; transfer of energy.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 1-887725-00-8), $87.59. Set of student books (3 volumes per set) (ISBN 1-887725-06-7), $24.99. Full kit, $3,694.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.3 There Is No Away.

Insights series. Developed by Education Development Center (EDC). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1997.

Program Overview The Insights program, for grades K-6, consists of 17 modules, several of which are appropriate for middle school. Topics in the program reflect a balance of life, physical, and earth sciences. Insights modules integrate science with the rest of the curriculum, particularly with language arts and mathematics. The activities support cultural, racial, and linguistic diversity. Each module requires about 25 class sessions to complete. The components of an Insights module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 6. There Is No Away introduces students to the subjects of waste production, disposal, and control, and focuses on solid waste disposal and water pollution. The first half of the module develops students' awareness of the amount and variety of trash generated by people. Students collect and analyze a day's waste collected on the school premises and explore the schoolyard for manufactured and natural waste materials. Then they design and set up controlled experiments to find out what happens to organic and inorganic waste in a sanitary landfill. They examine how the soil in, around, and under a landfill can influence the quality of groundwater. In the second half of the module, students design and construct a model sanitary landfill, investigate the steps involved in purifying water, and develop ideas for alternative packaging and recycling.

There Is No Away is organized in 16 Learning Experiences that can be done in a minimum of 27 class sessions. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of suggested readings and audiovisual materials. Science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment are also included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7872-3344-7), $68.90. Materials kit, $272.90. Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Environmental Science—Supplementary Units

3.4 Acid Rain.

Colin Hocking, Jacqueline Barber, and Jan Coonrod. Reprinted with revisions. Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) series. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1994.

Program Overview The Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) series includes more than 50 teacher's guides and handbooks for preschool through grade 10. About 35 of these are appropriate for middle school. The series also includes several assembly presenter's guides and exhibit guides. New guides and handbooks continue to be developed, and current titles are revised frequently. The series is designed to teach key science and mathematics concepts through activity-based learning. The time needed to complete GEMS units varies from about 2 to 10 class sessions.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 6-8+. Acid Rain focuses on an important environmental issue, fostering scientific inquiry and critical-thinking skills through varied activity formats. Students develop a working knowledge of the pH scale by measuring the pH of everyday solutions, they make "fake lakes" and determine how the pH changes after an acid-rain storm, and they investigate the effect of buffering to reduce the acidity of lakes. In other activities, students conduct a plant-growth experiment to determine the effect of various dilutions of acid on seed germination, present a play focusing on the effects of acid rain on aquatic life, play a "startling statements" game, and hold a town meeting to discuss possible solutions to the problem of acid rain. The unit provides students with much information on acid rain, encourages them to analyze complex environmental issues, and illustrates interrelationships of science, technology, and society.

Each of the 8 activities takes 50 minutes to complete; several activities also involve follow-up homework assignments. The guide includes directions, extensions, brief background information, and reproducible student record sheets.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Price: $16 (ISBN 0-912511-74-5). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.5 Acid Rain.

Module 2.7. Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) series. Developed by American Chemical Society (Washington, D.C.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1996.

Program Overview The Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) program consists of 3 series of 8 modules each for grades 6-8. Each module focuses on a topic in the life, earth, or physical sciences. The time needed to complete FACETS modules varies from 2 to 4 weeks. Each module consists of a student book and a teacher's guide.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7. In the module Acid Rain, students gain an appreciation for the complexity of the issues surrounding acid rain—where it comes from, how it can be studied, what effects it has on the environment, and what is being done about it. Students begin the module by conducting library research to find out as much as possible about acid rain; then they share their information among groups. They work with the pH scale to see how it can be used as a tool for measuring acidity, and they investigate the long-term effects of acid rain on building materials such as steel and limestone. They also simulate the formation of acid rain by dissolving gases in water, which yields acidic solutions. Students then plan and begin to implement a long-term study on acid rain in their area. In the final activity, they present the findings from their study in the form of a poster, a video, or a newsletter that would be helpful and clear to the general public.

Acid Rain, which is divided into 6 activities, requires a minimum of 4 weeks to complete. A narrative section at the end of the module provides background information for students on the global aspects and the chemistry of acid rain.

Teacher's Guide The wraparound teacher's guide includes a unit overview, a time line for completing

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

the module, a materials list, background information, and teaching suggestions.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-7872-1445-0), $7.90. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7872-1446-9), $14.90. Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.6 Acid Rain.

National Geographic Kids Network series. Developed by Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) (Cambridge, Mass.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1989.

Program Overview The National Geographic Kids Network series is a telecommunications-based program for grades 3-9 that emphasizes collaborative student research on real-world issues. The series includes 7 units for grades 3-6 and 9 units for grades 6-9. Each unit includes a kit and an 8-week telecommunications package.

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE—SUPPLEMENTARY UNITS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 5 of this guide.

Each curriculum annotation has a two-part entry number: the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter. For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2; and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic Information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication

  • Number of edition, if applicable

  • Authors (an individual author or authors, an institutional author, or a project or program name under which the material was developed)

  • Series title

  • Series developer, if applicable

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication

Recommended Grade Level

The grade level for each piece of material was recommended by teacher evaluators during the development of this guide. In some instances, the recommended grade level may differ slightly from the publisher's advertised level.

Key to Content Standard: 5-8

The key lists the content standards for grades 5-8 from the National Science Education Standards (NSES) that are addressed in depth by the item. A key is provided for core materials and supplementary units. (See appendix C.)

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information appears at the end of each entry. Included are—

  • Prices (of teacher's guides, student books, lab manuals, and kits or units)

  • Publisher/supplier (The name of a principal publisher/supplier, although not necessarily the sole source, for the items listed in the price category. Appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers," provides the address, phone and fax numbers, and electronic ordering information, where available, for each publisher and supplier.)

  • Materials (various sources from which one might obtain the required materials)

Readers must contact publishers/suppliers for complete and up-to-date listings of the program resources and support materials available for a particular unit. Depending on the developer, these items may be required, optional, or both; they may be offered individually and/or in kits, packages, or boxes. Materials may change with revised editions. The prices given in this chapter for selected resources or materials are based on information from the publishers and suppliers but are not meant to represent the full range of ordering options.

Indexes of Curriculum Materials

The multiple indexes on pp. 449-78 allow easy access to the information in this guide. Various aspects of the curriculum materials—including titles, topics addressed in each unit, grade levels, and standards addressed—are the focus of seven separate indexes. For example, titles and entry numbers are listed in the "Title Index" on pp. 450-54. The "Index of Authors, Series, and Curriculum Projects," on pp. 455-57, provides entry numbers of any annotated titles in a particular series.

Overviews of Core and Supplementary Programs

Appendix D, "Overviews of Core and Supplementary Programs with Titles Annotated in This Guide," on pp. 441-48, lists, by program or series, the individual titles annotated in the sections "Core Materials" and "Supplementary Units" in the five curriculum chapters.

Telecommunications-Based Unit Recommended grade level: 3-6. In Acid Rain, an 8-week telecommunications-based curriculum unit, students explore the issue of acid rain through research and a series of experiments. They learn how to read a pH scale, design and build rain collectors, explore how acid rain forms, examine the effects of acid on nonliving things, and measure the acidity of local rainwater. Then, through the National Geographic Society Kids Network—a computer network that links students around the world doing the same unit—they compare their pH measurements with those taken by students in different parts of the world. As they do so, they look for patterns and make predictions about the geographic distribution of acid rain. In the final week of the unit, students discuss their opinions about acid rain and what should be done about it. Activities incorporate science, geography, social studies, language arts, mathematics, and statistics.

Throughout the unit, students use computers and software (called NGS Works) to record information, write letters, make graphs, display maps, and send data to other network participants. They also consult electronically with a scientist about the data they collect.

Acid Rain includes a teacher's guide, reproducible readings and activity sheets, overhead transparencies, posters, wall maps, and a diskette of supplemental information to use with the NGS Works software.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; change, constancy, and measurement.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Curriculum unit, $149. NGS Works software, $199. Acid rain test kit, $150. (Contact NGS regarding membership fees for accessing NGS Kids Network.) Publisher/supplier: National Geographic Society. Materials: Available from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.7 Biology Is Outdoors! A Comprehensive Resource for Studying School Environments.

Judith M. Hancock. Walch Reproducible Books. Portland, Maine: Walch, 1991.

Program Overview Biology Is Outdoors! A Comprehensive Resource for Studying School Environments contains investigations that help life science and biology students discover the ecological wealth available in their own schoolyard. The unit can be adapted for various geographic locations and urban or rural settings.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Biology Is Outdoors! offers 10 investigations into the familiar world of the school grounds. During these open-ended investigations that focus on data collection and measurement, students first draw a site map of the school building and grounds. Then they identify and make a list of the plant life on the school grounds, investigate the health of these plants, and conduct a soil analysis. Collecting and observing soil organisms, students look for and identify opportunistic plant and animal species. They also explore the microenvironments found in pavement cracks, in puddles, and on shrubs. Students investigate the effect of the school building itself and that of human activities on the local environment.

Each investigation in Biology Is Outdoors! includes a section written for teachers and a section written for students. The teacher's section provides background information, procedures, discussion questions, extensions, a supplies list, and references. The student's section includes reproducible student directions and data sheets, as well as suggestions for further investigations.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards.

Price: $21.95 (ISBN 0-8251-1797-6). Publisher/supplier: Walch. Materials: Available locally.

3.8 Changes in Ecosystems.

Mary Atwater, Prentice Baptiste, Lucy Daniel, and others. Unit 38. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Science series. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing, 1995.

Program Overview The Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Science series is a comprehensive, activity-based, K-8 science curriculum made up of 42 stand-alone units, 18 of which are designed for grades 6-8. The series is constructed around 7 major themes: (1) systems and interactions, (2) scale and structure, (3) stability, (4) energy, (5) evolution, (6) patterns of change, and (7) models. The subject of each unit—for example, changes in ecosystems—is presented from the perspective of one or more of these themes. One theme is designated as the "major theme" for a unit, and any others are treated as "related themes." For each unit, a wide range of materials, including some optional components, is available for students and teachers.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7-8. Changes in Ecosystems contains 5 lessons in which students learn about ecosystem changes that occur both naturally and as a result of things people do. All of the lessons stress the importance of interactions among different organisms, and students learn that such interactions keep an ecosystem in balance and allow each organism to survive. Both positive and negative aspects of human interaction with ecosystems are discussed. The organizing themes for this unit are systems and interactions (major theme) and stability (related theme).

Each of the 5 lessons in the unit typically requires 6 days for completion. During the unit, students observe and describe the components of an ecosystem. They learn about factors that shape the environment and about the orderly way in which ecosystems

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

change in ecological succession. They learn the difference between a habitat and a niche. Students also list some of the ways humans influence the environment, evaluate the role of pollution in the degradation of the biosphere, and learn about ways to conserve resources. They also learn about different causes of animal and plant extinctions and study the roles humans have played in such extinctions.

Sample activities include growing and observing a mold garden, and observing and comparing 2 grassy plots over time. Other activities include experimenting with different concentrations of fertilizer to see how a substance that is not a poison can be destructive, and constructing bar graphs of wildlife habitat loss in different countries.

Each lesson contains narrative information and a series of sequential, hands-on activities—such as an introductory "minds-on" activity, short "try this" activities, and a longer "explore" activity. The latter, which are lab activities, each take a class period to complete. Students use activity logs to record ideas, observations, and results.

Special unit features include curriculum links to language arts, literature, mathematics, music, and art; information about science careers; and narrative sections highlighting science, technology, and society connections.

Teacher's Planning Guide The teacher's planning guide, a spiral-bound, wraparound edition, provides information and strategies for teaching the 5 lessons in the student edition. Each lesson is introduced by a 4-page section that offers background information, a lesson-planning guide, and assessment options. Marginal notes on the lesson pages provide discussion ideas, tips on meeting individual needs, suggestions for addressing misconceptions, assessment ideas, and curriculum connections.

Program Resources and Support Materials A wide range of materials, including some optional components, is available. Examples include consumable and nonconsumable activity materials; audio- and videotapes; interactive videodiscs; color transparencies; assessment materials; a teacher anthology of short stories, poems, fingerplays, and songs; trade books; teacher resource masters; activity cards; activity logs; concept summaries and glossaries for students acquiring English as a second language; and software with problem-solving simulations for students.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-02-276138-1), $7.06. Teacher's planning guide (ISBN 0-02-276086-6), $55.98. Unit package, $115.68. Activity materials kit, $48.00. (Contact publisher/supplier for complete price and ordering information.) Publisher/supplier: McGraw-Hill. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.9 Chemicals: Choosing Wisely.

Developed by E2: Environment and Education (Boulder, Colo.). Environmental Action series. Menlo Park, Calif.: Dale Seymour, 1998.

Program Overview The Environmental Action series consists of 6 stand-alone modules for middle and secondary school students. The series focuses on environmental issues and on the impact of these issues on human health and environmental quality. Each module includes a student edition and a teacher's resource guide.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In Chemicals: Choosing Wisely, students investigate the types of materials (for example, various plastics), chemical products, cleaning supplies, and pesticides used in their school. They find out how these materials are used, stored, and disposed of, and what their potential effects are on human health and the environment.

The 15 activities in the module are organized in 4 sections: "Explore the Issues," "Analyze," "Consider Options," and "Take Action." Examples of the activities include the following: learning about the kinds of information on chemical product labels and comparing the relative safety of cleaning products; gathering and recording information on chemical products from expert sources; evaluating the alternatives to using harmful chemical products; weighing costs and benefits; and writing a proposal that includes recommendations for alternatives to current chemical use and practices at the school. About 18 to 20 class sessions are needed to complete the 15 activities in Chemicals: Choosing Wisely.

Teacher's Guide The teacher's resource guide includes examples of possible student responses to discussion questions, annotated answers to

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

student activity sheets, and some additional resources and assessment tools. Blackline masters for student activity sheets are also included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of property in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-201-49535-X), $5.95. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-49534-1), $13.95. Publisher/supplier: Dale Seymour. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.10 Chemical Survey and Solutions and Pollution.

Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1990.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. This teacher's guide contains 2 modules: Chemical Survey and Solutions and Pollution. Chemical Survey is a 3-activity introduction to chemicals and their relationship to societal issues. During the activities, students conduct a 5-question class survey of their knowledge and attitudes about chemicals, analyze the data, and explore possible sources of influence on students' ideas about chemicals. Then they compare the class data with data they obtain from their parents using the same survey. The survey addresses such issues as the best definition of the word "chemical," what things are made up of chemicals, and whether chemicals are dangerous.

Solutions and Pollution, a 7-activity module, introduces students to properties of water and to the issue of water pollution. Students explore the solubility of various substances in water and learn the difference in meaning between "dilute" and "concentrated"; they learn about "parts per million" by successively diluting food coloring solutions in water. Students also explore the reactions of an acid, a base, water, and universal indicator when these substances are mixed together in various quantities. They develop an operational definition for acid and base and explore the question of whether dilution is an answer to water pollution. Students are introduced to the concept of acid-base neutralization, and they carry out a quantitative experiment to determine the relative concentration of 2 solutions. They design an experiment to determine the relative concentration of household ammonia when compared to a base solution of known concentration, and they use their acquired knowledge about acids, bases, and relative concentrations to solve a simulated water-pollution problem.

The 3 activities in the Chemical Survey module take 3 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. The 7 activities in Solutions and Pollution take 12 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each.

Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible student sheets, directions for guiding activities and discussions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Risks and benefits.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-28420-0), $19.99; module, $179.99.

Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.11 Cleaning Water.

Module 2.6. Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) series. Developed by American Chemical Society (Washington, D.C.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1996.

Program Overview The Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) program consists of 3 series of 8 modules each for grades 6-8. Each module focuses on a topic in the life, earth, or physical sciences. The time needed to complete FACETS modules varies from 2 to 4 weeks. Each module consists of a student book and a teacher's guide.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7. In the module Cleaning Water, students investigate some of the contaminants that can get into drinking water, discover how chemical tests can reveal some of the impurities that contaminate the water supply, and learn how some contaminants can be removed by special types of filters. During the module, students role-play the part of marketing employees for a water filter company. They also conduct research on different types of drinking water contaminants. They use map skills and the concept of a watershed to determine where impurities could have entered the water supply. They also test water samples for a variety of impurities and experiment with different types of filtering materials to determine their effect on impure water samples. Students then design, build, and test a filter for the home market. In the final activity, they present a marketing plan for each other's filters.

Cleaning Water is a 3-week module divided into 6 activities, which each take between 2 and 3 class periods to complete. A narrative section at the end of the module provides background information for students on water pollution and water testing.

Teacher's Guide The wraparound teacher's guide includes a unit overview, a time line for completing the module, a materials list, background information, and teaching suggestions.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-7872-1447-7), $7.90. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7872-1448-5), $14.90. Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.12 Earth's Ecosystems.

Mary Atwater, Prentice Baptiste, Lucy Daniel, and others. Unit 36. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Science series. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing, 1995.

Program Overview The Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Science series is a comprehensive, activity-based, K-8 science curriculum made up of 42 stand-alone units, 18 of which are designed for grades 6-8. The series is constructed around 7 major themes: (1) systems and interactions, (2) scale and structure, (3) stability, (4) energy, (5) evolution, (6) patterns of change, and (7) models. The subject of each unit—for example, earth's ecosystems—is presented from the perspective of one or more of these themes. One theme is designated as the "major theme" for a unit, and any others are treated as "related themes." For each unit, a wide range of materials, including some optional components, is available for students and teachers.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7. Earth's Ecosystems contains 5 lessons that introduce students to interactions among living and nonliving parts of the environment and to the unique roles of humans in their ecosystems. The organizing themes for this unit are systems and interactions (major theme) and stability, evolution, patterns of change, and energy (related themes).

Each of the 5 lessons in the unit typically requires 6 days for completion. During the unit, students learn about the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. They examine the water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles. They discover 6 major land biomes and 2 aquatic ecosystems on earth and learn how human activities can change these. Students also study populations in ecosystems and factors that limit their growth; they distinguish between a population, a community, and an ecosystem; and they compare and contrast primary and secondary succession.

Sample activities include observing the physical conditions in which brine shrimp grow, noting particularly the effect of light and temperature; and examining the differences in components of various soil samples. Other activities include graphing temperature and precipitation data from different earth regions and making inferences about the climate in those regions; counting the numbers and types of plants in a square-meter plot; observing and identifying animal skulls found in an owl pellet to learn about the owl's niche in its ecosystem; formulating a model of a food web and inferring the effects of changes in the food web; and observing succession in pondwater.

Each lesson contains narrative information and a series of sequential, hands-on activities—such as an introductory "minds-on" activity, short "try this" activities, and a longer "explore" activity. The latter, which are lab activities, each take a class period to complete. Students use activity logs to record ideas, observations, and results.

Special unit features include curriculum links to language arts, literature, mathematics, music, and art; information about science careers; and narrative sections highlighting science, technology, and society connections.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Teacher's Planning Guide The teacher's planning guide, a spiral-bound, wraparound edition, provides information and strategies for teaching the 5 lessons in the student edition. Each lesson is introduced by a 4-page section that offers background information, a lesson-planning guide, and assessment options. Marginal notes on the lesson pages provide discussion ideas, tips on meeting individual needs, suggestions for addressing misconceptions, assessment ideas, and curriculum connections.

Program Resources and Support Materials A wide range of materials, including some optional components, is available. Examples include consumable and nonconsumable activity materials; audio- and videotapes; interactive videodiscs; color transparencies; assessment materials; a teacher anthology of short stories, poems, fingerplays, and songs; trade books; teacher resource masters; activity cards; activity logs; concept summaries and glossaries for students acquiring English; and software with problem-solving simulations for students.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-02-276136-5), $7.06. Teacher's planning guide (ISBN 0-02-276084-9), $55.98. Unit package, $115.83. Activity materials kit, $64.00. (Contact publisher/supplier for complete price and ordering information.) Publisher/supplier: McGraw-Hill. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.13 Eco-Inquiry: A Guide to Ecological Learning Experiences for the Upper Elementary/Middle Grades.

Kathleen Hogan. Institute of Ecosystem Studies Eco-Inquiry Project. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1994.

Program Overview The modules in Eco-Inquiry: A Guide to Ecological Learning Experiences for the Upper Elementary/Middle Grades contain real-world projects and investigations in ecology. The modules build students' understanding of ecological processes in their local environment.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 5-8. Learning practical ecology from a local perspective is the focus of Eco-Inquiry. This guide offers 3 modules, each with a different ecological challenge for students. In module 1, students fulfill a request from a local community to survey what is living on a plot of land. They construct a food web from the study site and write environmental impact statements to trace how one change in the site could affect the entire food web. In module 2, students explore decomposition and construct a classroom decomposition chamber. In module 3, they explore nutrient recycling, doing research to test the effects of compost tea on radish growth. The modules can stand-alone or can be used in sequence at one or several grade levels.

Each module contains from 7 to 10 lessons and requires from 4 to 7 weeks for completion. (Module 1 takes 4 to 5 weeks, module 2 takes 4 to 5 weeks, and module 3 takes 6 to 7 weeks.) The guide offers numerous tips on how best to use the modules. It includes a variety of assessment strategies.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Science as a human endeavor; nature of science.

Price: $36.95 (ISBN 0-7872-0137-5). Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.14 Ecology Lab.

Science Technology and Reading (STAR) series. Developed by Reading Is Fundamental (Washington, D.C.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1996.

Program Overview Designed for the upper elementary grades, the Science Technology and Reading (STAR) series consists of 8 thematic "labs" in the natural and physical sciences. Each lab focuses both on science activities and on a genre of children's literature, developing correlations between the science

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

process and the process of reading. In addition to a teacher's guide for each of the 8 labs, the STAR program includes a mentor's guide for scientists, engineers, and others assisting in the classroom.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 4-6. In Ecology Lab, students become residents of a mythical town—Anytown—whose residents must decide what to do with a large tract of undeveloped land, known as Lakeland. Through a series of hands-on activities, students conduct experiments and gather data to help them decide what to do with the land. Students represent various interest groups—conservationists, recreation advocates, developers, business-growth advocates, and so on—at a town meeting. Then they vote on the plans offered. Students draw up a site plan using the school grounds as the plot of land to be developed. They test air quality and soil permeability and percolation rate, learn about water filtration, conduct a population study and a recreation survey, and use mathematics to interpret employment data for Anytown.

Ecology Lab includes ideas for cross-curricular integration, from writing an "eco haiku" to making a relief map of Lakeland. It also includes a list of resources, including books, computer software, and audiovisual materials. Reproducible pages for students, such as lab procedures, data sheets, and information handouts, are also provided.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7872-1456-6), $21.90. Mentor's guide, $3.90. Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally.

3.15 Energy Conservation.

Developed by E2: Environment and Education (Boulder, Colo.). Environmental Action series. Menlo Park, Calif.: Dale Seymour, 1998.

Program Overview The Environmental Action series consists of 6 stand-alone modules for middle and secondary school students. The series focuses on environmental issues and on the impact of these issues on human health and environmental quality. Each module includes a student edition and a teacher's resource guide.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In Energy Conservation , students explore the sources, production, uses, and environmental effects of energy, and they examine ways to improve the energy efficiency of their school and homes.

The 16 activities in the module are organized in 4 sections: "Explore the Issues," "Analyze," "Consider Options," and "Take Action." Examples of the activities include the following: investigating the environmental impact of various fossil fuels; conducting an energy audit of the school; brainstorming ways to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and change personal behavior; and preparing a proposal that includes recommendations for reducing energy consumption at the school. About 18 to 20 class sessions of 50 minutes each are needed to complete the 16 activities in Energy Conservation.

Teacher's Guide The teacher's resource guide includes examples of possible student responses to discussion questions, annotated answers to student activity sheets, and some additional resources and assessment tools. Blackline masters for student activity sheets are also included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Transfer of energy.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-201-49529-5), $5.95. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-49528-7), $13.95. Publisher/supplier: Dale Seymour. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.16 Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect.

Reprinted with revisions. Colin Hocking, Cary Sneider, John Erickson, and Richard Golden. Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) series. Berkeley, Calif: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1992.

Program Overview The Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) series includes more than 50 teacher's guides and handbooks for preschool through grade 10. About 35 of these are appropriate for middle school. The series also

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

includes several assembly presenter's guides and exhibit guides. New guides and handbooks continue to be developed, and current titles are revised frequently. The series is designed to teach key science and mathematics concepts through activity-based learning. The time needed to complete GEMS units varies from about 2 to 10 class sessions.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect uses a variety of hands-on laboratory activities, simulations, and discussions to help students learn about the greenhouse effect and its causes, the uncertainties of global warming theory, and the possible consequences of global warming. At the same time, students improve their understanding of important scientific concepts, such as the molecular model of heat, ways in which energy is transferred, how objects attain a stable temperature, and the structure of the atmosphere.

Among the activities in the unit, students compare the heating of air in an open container with the heating of air in a closed container to develop the concepts of heating and cooling and equilibrium. Students play a board game that simulates what happens to the light energy from the sun when it enters the earth's atmosphere. They also perform a series of experiments in which they compare the relative concentration of carbon dioxide in gas samples from 4 different sources (ambient air, human breath, car exhaust, and a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda). Students consider a wide range of impacts that might result from global warming. They role-play people from various countries and interest groups as they participate in a "world conference" to discuss how people might cooperate to decrease the greenhouse effect or how they might cope with the changes it causes.

The unit requires 9 or 10 class periods of 45 to 60 minutes each. The guide includes directions, extensions, brief background information, and reproducible student record sheets.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Transfer of energy.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Price: $16 (ISBN 0-912511-75-3).

Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS.

Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.17 Health Risk: Shadow over Crystal Valley.

Texas Learning Technology Group (TLTG). TLTG Environmental Science Series. Austin, Tex: TLTG, 1996.

Program Overview The TLTG [Texas Learning Technology Group] Environmental Science Series is a multimedia program for grades 7-12. Designed for the single-computer classroom, the 4 units in this series focus on environmental pollution and health-related issues from a variety of perspectives. For each unit, all video, graphics, and text-based materials—including the teacher's and students' guides—are contained on a CD-ROM.

Computer-Based Classroom Program Recommended grade level: 7-8. Health Risk is a 1- to 2-week computer-based investigation that involves students in researching and evaluating potential health risks in an imaginary community. The investigation begins as several birds and other animals are discovered with deformities that may be related to environmental pollutants. Assuming the role of a public health investigator in a regional health department, students work in collaborative groups to determine if a toxic agent is present in the environment. They try to identify the source of the toxic agent and to ascertain whether the health of area residents is at risk.

Various computer-based sources of information are available as students work through the investigation. Among them are interviews, medical records, tests of biological and environmental media, and a guide to environmental pollutants. Students learn about pesticide contamination, effects of heavy metals, toxicity of various substances, and nonpoint-source pollution. They also engage in a number of activities—such as creating evidence charts, data tables, and concept maps—that help them learn how to organize, interpret, and present data.

Two text-based support documents—a teacher's guide and a student guide—accompany the CD-ROM. The teacher's guide contains suggestions for classroom management and off-computer activities. The student guide offers research strategies, background information, profiles of people in environmental health careers, skill-building activities or labs, and projects. Both guides are also included on the CD-ROM; they can be viewed and printed out.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science; history of science.

Prices: Unit, $90.00. Teacher's guide (print) (ISBN 0-9643220-4-8), $10.00. Student guide (print) (ISBN 0-9643228-8-0), $7.50. Publisher/supplier: Texas Learning Technology Group. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.18 Investigating and Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions: Skill Development Program.

Harold R. Hungerford, Ralph A. Litherland, R. Ben Peyton, and others. Champaign, Ill.: Stipes, 1996.

Program Overview Investigating and Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions: Skill Development Program is designed to teach students how to investigate and evaluate science-related social issues. During this one-semester unit, students conduct independent research on environmental issues and follow up on this research with action as responsible citizens.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Investigating and Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions is designed under the assumption that students have a foundation in basic ecological concepts such as energy transfer, population dynamics, homeostatic balance, and community and ecosystem interactions.

Five of the unit's 6 modules are "training" modules. In them, students define the term "environment"; analyze a set of environmental interactions in terms of human impact on the environment; and learn to identify the various players, positions, beliefs, and values involved in many environmental issues. Students also learn how to locate, analyze, and use information sources; they learn the difference between first-hand and secondary sources of information; and they identify government or private agencies to which they can write for information. Students write a succinct summary of an article on an environmental topic. They also acquire the skills and strategies useful for collecting data first-hand—for example, doing surveys and using questionnaires—and they discuss techniques for communicating and interpreting data, including both descriptive and graphic methods.

Students apply what they have learned by conducting their own autonomous investigation of an environmental issue. They choose a topic to investigate, formulate a research question, establish the techniques to collect the data that will answer the research questions, and carry out the research. The teacher's tasks during this module are to establish guidelines for the investigation and to serve as a facilitator.

In the final module, students are introduced to the basic elements of environmental action—persuasion, consumerism, political action, and ecomanagement. They also are presented with a list of 14 criteria that comprise a decision-making model relative to responsible citizenship action in the environmental realm.

The unit, which takes about a semester to complete, includes a teacher's guide and student book.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Science as a human endeavor; nature of science.

Prices: Teacher's edition (ISBN 0-87563-650-0), $24.50. Student edition (ISBN 0-87563-651-9), $12.80. Publisher/supplier: Stipes. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.19 Investigating Groundwater: The Fruitvale Story.

Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1991.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program—is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In Investigating Groundwater: The Fruitvale Story, students

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

investigate reports of water contamination in the imaginary town of Fruitvale. Topics discussed during the unit include aquifers and aquitards, concentration and dilution, pollutants, toxicity, and uncertainty in sampling.

Among the activities in this unit, students experiment with the movement of water through materials such as gravel, sand, and clay to learn about factors affecting groundwater movement, and they perform serial dilutions as an introduction to methods of expressing concentration levels in parts per million. Students attempt to locate the source of groundwater contamination in Fruitvale by testing water from various test wells (using simulated samples); they identify the contamination source and plot its distribution; and they role-play a town meeting in which information is presented to the citizens of Fruitvale, who must decide on a plan to clean up the contaminated area.

The 7 sequential activities in Investigating Groundwater take 9 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible student sheets, directions for guiding activities and discussions, suggestions for extensions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-28426-X), $19.99. Module, $159.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.20 Investigating Hazardous Materials.

Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1994.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program—is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In Investigating Hazardous Materials, students participate in a simulation that involves identifying liquid and solid hazardous wastes in a drum found on a lot that is to be developed as the site of a new school. At the beginning of the module, students view a videotape of a hazardous materials team responding to the discovery of a drum of potentially dangerous waste. Students are introduced to the methods and equipment used to identify waste. During the rest of the module, they explore the major categories of hazardous wastes (flammable, corrosive, toxic, reactive), and they develop tests to identify substances belonging to these categories. Students work in groups to plan a separation of a complex mixture of liquids and solids. Then they use these plans to separate the mixture, which represents the contents of the barrel of simulated hazardous waste.

Later in the module, students are asked to consider the costs and risks of disposing of an additional 99 barrels of hazardous materials. They are introduced to decision trees as a system of categorizing or identifying unknown materials quickly. Students also consider the issues involved in the transportation of potentially toxic and hazardous substances through communities, and they discuss trade-offs involved in the transportation, use, and disposal of hazardous substances.

The 5 activities in Investigating Hazardous Materials take 9 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible student sheets, directions for guiding activities and discussions, suggestions for extensions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-45542-0), $19.99. Module, $189.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.21 Living Lightly on the Planet: A Global Environmental Education Guidebook.

Vol. I. Maura O'Connor. Living Lightly series. Milwaukee, Wis.: Schlitz Audubon Center, 1985.

Program Overview The Living Lightly series is a program for grades K-12. Each volume focuses on the environment and on decision making related to environmental issues. The series includes 4 volumes, 1 of which is designed for grades 7-9.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Living Lightly on the Planet, an activity and resource guide, contains 29 investigations designed to develop young people's environmental awareness and ability to think about and make decisions for a healthy environment. The investigations are organized in 5 units on the following topics: (1) population growth and carrying capacity, (2) land use patterns and development, (3) the mechanics of groundwater pollution, (4) the interdependence of plants, animals, and the environment, and (5) the advantages and disadvantages of making consumer choices from an environmentalist point of view.

Among the activities in the guide, students graph the past and projected growth of the global human population. They bid for land at a simulated land auction. They create a display depicting the purposes for which average Americans use water each day and how much they use. Students also construct food chains and food webs on the basis of their observations of plants and animals. They determine how their consumer choices would be affected if a natural-resource rationing system were imposed.

Most of the information in the units is background for the teacher and suggestions for carrying out the investigations. Each unit contains resource materials for students—data sheets, readings on environmental concerns, role cards for use in simulations, and a "taking action" page with suggestions for extending concepts and applying them to local situations.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Structure and function in living systems; regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Price: $22. Publisher/supplier: Schlitz Audubon Center. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.22 Managing Crop Pests.

Module 3.3. Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) series. Developed by American Chemical Society (Washington, D.C.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1996.

Program Overview The Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technology-based Science (FACETS) program consists of 3 series of 8 modules each for grades 6-8. Each module focuses on a topic in the life, earth, or physical sciences. The time needed to complete FACETS modules varies from 2 to 4 weeks. Each module consists of a student book and a teacher's guide.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 8. In the module Managing Crop Pests, students learn how crop pests such as fungi, rodents, insects, and weeds are managed on farmlands. They explore pesticides and alternative agriculture methods for managing crop pests and examine the trade-offs—such as cost, efficiency, and environmental impact—associated with both methods. During the module, students conduct library research on the types of organisms that can have a detrimental effect on crops. They also make and use a model of groundwater to learn how substances from farm runoff can contaminate the water supply. In other activities, students test local water samples for the presence of nitrates, and they participate in a simulation that shows how pesticide-resistant strains of crop pests can develop. Students also research what is involved in a pest management strategy known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and they design an IPM plan for a farm.

Managing Crop Pests is a 3- to 4-week module divided into 6 activities, which each take between 2 and 4 class periods to complete. A narrative section at the end of the module provides background information for students on crop pests and the water cycle.

Teacher's Guide The wraparound teacher's guide includes a unit overview, a time line for completing the module, a materials list, background information, and teaching suggestions.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-7872-1474-4), $7.90. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-7872-1475-2), $14.90. Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.23 The Monitor's Handbook.

Gayla Campbell and Steve Wildberger. Chestertown, Md.: LaMotte Co., 1992.

Program Overview The Monitor's Handbook is a reference booklet containing information about testing water quality. Although not written as a curriculum unit, the guide will support an environmental unit on water quality.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. The Monitor's Handbook, a 4-chapter reference guide, was developed for people who want to learn more about local waterways and to find out about methods and tests for measuring water quality. Topics covered include the reasons for monitoring water quality, the difference between "good" and "bad" water, the concept of watersheds, where and how to sample water, guidelines for collecting water samples, water-quality factors (such as temperature, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, odor, alkalinity, hardness, nutrients, coliform bacteria, salinity) and their significance, and how to analyze and present data.

An appendix provides basic information on starting a water-quality monitoring program. It explains how to manage people, operate on a budget, and select the right type of equipment. A short but fairly technical bibliography on water-quality monitoring and data analysis is included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter; transfer of energy.

LIFE SCIENCE: Populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Price: $8.75. Publisher/supplier: LaMotte. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.24 Oil Spill!

Russell G. Wright. Event-Based Science series. Menlo Park, Calif.: Innovative Learning Publications, 1995.

Program Overview The Event-Based Science series is a program for middle school students in grades 6-9. Each module tells the story of a real event—such as the 1995 outbreak of the Ebola virus in Zaire—through reprinted newspaper articles and personal interviews; sections of background information explain relevant scientific concepts. A central task related to the module's story line leads to a final product that allows students to apply the science they have learned. For each module, a student book, teacher's guide, and videotape and/or videodisc are available.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7-8. Oil Spill! uses the Exxon Valdez oil spill as the event on which to base students' study of oceanographic concepts—including tides, currents, marine life, and ocean-floor topography. Students begin the module by watching television news coverage and reading reports from USA Today about the 1989 oil spill off the southern coast of Alaska. Then they are told that their major task during the module will be to conduct, in 5-member teams, an in-depth study and analysis of 6 city ports as potential sites for an oil terminal. Team members assume the roles of a harbormaster, a physical oceanographer, a marine biologist, an economist, and a risk planner. The module's 11 activities provide students with the background information and skills for this task.

Among the activities, for example, students use soda bottles and water to investigate how temperature differences in the ocean can cause currents. They use a tide chart as a tool for deciding when a tanker can leave a harbor. They also construct a chart of the major ocean life zones, showing typical life forms found in each. Students design a cost-effective method for using soundings to obtain a profile of a harbor, and they investigate how many gallons an oil tanker can carry and how large an oil spill it could potentially create. Students calculate the accumulation of oil as it passes through a food pyramid.

Oil Spill! also provides short narratives ("discovery files") on oceanographic topics, actual newspaper articles, explanatory graphics, and profiles of professionals who might be involved in conducting such a site analysis. Middle school students who lived near the Valdez oil spill tell their stories throughout the module. Other information that students

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

need to complete the task must be obtained from encyclopedias, textbooks, films, and other sources they can find. The unit culminates with team reports and the selection of 1 harbor on the East Coast and 1 on the West Coast for oil terminals.

Teacher's Guide The teacher's guide provides brief overview information on the module's structure and activities. It includes suggestions for guiding specific student activities, a scoring rubric for a performance assessment at the end of the unit, and an annotated bibliography.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system; earth in the solar system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Science as a human endeavor; nature of science.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-201-49090-0), $7.95. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-49091-9), with video, $18.00. Classroom package, $115.00. Publisher/supplier: Addison Wesley/Longman. Materials: Available locally.

3.25 Plastics in Our Lives.

Chemical Education for public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1992.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program—is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8. In Plastics in Our Lives, students learn some of the physical and chemical properties of plastics and examine societal issues involved in the use and recycling of plastic materials. Among the activities in the unit, for example, students identify common plastic products and list resources used to produce plastics. They examine the physical properties of 4 common plastics and the advantages and disadvantages of plastic compared with the attributes of natural materials. Students synthesize 2 polymers and compare their properties. They use paper clips to make models of polymer molecules and then describe the behavior of various plastics in terms of molecular structure. They compare the insulating value of popcorn and polystyrene foam "popcorn" and compare the absorbency of cloth diapers and disposable diapers. In other activities, students examine issues related to the disposal of plastics and consider the decision of whether to use plastic or paper bags in light of the trade-offs that accompany each choice.

The 8 activities in Plastics in Our Lives take 12 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible student sheets, directions for guiding activities and discussions, suggestions for extensions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; form and function.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-28430-8), $19.99. Module, $220.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.26 Pollution.

Delta Science Module (DSM) series. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1994.

Program Overview The Delta Science Module (DSM) series has 51 life, physical, and earth science units for grades K-8 that emphasize science concepts, science content, and process skills. The series includes 12 modules for grades 5-6 and 8 modules for grades 6-8. Each requires about 3 to 4 weeks to complete and includes a teacher's guide and materials for a class of 32 students.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 5-6. Pollution introduces students to the concept of pollution—the contamination of the environment caused by the introduction of natural or humanly produced waste or harmful substances. During the unit, students collect, classify, and infer the sources of litter found on school grounds; determine the average volume of paper waste that their class generates on a daily basis; and recycle old newspaper into papier-mâché bowls. They also make a device to measure the concentration of particles in the air at different sites, construct a simple water filtration system and examine the particles that get "filtered out" of several samples, and discover how difficult it is to remove oil from water and from feathers.

In other activities, students determine the relative hardness of water samples, test the pH of 6 different water samples, and investigate the purity of rain water. They also compare the rate of growth among plants that have been watered with tap water, acidic water, and a mixture of both, and infer the reason for the different growth rates. They listen to sounds to develop a definition of noise pollution and take a sound survey of 3 different areas at school. The 12 activities in Pollution take from 30 to 60 minutes each, and can be done by students working individually or in groups.

In addition to directions for activities, the teacher's guide provides a module overview, a schedule of activities, objectives for each activity, background information, materials management and preparation tips, sample answers to discussion questions, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities. Also included are reproducible activity sheets for student work and a performance-based assessment. A "connections" feature at the end of each activity provides suggestions for extending or applying the concepts addressed.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-87504-107-8), $27.95. Kit, $279.00. Refill Package, $75.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.27 The Pondwater Tour.

Developed by LaMotte Co. Chestertown, Md.: LaMotte Co., 1994.

Program Overview The Pondwater Tour is an activity kit for carrying out a project that focuses on the quality of surface water—for example, in ponds, streams, or marshes. The chemical and environmental effects of natural and human influences on surface water are studied.

Activity Kit Recommended grade level: 7-8. The Pondwater Tour engages students in a water-quality testing project. Students collect water samples from a surface-water body and add variables such as plants, fish, and nutrients. Then they experiment with these water samples in class, measuring pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient levels over a number of days using colorimetric testing procedures. When the tests are completed, students record their results on bar graphs and discuss the results. (The environmental changes demonstrated in the experiments are more dramatic in freshwater than in saltwater.)

In addition to its experiments, The Pondwater Tour provides introductory discussions on water chemistry and several paper-and-pencil activities that lead up to the water-quality tests. Among the activities, for example, students create a large poster showing land uses, activities, and natural features that may affect a surface-water source. Resource information on pH, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, and nitrate is provided to help students interpret the results of their experiments.

The Pondwater Tour includes instructional material for the teacher, chemical tablets for the testing procedures, 6 glass vials for the dissolved oxygen test, and several reproducible student handouts. Some of the other required materials, such as fishbowls for storing water, are not included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

LIFE SCIENCE: Populations and ecosystems.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

Prices: Complete kit, $49.00. Replacement kit, $35.70. Publisher/supplier: LaMotte. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.28 Solid Waste: IS There a Solution?

New York Science, Technology and Society Education Project (NYSTEP). Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series. Albany, N.Y.: NYSTEP, 1992.

Program Overview The Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series consists of 8 stand-alone modules. Each module contains 2 to 6 units focused on technological and/or ethical aspects of issues involving science, technology, and society. The series was designed so that teachers can select modules and units that address local needs and draw on local community resources. A module requires 3 to 8 weeks to complete, depending on the units selected. Supplies and equipment may be required that are not typically part of a school's science inventory.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8. Solid Waste: Is There a Solution? helps students develop an understanding of the issues related to solid waste and its management. The module's 19 activities address the topics of waste reduction, reuse and recycling, waste-to-energy facilities, landfills, and community involvement in solid waste management decisions. For example, students determine how much solid waste they produce on average each day; they take a field trip to a local landfill. They also design a plan for making experimental minicompost piles in bottles; recycle newspapers in the classroom, creating usable paper; and measure how much heat is released from a burning walnut. In a simulation activity, students decide whether a landfill should be constructed in their community.

Solid Waste: Is There a Solution? is designed to be completed over a 4- to 8-week period. The module is divided into 6 units, each of which has directions for its activities, a bibliography, interdisciplinary connections (to technology, social studies, language arts, mathematics, health, home and career skills, arts, and foreign languages/culture), and suggestions for extensions.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter; transfer of energy.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide: In New York State, free with attendance at workshop; outside of New York, $9. Publisher/supplier: New York Science, Technology and Society Education Project. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.29 Too Much Trash?

National Geographic Kids Network series. Developed by Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) (Cambridge, Mass.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1997.

Program Overview The National Geographic Kids Network series is a telecommunications-based program for grades 3-9 that emphasizes collaborative student research on real-world issues. The series includes 7 units for grades 3-6 and 9 units for grades 6-9. Each unit includes a kit and an 8-week telecommunications package.

Telecommunications-Based Unit Recommended grade level: 3-6. In Too Much Trash?, an 8-week telecommunications-based curriculum unit, students explore the environmental impact of trash while learning data analysis and mathematical skills. Students classify trash, investigate how their school and community manage trash, estimate the total weight of the trash discarded daily by the entire class, and explore ways to reduce the amount of the trash they generate. Then, through the National Geographic Society Kids Network—a computer network that links students around the world doing the same unit—they share data and information on trash generation and disposal with students in different parts of the world. They graph the data and look for patterns and correlations. In a final activity, students develop a presentation to share their findings with an audience outside their classroom. Activities incorporate science, geography, social studies, language arts, mathematics, and statistics.

Throughout the unit, students use computers and software (called NGS Works) to record information, write letters, make graphs, display maps, and send data to other network participants. They also consult electronically with a scientist about the data they collect.

Too Much Trash? includes a teacher's guide, reproducible readings and activity sheets, overhead transparencies, posters, wall maps, and a diskette of supplemental information to use with the NGS Works software.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Science as a human endeavor; nature of science.

Prices: Curriculum unit (ISBN 0-7922-4072-3), $149. NGS Works software, $199. (Contact NGS regarding membership fees for accessing NGS Kids Network.) Publisher/supplier: National Geographic Society. Materials: Available from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.30 Toxic Waste: A Teaching Simulation.

Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1991.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program—is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 8+. In Toxic Waste, students are presented with the problem of safe disposal of a toxic copper-plating waste for an imaginary computer chip manufacturer. In the first activity, they use copper chloride solution to electroplate an object, and in the next 6 activities they test and evaluate various methods of disposing of the used copper chloride solution, which contains a toxic heavy metal. For example, students explore the use of dilution as a strategy, by determining the volume of water needed to dilute 1 liter of a 50,000 parts per million (ppm) solution to produce a legally disposable concentration of 5 ppm. They look at the reclamation of copper using metal replacement reactions, and examine how effective different metals are at removing a toxic metal from solution. They investigate the usefulness of precipitation reactions as a method for removing and securing toxic metal ions under simulated environmental stresses. Students also examine a fixation process that converts a liquid waste containing hazardous metal ions to a solid; then they test the solid's ability to resist leaching of the metal ions by acidic water.

At the end of the module, students review the various processes for disposing of the copper chloride solution. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method in relation to the ultimate fate of the materials; they consider ease of carrying out the process, cost, and general environmental concerns. The discussion emphasizes the importance of source reduction in all waste management decisions.

The 7 activities in Toxic Waste generally take 1 or 2 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible sheets, directions for guiding activities and discussions, suggestions for extensions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-28422-7), $19.99. Module, $244.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.31 Understanding Basic Ecological Concepts.

Rev. ed. Original ed., by Audrey N. Tomera, revised by Joel Beller. Portland, Maine: Walch, 1989.

Program Overview Understanding Basic Ecological Concepts is a combined textbook and workbook that focuses on ecological concepts and the interrelationships of living things and their environments. Students examine current environmental problems such as acid rain, toxic waste, tropical deforestation, and destruction of the ozone layer.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 8+. Understanding Basic Ecological Concepts allows students to investigate such ecological concepts as populations, homeostasis, food webs, food chains, succession, and carrying capacity. Organized in 16 pencil-and-paper problems and 4 field laboratories, the workbook asks students to answer questions and complete exercises by using information supplied in the text together with their own knowledge and observations. For example, students list the living and nonliving factors that might interact with a flower shown

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

in a photograph; then they observe a plant in its natural environment every day for 2 weeks and try to identify the interactions that are taking place. They calculate the "student population density" of their classroom. Students also construct a food chain based on an illustration of a redwood forest community, and they investigate how waste is disposed of in their community.

In the laboratory investigations, students conduct a long-term study of a fruit fly population. They watch the fruit fly population increase, observing simultaneous environmental changes. Then they watch the population decline and try to determine the responsible factors. Students investigate the effect of light energy on an aquarium, the effect of automotive exhaust on roadside plants, and the effect of shade on biotic conditions. They observe 2 areas in the community for evidence of succession, and compare these 2 areas in terms of the kinds and numbers of organisms present. Students also monitor the pH of precipitation events in their local area over a period of several months.

Many simple black-and-white photographs illustrate ecological concepts in the volume, helping students make scientific inferences and answer questions. One appendix contains additional worksheets for studying selected resources and environmental problems, such as a sanitary landfill, water consumption, and sewage treatment. Another appendix provides hints and suggestions for answering selected questions and problems in the main text.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium; form and function.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system; earth's history.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Price: $9.95 (ISBN 0-8251-1622-8). Publisher/supplier: Walch. Materials: Available locally.

3.32 The Waste Hierarchy: Where Is "Away"?

Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1993.

Program Overview The Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP) series consists of 12 modules for grades 7-9. The modules focus on chemicals and the interaction of chemicals with people and the environment. The series promotes the use of scientific principles, processes, and evidence in public decision making. The components of a CEPUP module are a teacher's guide and a kit of materials. (SEPUP—the Science Education for Public Understanding Program—is the second phase of the project that began as CEPUP.)

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In The Waste Hierarchy: Where Is "Away"?, students explore the question of what ultimately happens to the wastes our society generates. Students consider routes and methods of disposal on the basis of a "waste hierarchy" developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This waste hierarchy emphasizes reducing waste at its source, followed by recycling, treatment/incineration, and use of landfills.

Among the activities, for example, students survey the amount and categories of trash they personally discard, and compare their generation of trash to national norms. Students also use a test to examine dilution as a disposal option for solutions containing toxic heavy metals. They investigate the problem of heavy-metal leachates in a simulated landfill. They contrast sanitary landfills with dumps (considering issues such as weight versus volume, contamination of underground aquifers by leachates, methane gas production, and the Not-in-My-Back-Yard syndrome). In other activities, students investigate the pluses and minuses of high-temperature incineration; recycle a plastic and examine data on the recycling of paper, scrap metals, glass and plastics to explore the strengths and limitations of recycling; and examine the advantages and disadvantages of replacing a toxic heavy-metal-based ink with less toxic or nontoxic substitutes as an example of the advantages of source reduction.

In a final, role-playing activity, students are challenged with the problem of the closure of their town's landfill in the near future. They must reconsider the household wastes they generate as a source of both benign and hazardous wastes. Throughout the module, questions are posed for student discussion and for fact-gathering and synthesis of ideas.

The 6 sequential activities in The Waste Hierarchy take 16 class periods of 40 to 50 minutes each to complete. Included in this slim, wire-bound book are reproducible student sheets, directions for guiding activities

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
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and discussions, suggestions for extensions, and an end-of-unit test.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-29499-0), $19.99. Module, $239.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch/VWR Scientific. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.33 Waste Management: Third Module in Bio-Related Technologies Unit.

4th ed. Integrated Mathematics, Science and Technology (IMaST) Project. IMaST series. Normal, Ill.: Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, Illinois State University, 1996.

Program Overview The Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Technology (IMaST) series for middle school includes 6 modules. The materials in each are designed to be used by a team of mathematics, science, and technology teachers concurrently over a 9-week period. Each module includes a teacher's guide and a student book.

Student Book Recommended grade level: 7. The Waste Management module is designed to promote students' active involvement in reducing, reusing, recycling, and rethinking solid waste. Among the activities, for example, students calculate the surface area and volume of a rectangular prism and then make comparisons of surface area to volume in the context of reducing solid waste. They also conduct a controlled experiment to investigate the variables that influence composting, and they construct and interpret graphs that relate to waste management. Students also design a device that will crush an aluminum can for storage and transportation to recycling centers.

The 23 activities in Waste Management are divided in 3 groups, according to their emphasis on mathematics, science, or technology. The activities require both individual and cooperative work. Each activity takes between 2 and 7 class periods to complete.

Teacher's Guide Accompanying the activities in the teacher's guide are brief directions, along with ideas for class discussions and extension activities. Three sections following the activities provide background reading and basic information on waste and waste management, and include discussion questions with sample answers. Guidelines for assessing student performance are provided.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; form and function.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student book, $6.00. Teacher's guide, $12.25. Publisher/supplier: Illinois State University. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.34 Waste Reduction.

Developed by E2: Environment and Education (Boulder, Colo.). Environmental Action series. Menlo Park, Calif.: Dale Seymour, 1998.

Program Overview The Environmental Action series consists of 6 stand-alone modules for middle and secondary school students. The series focuses on environmental issues and on the impact of these issues on human health and environmental quality. Each module includes a student edition and a teacher's resource guide.

Student Edition Recommended grade level: 7-8+. In Waste Reduction, students sort and analyze school garbage to identify recyclable and compostable materials. Then they develop a plan to reduce their consumption and waste at school and at home.

The 16 activities in the module are organized in 4 sections: "Explore the Issues," "Analyze," "Consider Options," and "Take Action." Examples of the activities include the following: assessing the pros and cons of using landfills, conducting a waste audit, evaluating the costs and benefits of waste practices that can be used at the audit site, and developing a proposal that includes recommendations for waste management at the audit site. About 18 to 20 class sessions are needed to complete the 16 activities in Waste Reduction.

Teacher's Guide The teacher's resource guide includes examples of possible student responses to discussion questions, annotated answers to student activity sheets, and some

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

additional resources and assessment tools. Blackline masters for student activity sheets are also included.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Student edition (ISBN 0-201-49537-6), $5.95. Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-201-49536-8), $13.95. Publisher/supplier: Dale Seymour. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.35 Water: Can We Keep It Fit for Life?

New York Science Technology and Society Education Project (NYSTEP). Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series. Albany, N.Y.: NYSTEP, 1994.

Program Overview The Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series consists of 8 stand-alone modules. Each module contains 2 to 6 units focused on technological and/or ethical aspects of issues involving science, technology, and society. The series was designed so that teachers might select modules and units that address local needs and draw on local community resources. A module requires 3 to 8 weeks to complete, depending on the units selected. Supplies and equipment may be required that are not typically part of a school's science inventory.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Water: Can We Keep It Fit for Life? focuses on water for drinking purposes as it introduces students to the properties of water, its importance as a natural resource, and the role students can play in safeguarding water resources. During the module, students carry out tests to compare the properties of water with the properties of corn oil. They also design and implement a plan to prepare a local surface-water sample for everyday human use, and they test water samples for hardness.

In other activities, students map their local water resources and learn about the concept of a watershed. They plan and carry out a field investigation of a local waterworks where water is treated to produce drinking water. They learn what happens to water after it goes down the drain. Students also build models to visualize how little of the earth's water supply exists in groundwater and surface water. They design and implement a household water-monitoring program. They plan and carry out a student-designed action project involving water use or resources in their local community.

Water: Can We Keep It Fit for Life? is designed to be completed over a 4- to 8-week period. The module is divided into 3 units, each of which has directions for its activities, a bibliography, interdisciplinary connections (to technology, social studies, language arts, mathematics, health, home and career skills, arts, and foreign languages/culture), and suggestions for extensions.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Properties and changes of properties in matter.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Personal health; populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

Prices: Teacher's guide: In New York State, free with attendance at workshop; outside of New York, $7. Publisher/supplier: New York Science, Technology and Society Education Project. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.36 What's in Our Water?

National Geographic Kids Network series. Developed by Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) (Cambridge, Mass.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1991.

Program Overview The National Geographic Kids Network series is a telecommunications-based program for grades 3-9 that emphasizes collaborative student research on real-world issues. The series includes 7 units for grades 3-6 and 9 units for grades 6-9. Each unit includes a kit and an 8-week telecommunications package.

Telecommunications-Based Unit Recommended grade level: 3-6. In What's in Our Water?, a 6-week telecommunications-based curriculum unit, students explore the questions of who uses water, where it comes from, and how pollutants get into it. They determine the source of their school's tap water, explore the definition of "pollutants," and test their tap water for nitrates and chlorines. Students set up an experiment with grass seeds and fertilizer to explore the trade-offs between the beneficial effects of a substance (nitrate) and its potentially harmful effects on water quality. Then, through the National Geographic Society Kids Network—a computer network that

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

links students around the world doing the same unit—they compare their nitrate test results with those reported by students in different parts of the world. As they do so, they look for patterns in the data and examine a map of the network data. In the final week of the unit, students focus on international implications of water pollution.

Throughout the unit, students use computers and software (called NGS Works) to record information, write letters, make graphs, display maps, and send data to other network participants. They also consult electronically with a scientist about the data they collect.

What's in Our Water? includes a teacher's guide, reproducible readings and activity sheets, overhead transparencies, color posters, wall maps, and a diskette of supplemental information to use with NGS Works software.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Structure of the earth system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Understandings about science and technology.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Populations, resources, and environments; natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Nature of science.

Prices: Curriculum unit, $149.00. NGS Works software, $199.00. Water nitrate test kit, $49.50. (Contact NGS regarding membership fee for accessing NGS Kids Network.) Publisher/supplier: National Geographic Society. Materials: Available from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.37 Wildlife and Humanity: Can We Share the Earth?

New York Science, Technology and Society Education Project (NYSTEP). Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series. Albany, N.Y.: NYSTEP, 1993.

Program Overview The Problem-Solving Activities for Middle-Level Science series consists of 8 stand-alone modules. Each module contains 2 to 6 units focused on technological and/or ethical aspects of issues involving science, technology, and society. The series was designed so that teachers might select modules and units that address local needs and draw on local community resources. A module requires 3 to 8 weeks to complete, depending on the units selected. Supplies and equipment may be required that are not typically part of a school's science inventory.

Teacher's Guide Recommended grade level: 6-8. Wildlife and Humanity is designed to increase students' interest in issues pertaining to wildlife and to encourage their participation in the resolution of local wildlife issues. The guide's 3 units each contain several classroom or outdoor activities; many of these involve reading or research. Students plan and carry out local field walks and investigations, implement a bird feeder project, and visit a zoo or environmental education center. Through readings, simulations, debates, and reports, students then focus on wildlife and human interactions. They use a simple model, for example, to illustrate resource depletion. They also explore the impact of introduced species, and they gather information on wetlands and relate the effects of habitat destruction to changes in wildlife populations and communities. Finally, students produce case studies on controversial wildlife issues of their choice, and they plan and carry out a project to enhance an outdoor habitat.

Each activity includes suggestions for extensions, evaluations, and interdisciplinary connections. Ideas for long-term studies or for repeating outdoor activities during different seasons of the year are also given. Although the module was produced for use in New York State, it can easily be adapted for use elsewhere. Limited background information is provided.

Key to Content Standards: 5-8

(see app. C)

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanations.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.

LIFE SCIENCE: Regulation and behavior; populations and ecosystems.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: Populations, resources, and environments.

Price: Teacher's guide: In New York State, free with attendance at workshop; outside New York, $7. Publisher/supplier: New York Science, Technology and Society Education Project. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Environmental Science—Science Activity Books

3.38 Activities to Teach Mathematics in the Context of Environmental Studies.

Barbara Thomson and Martin Hartog. Columbus, Ohio: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education, 1993.

Recommended grade level: 5-8. Activities to Teach Mathematics in the Context of Environmental Studies contains 35 activities that teach mathematics and problem-solving skills. The activities are designed to respond to the standards of the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics (NCTM) and to promote integrated mathematics and science learning, global awareness, and issue-oriented instruction. Topics covered include energy and natural resources, plants and animals, population growth, solid waste disposal, transportation, water, and weather.

Among the activities, for example, students thin a population of growing plants in several different ways to observe which method promotes the fastest growth of seedlings. They also form number patterns to describe cell populations at successive stages of growth. They develop an understanding of powers of numbers through a problem on population growth. Students also calculate the volume of solid waste produced in their homes in a week. They explore the relationship between geometric shapes and bridge strength by building model bridges. They identify the relationship between the cross-sectional area of a channel and the volume of water passing through the channel. They graph a month's worth of meteorological data for their local area.

Each activity includes brief background information for the teacher, step-by-step procedures, and suggestions for evaluation. Reproducible student worksheets are provided.

Price: $12. Publisher/supplier: ERIC Clearinghouse. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.39 California Smith, Water Investigator: Water Education Program.

Los Angeles, Calif.: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 1993.

Recommended grade level: 6-7. California Smith, Water Investigator is a 10-lesson unit designed to help students learn about water—where it comes from, how much we use, and how to use it wisely. Much of the material involves socioeconomic issues and information specific to California, but with adaptation it could be used in other areas.

During the unit, students identify the sources of water that supply Southern California, and they learn about the steps and processes in a water distribution system. They discuss issues such as overdraft, cost, supply and demand, and water quality, and they identify possible ways to meet future water needs. Students also complete a home water investigation and assess ways they can be wise with water. At the end of each lesson are suggestions for additional activities—for example, collecting and measuring local rainfall, testing the pH of tap water, charting how much water the school uses on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; building a solar still; testing toilets for leaks; and researching and writing reports and stories on water-related topics. Teacher demonstrations built into the lessons show how a water filtration plant works, how toxic chemicals get into groundwater, and how water can be desalinated.

Students work through the lessons using a 15-page student book. The teacher's guide includes directions for lessons and demonstrations, ideas for additional activities, background information on water in Southern California, an annotated list of educational resources available from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and a list of children's literature.

The complete unit, which is packaged in a cardboard box, includes the teacher's guide, a videotape in Spanish and English, a poster about water in California, multiple copies of the student booklet, pre- and postunit tests, and other related materials.

Prices: Kit, $25; free to teachers in Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Consumable kit, $10. Publisher/supplier: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.40 Chemicals, Health, Environment, and Me (CHEM 2: Enhanced Program).

Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) series. Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley, Calif.). Ronkonkoma, N.Y.: Lab-Aids, 1997.

Recommended grade level: 4-7. Chemicals, Health, Environment, and Me is a series of 15 units on the nature of chemicals and how they interact with the environment. Students

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

learn to collect, process, and analyze information and to use scientific evidence as a basis for lifestyle-oriented decisions. The units can be used in any order. They focus on (1) the physical and chemical properties of common substances, (2) relationships and interactions between humans and their environment, (3) sound, (4) electricity and magnetism, (5) media techniques and how they are used for different purposes, (6) food additives, (7) sugar and sugar substitutes, (8) the threshold of toxicity, (9) smoking and health, (10) qualitative tests used to identify chemicals in highway spills, (11) the identification and disposal of potentially hazardous chemicals, (12) waste disposal and reduction, (13) the carbon cycle, (14) pharmacology, and (15) water quality.

The Chemicals, Health, Environment, and Me program consists of a printed teacher's guide and a complete materials-and-equipment kit. Each of the 15 units contains 2 or more basic activities as well as ideas for curriculum integration. Each activity has a complete lesson plan and focuses on a single concept. Reproducible blackline masters of student activity sheets are included.

Prices: Teacher's guide (ISBN 1-887725-12-1), $24.99. Kit, $249.99. Publisher/supplier: Sargent-Welch. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE—SCIENCE ACTIVITY BOOKS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 5 of this guide.

Each curriculum annotation has a two-part entry number: the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter. For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2; and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core Materials, Supplementary Units, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic Information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication

  • Number of edition, if applicable

  • Authors (an individual author or authors, an institutional author, or a project or program name under which the material was developed)

  • Series title

  • Series developer, if applicable

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication

Recommended Grade Level

The grade level for each piece of material was recommended by teacher evaluators during the development of this guide. In some instances, the recommended grade level may differ slightly from the publisher's advertised level.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information appears at the end of each entry. Included are—

  • Prices (of teacher's guides, activity books, and kits or units)

  • Publisher/supplier (The name of a principal publisher/supplier, although not necessarily the sole source, for the items listed in the price category. Appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers," provides the address, phone and fax numbers, and electronic ordering information, where available, for each publisher and supplier.)

  • Materials (various sources from which one might obtain the required materials)

Readers must contact publishers/suppliers for complete and up-to-date ordering information, since prices are subject to change and materials may also change with revised editions. The prices given in this chapter are based on information from publishers and suppliers but are not meant to represent the full range of ordering options.

Indexes of Curriculum Materials

The multiple indexes on pp. 449-78 allow easy access to the information in this guide. Various aspects of the curriculum materials—including titles, topics addressed in each unit, and grade levels—are the focus of seven separate indexes. For example, titles and entry numbers are listed in the "Title Index" on pp. 450-54. The "Index of Authors, Series, and Curriculum Projects," on pp. 455-57, provides entry numbers of any annotated titles in a particular series.

3.41 Cycling Back to Nature with Biodegradable Polymers.

Robert L. Horton, Joe E. Heimlich, and James R. Hollyer. Chevy Chase, Md.: National 4-H Council, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 6-8. Cycling Back to Nature with Biodegradable Polymers is a sourcebook of activities addressing the environmental influence of natural products, manufactured products, and by-products of the earth's natural cycles. The guide's 9 chapters focus on (1) earth's 4 natural cycles; (2) interactions among producers, consumers, and decomposers within natural cycles; (3) the production of plastic; (4) the presence of plastics in the environment; (5) biodegradable polymers as an important breakthrough; (6) composting as nature's way of recycling; (7) the need to recycle traditional plastics; (8) the range of possibilities for packaging with biodegradable polymers; and (9) increasing public awareness. Activities in the unit include experimenting with the effects of yeast on food decomposition, taking inventory of the plastic items in the packaging of students' lunches, and experimenting with water-soluble biodegradable polymers. Lessons may be used independently of each other or in sequence.

Appendixes include an earth cycle bio sheet, instructions for making a compost pile, plastic labeling information, a packaging scavenger hunt, and a letter-writing tip sheet.

Price: $5. Publisher/supplier: National 4-H Supply Service. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.42 Discovering Deserts.

NatureScope series. Washington, D.C.: National Wildlife Federation, 1989.

Recommended grade level: 3-6. The interdisciplinary activities in Discovering Deserts introduce students to the ecology of arid lands. Through games, songs, stories, drawings, and drama, students explore the following topics: what a desert is, how deserts form, and the different types of deserts; the ways in which plants and animals have adapted to harsh desert conditions; plant and animal relationships in desert communities; and the ways in which people are changing desert habitats.

Discovering Deserts has 5 chapters (each on a broad theme), a craft section, and an appendix. Teachers may choose from the 23 activities or teach each chapter as a unit. Copycat pages supplement the activities and provide games, puzzles, and worksheets.

Price: $3.98 (ISBN 0-945051-34-4). Publisher/supplier: National Wildlife Federation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.43 Endangered Species: Wild and Rare.

NatureScope series. Washington, D.C.: National Wildlife Federation, 1989.

Recommended grade level: K-7. Endangered Species: Wild and Rare includes background information and activities that focus on the process of extinction and the role of humans in the destruction or conservation of plants and animals and their habitats. Students participate in classroom and playground activities that integrate science with social studies, mathematics, language arts, drama, music, and art as they learn about habitat destruction, wildlife trade, pollution, and other factors that put species in danger. The chapters in this module usually begin with primary activities and end with intermediate or advanced activities.

Endangered Species: Wild and Rare contains 17 lessons organized in 4 chapters; a fifth chapter provides art and craft ideas. Teachers may choose single activities or teach each chapter as a unit. Copycat pages supplement the activities and include ready-to-copy games, puzzles, and worksheets.

Price: $12.95 (ISBN 0-07-046508-8). Publisher/supplier: McGraw-Hill. Materials: Available locally.

3.44 Environmental Issues: Intermediate.

Pauline Chandler. Hands-on Minds-on Science series. Huntington Beach, Calif.: Teacher Created Materials, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Environmental Issues: Intermediate is a teacher's guide with directions for 17 lessons and/or activities that help students explore topics such as environmental awareness, solid waste management, air and water pollution, land use, and the effects that people's everyday actions can have on the environment. Among the activities, for example, students conduct a survey (and tally the results) of people's opinions about the most critical environmental issues facing their community. Students also write letters to preservationist and conservationist agencies to request information. In other activities, they examine how they can reduce the amount of trash they produce in a week, compare the effectiveness of toxic and nontoxic household products, test products that are advertised to be pH-balanced, and make model greenhouses out of soda bottles to learn about the greenhouse effect.

Most of the activities in this guide involve cooperative learning. Many of them engage students in role-playing or in looking at issues from various perspectives. Students record their observations, thoughts, and experiences in an environmental-issues journal. The guide includes limited background information for the teacher, reproducible student record sheets, and a bibliography.

Price: $11.95 (ISBN 1-55734-638-0). Publisher/supplier: Teacher Created Materials. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.45 Environmental Resource Guide: Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention.

Developed by Tennessee Valley Authority Environmental Education Section, for Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA). Pittsburgh, Pa.: A&WMA, 1992.

Recommended grade level: 6-8. This Environmental Resource Guide in 3-ring-binder format offers 15 activities designed to educate students about nonpoint-source water pollution—what it is, where it comes from, and what can be done about it. The activities focus on the 4 major types of water pollutants (sediment, nutrients, bacteria, and toxics) and the best management practices for controlling them. Among the activities, for example, students define water pollution and describe its major sources (urban, agricultural, mining, and forestry activities). They collect samples of surface-water runoff and

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

test them for coliform bacteria. They also observe the effects of fertilizer on algal growth by experimenting with different water sources. In other activities, students construct 2 models of septic tanks with drainfields, simulate and compare different timber-harvesting practices, interview farmers and gardeners to gather data on pesticides used locally, and build models of different landfill liners to see how they work.

Each activity in the Environmental Resource Guide contains basic background information, procedures, extensions, and a short list of resources that offer more information. Some activities require the purchase of testing kits and equipment. The guide includes 10 fact sheets on various concepts and issues related to the activities—for example, the connection between land use and water quality, approaches to stopping or preventing water pollution, and steps individuals can take to reduce water pollution.

Prices: $30.50 ($20.50 for A&WMA members). Publisher/supplier: Air & Waste Management Association. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.46 The Environment: The Science and Politics of Protecting Our Planet.

Decisions, Decisions Series. Watertown, Mass.: Tom Snyder Productions, 1991.

Recommended grade level: 6-8. The Environment is a computer-based simulation that plunges students into the middle of a local environmental crisis. As they deal with the crisis, they learn about waste disposal problems, source reduction and recycling, land use conflicts, endangered species, the role of government in achieving environmental quality, and the greenhouse effect. Acting as the town mayor in the simulation, students must close a local pond because of a fish kill. Some in the community think the source of the pond's pollution is the town dump, where the town's biggest employer—a mining company—dumps its manufacturing waste. With support from 4 advisers—a scientist, a campaign manager, an environmentalist, and an economist—students must evaluate often-conflicting data, facts, and opinions to decide as a group what to do. They also do independent research and reading.

When students decide what action to take, the computer program presents the consequences of the action, which demand further action. Several ideas are given for science experiments that students can perform while they work on the simulation. For example, they can survey all of the species on a plot of land, test the effects of ashes on protists, or construct a model to study leaching.

The program, which requires only one computer, has a mode for small groups and a mode in which the teacher can lead the entire class as a group. The program can take from 2 days to 2 weeks, depending on how it is used.

The teacher's guide that accompanies the simulation provides information on ways to use the program, introductory lessons for use before the simulation, an overview of environmental issues, and reproducible student worksheets. The complete package includes the program disk, the teacher's guide, and sets of student reference booklets.

Price: Classroom kit, $149.95. Publisher/supplier: Tom Snyder Productions. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.47 Experiments That Explore Recycling.

Martin J. Gutnik. An Investigate! Book. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 1992.

Recommended grade level: 6-8. Experiments That Explore Recycling, a small book written for students, contains directions for 10 simple ecology projects for students to do independently or with minimal guidance. Topics explored include the oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen cycles; soil components; recycling of manufactured products; composting; and water pollution. Among the activities, for example, students analyze the trash thrown away each day at their school, collect a soil sample and study the organisms in it, set up an earthworm farm, make a model of a landfill and see which items decompose in it, and build a compost pile.

The procedures for the activities are presented in narrative form for the most part and are interspersed with sections of background information. No materials are provided for the teacher.

Price: $15.40 (ISBN 1-56294-116-X). Publisher/supplier: Millbrook Press. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.48 Give Water a Hand: Leader Guidebook and Action Guides.

Youth Action Program Promoting Good Water Management Practices at Home and in the Community (Madison, Wis.). Chevy Chase, Md.: National 4-H Council, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 7-8. In the 4-H program called Give Water a Hand, students research water-quality and conservation issues at home, on their farm, or in their school or community,

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

and then develop a water-related environmental service project to address the needs they discover. While not attempting to cover all water-related issues, the program helps students investigate selected issues, resources, and answers for themselves.

As they begin the activities, students draw a map of the watershed which includes the project site, such as the schoolyard, that they have chosen to research. They investigate and record water management practices at that site—for example, when and how water is used. Students meet with a local water expert to share their research and learn more about water issues. On the basis of what they have learned, they plan a positive service project, such as landscaping the schoolyard, starting and maintaining a compost pile, or improving soil quality to reduce runoff. Although some project ideas are suggested, students work through a chart and their own discoveries in selecting a workable idea. Then they carry out and document their service project.

Give Water a Hand includes 5 booklets: a leader's guide and 4 student "action" guides, for projects in the community, on a farm, at a school, or at a home. The leader's guide contains guidelines for leading student activities, team-building activities, and tips on reinforcing students' organizational and problem-solving skills.

Price: Free. Publisher/supplier: University of Wisconsin-Extension Web site, at http://www.uwex.edu/erc. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.49 Global Awareness for Students (GAS): Studies in Climate.

Elisa Passarelli, Tom Arrison, Louise Belnay, and others. Developed in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Research Laboratories, Forecast Systems Laboratory (Boulder, Colo.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Global Awareness for Students (GAS): Studies in Climate is a teacher's guide offering 20 activities—including exercises, labs, and demonstrations—that focus on atmospheric and greenhouse gases and how they may or may not affect earth's climate. Among the activities, students make a model to understand the heating of the earth's atmosphere. They observe air bubbles trapped in ice cubes and compare them to air trapped in a glacier. They test for the presence of carbon dioxide in gas samples by using an indicator, bromthymol blue. Students also design climate models using computer spreadsheets. They examine the social causes of an increase in greenhouse gases by gathering and organizing statistics on population growth, economic development, or natural resources. Other topics addressed in the activities include radiant energy, methane, ozone, and the wide range of impacts that may result from global warming.

The activities in Global Awareness for Students were originally developed as part of a summer science institute sponsored by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Limited background information is provided for some, but not all, of the activities. Some of the activities contain short reading sections for students; many require data analysis and graphing. Each activity includes procedures, sample student record sheets, extensions, and references.

Price: Free. Publisher/supplier: Forecast Systems Laboratory. Materials: Available locally.

3.50 Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast: Teacher's Resource Manual.

Carl M. Raab and Jane E. S. Sokolow. New York, N.Y.: American Museum of Natural History, Education Department, 1992.

Recommended grade level: 5-8+. The teacher's resource manual Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast was designed to serve as an introduction to an exhibition on the causes and effects of global warming shown in the early 1990s at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The exhibition was jointly sponsored by the museum and by the Environmental Defense Fund. This guide offers about 20 activities and much useful information, including a 12-page background section for the teacher, on global warming. It includes simple classroom activities for students in elementary through high school, a demonstration experiment on the greenhouse effect, and a resource list.

Activities for middle school students, for example, include setting up minigreenhouses in mayonnaise jars and comparing the temperature inside and outside the greenhouses over time; reading and interpreting a graph to understand trends in the earth's climate; and demonstrating how solar energy can be used to heat water and spin the blades of a radiometer. Many of the activities intended for high school students—such as reading and interpreting data about greenhouse gases—could also

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×

be done at the middle school level. Each activity includes a 1- or 2- paragraph introduction, procedures, and conclusions.

Price: $5. Publisher/supplier: American Museum of Natural History. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.51 Hands on Plastics: A Scientific Investigation Kit.

Washington, D.C.: American Plastics Council; and Columbus, Ohio: National Middle Level Science Teachers Association, 1995.

Recommended grade level: 7-8. The kit Hands on Plastics contains a series of activities that allow students to explore the world of plastics. The activities are designed to meet 5 of the 12 science literacy goals of Project 2061, developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and to incorporate the learning cycle, cooperative learning, and alternative assessments. Among the activities, for example, students use physical properties to classify containers that have had their plastic codes removed. They perform 4 lab tests (an acetone test, a heat test, an alcohol test, and an oil test) on different plastics, and they compare their lab test results with their initial classification of the plastic materials. Students also conduct an in-depth study of a plastic product, such as kitchen plastic bags, used at home or at school. They view slides to learn about the process for recycling HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and they learn how to set up a school recycling program.

Hands on Plastics takes 8 to 10 class periods to complete if all the activities are used. The kit contains background information for students and teachers on plastics and polymers, activity sheets, recycled plastic resins and labeled plastic items for activities, and a list of state recycling offices.

Price: Kit, $10. Publisher/supplier: American Plastics Council. Materials: Available locally, or in kit.

3.52 H2O Below: An Activity Guide for Groundwater Study.

Bill Henske, Cindy Bidlack, Cathy Fickert, and others. Developed by the Illinois Middle School Groundwater Project. Edwardsville, Ill.: Southern Illinois University, 1997.

Recommended grade level: 6-8. H2O Below contains student activities, teacher demonstrations, and information about groundwater. Topics covered in the guide include water and its importance; the movement of water through the ground; ways in which water becomes polluted; protecting, conserving, and testing groundwater; and recognizing and acting on local groundwater issues. Among the activities, students record how much water they use in a day, observe a model of the water cycle, build a solar still, observe how dissolved surface materials percolate into the ground, and observe water movement through different soils. They also investigate how long it takes for waste materials to decompose, and they construct and use a water filter, construct a model oil spill and test the effectiveness of different cleanup methods, and conduct tests to examine groundwater quality. Students develop a survey or questionnaire to study a local issue. The guide also provides information and suggestions for taking action on groundwater issues.

H2O Below, developed for middle school students in Illinois, refers to groundwater resources in that state, but many of its activities can be adapted for other locations. Each activity includes background information, a materials list, step-by-step procedures, discussion questions, extensions, suggestions for evaluation, and reproducible student sheets. Appendixes include a glossary, a list of resources on groundwater, a preunit test, and a special case study and activities on karst topography.

Price: Teacher's guide, $12. Groundwater flow model, $145. Kit, $100. Publisher/supplier: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.53 Investigating Your Environment: The MINI Edition.

U.S. Forest Service. Ogden, Utah: U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 4-8. Investigating Your Environment: The MINI Edition, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to environmental science activities, contains the 11 most popular chapters from the original 21-chapter version of the volume. The first chapter, on developing an environmental investigation, offers teachers suggestions about developing instructional objectives, question sequences, and lesson plans, among other topics. The remaining chapters focus on forests, interpreting the environment, investigating an environmental issue, land use simulation, natural resources in an urban environment, plant relationships, schoolyard activities, soil, water, and wildlife.

Each chapter includes an introduction, a sketch of its activities, suggestions for combining the activities, a section on curriculum relationships, and fully developed lesson plans, including reproducible planning and data sheets.

Price: Free. Publisher/supplier: USDA Forest Service Web site, at http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/nrce/iye/contents.htm. Materials: Available locally.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.54 Minds-on Science: For Profit, for Planet.

Developed by National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.). Watertown, Mass.: Tom Snyder Productions, 1995.

Recommended grade level: 7-8. Through the videodisc activity kit Minds-on Science: For Profit, for Planet, students take on the role of president of a leading clothing designer and manufacturer. The company needs a breakthrough to keep its leading position in the industry, and the students must decide how to invest the company's resources. To sort out their options and make their decision, students review conflicting data and opinions from 4 advisers—a technologist, a chemist, an environmentalist, and a marketing director. Through video segments and short scientific readings in the student portfolios, students also become familiar with polymers, the use of biotechnology in industry, the environmental aspects of manufacturing, and contributions that science has made to fashion. Short paper-and-pencil activities help students assess how the number of pairs of sneakers they own might affect the environment, design an advertisement for a plastic product, and make their own fashion invention. In 16 extension activities, students examine the role of polymers in sports equipment, compare the biodegradability of various materials, and monitor their behavior as consumers.

Students work cooperatively in teams of 4 as they gather information and do the activities in the kit. At the end of the unit, however, they must reach a consensus and make a decision as a class on what to do with the company. They watch the consequences of their decision on the video, then face a new dilemma and must make a second decision. Including the extension activities, the kit takes approximately 4 to 5 weeks to complete. The complete kit includes the videodisc, student portfolios, and a teacher's guide.

Prices: Videodisc kit, $249.95. Optional software for Macintosh or Windows, $49.95. Publisher/supplier: Tom Snyder Productions. Materials: Available in kit.

3.55 Our Wonderful World: Solutions for Math + Science.

Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science (AIMS) series. Fresno, Calif.: AIMS Education Foundation, 1986.

Recommended grade level: 5-8. The 19 activities in Our Wonderful World: Solutions for Math + Science focus on understanding the natural environment. Investigations are organized in 6 topic areas—air, water, transpiration, soil, plants, and animals/insects. Students are involved in activities such as analyzing the volume of snow, comparing habitats, classifying soils and categorizing leaves by their characteristics, exploring natural selection and camouflage, and testing clothes as insulators. Many of the activities are more appropriately done outdoors.

Our Wonderful World provides reproducible student worksheets, including data charts, tables, and graphs. A complete lesson plan is included for each of the 19 activities.

Price: Teacher's guide (ISBN 1-881431-08-8), $16.95. Publisher/supplier: AIMS Education Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.56 Outlook: The Earth.

David V. McCalley. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1994.

Recommended grade level: K-8+. Outlook: The Earth contains 140 ideas for interdisciplinary environmental education activities for students in grades K-12. Ideas are grouped by grade level—K-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12—with more than 30 ideas for grades 6-8.

Each activity is a completely self-contained lesson plan. Activities are organized in 11 topical categories: air, community responsibility, heritage, human habitat, land use, mineral resources, natural habitat, population dynamics, production and distribution, soil, and water. Using this guide, teachers could develop activities that would, for example, allow students to contrast past and present air pollutants in their city, create a land use priority list and devise a way to save a wetland area, or investigate bird habitat management.

For each activity, information is included on student learning outcomes, the type of site appropriate for the activity, and the amount of time and the materials needed. The teaching of the activity is then suggested as a 3-phase learning cycle of exploration, concept development, and application. Questions or basic guidelines are given for developing these learning cycles. In addition, follow-up suggestions and resource materials are listed for each activity.

Price: $44.90 (ISBN 0-8403-9280-X). Publisher/supplier: Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.57 Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Activity Guide: Pre K-8.

Project Learning Tree. Washington, D.C.: American Forest Foundation, 1996.

Recommended grade level: K-8. The Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Activity Guide: Pre K-8 provides activities for investigating environmental issues and encourages students to make informed, responsible decisions. The guide has 5 major themes: (1) diversity, (2) interrelationships, (3) systems, (4) structure and scale, and (5) patterns of change. Each theme has activities in the following areas: environment, resource management and technology, and society and culture. The activities integrate the themes within science, language arts, social studies, art, music, and physical education.

Among the activities, for example, students describe how different species of plants and animals are adapted to a particular set of environmental conditions; they examine rotting logs to learn about decomposition, as well as microhabitats and communities; they role-play managers of a tree farm; they learn how land-use decisions and legislation affect wetlands; and they examine the pros and cons of various packaging strategies.

The Activity Guide provides a complete lesson plan for each of its nearly 100 activities. The guide also features a glossary and appendixes, including teaching suggestions for controversial issues, multicultural education, working with exceptional students, and teaching outdoors.

Price: Free to teachers who attend a workshop in their own state. Publisher/supplier: American Forest Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.58 STV: Biodiversity.

Interactive Videodiscs. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 6-8+. STV: Biodiversity is an interactive videodisc program that helps students learn about the destruction and preservation of endangered species and land areas. The disc includes 25 minutes of video featuring a National Geographic film, The Diversity of Life, and more than 100 still photographs. Viewers travel from coral reefs to forests to see where human action is destroying habitats, and they see how zoos and botanical gardens are trying to protect plants and animals in artificial environments.

The HyperCard diskette that accompanies the program provides supporting text drawn from National Geographic publications, a glossary, and a feature that allows users to create customized visual presentations. Students can use the software, for example, to arrange video segments and photographs from the videodisc and type in their own narration.

The teacher's guide—Biodiversity—includes information on key concepts, preview questions that introduce concepts in the video, and bar codes to allow access to the videodisc with a bar-code reader. The teacher's guide also provides directions for several activities—such as researching the origins of medicine in nature, graphing the population of a nearby city over the past 150 years, or gathering information about environmental organizations for an environmental fair. The videodisc includes a Spanish-language track, and the teacher's guide includes the video script in both English and Spanish.

Prices: Level I kit (includes videodisc), $225. Level III kit (includes videodisc and HyperCard diskette), $325. Publisher/supplier: National Geographic Society. Materials: Available in kit.

3.59 STV: Water.

Interactive Videodiscs. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1994.

Recommended grade level: 6-8+. STV: Water is an interactive videodisc program that helps students learn about where freshwater comes from, how it is used, and what must be done to conserve it. The disc includes 28 minutes of video featuring a National Geographic film, Freshwater: Resource at Risk, and more than 100 still photographs. Viewers travel to the Great Lakes, the Ogallala aquifer, the Colorado River watershed, and south Florida to learn about challenges to water supplies.

The HyperCard diskette that accompanies the program provides supporting text drawn from National Geographic publications, a glossary, and a feature that allows users to create customized visual presentations from the materials. Students can use the software, for example, to arrange video segments and photographs from the videodisc and type in their own narration.

The teacher's guide—Water—includes information on key concepts, preview questions that introduce concepts in the video, and bar codes to allow access to the videodisc with a bar-code reader. The teacher's guide also provides directions for several short activities—such as building a model of a wetland or an aquifer, investigating the source of their tap water, or using maps to locate dams on the Colorado River watershed. The videodisc includes a Spanish-language track, and the teacher's guide includes the video script in both English and Spanish.

Prices: Level I kit (including videodisc), $225. Level III kit (including videodisc and HyperCard diskette), $325. Publisher/supplier: National Geographic Society. Materials: Available in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
×
3.60 The Tapwater Tour.

LaMotte Co. Chestertown, Md.: LaMotte Co., 1989.

Recommended grade level: 4-8. Students perform a water analysis in The Tapwater Tour, which is a test kit and "minicurriculum" for exploring drinking water. The unit is designed to be teacher-directed, but it has hands-on activities throughout. Students determine the pH of various solutions; they test water samples for the presence of chlorine, iron, and copper; and they use a soap solution to determine the "hardness" of water samples. They also summarize results in a water-quality report. Chemical test tablets and plastic bags required for the activities accompany the teacher's guide.

Prices: Complete kit, $44.50. Replacement kit, $35.00. Publisher/supplier: LaMotte. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.61 Trash and Garbage: What Happens to Trash and Garbage? An Introduction to the Carbon Cycle.

Lynn Margulis and colleagues. Rochester, N.Y.: Ward's Natural Science Establishment, 1992.

Recommended grade level: 7-8+. Trash and Garbage: What Happens to Trash and Garbage? An Introduction to the Carbon Cycle is a kit designed to introduce students to the idea of the cycling of elements in nature. Working in small groups, students learn how refuse, if handled properly, breaks down and is recycled back to a usable form. In the first of 9 activities, they discuss the definitions of trash and garbage and what happens to trash and garbage. In the second activity, they match a series of black-and-white photographs with a series of captions to show what happens to trash and garbage in a real community. During the third activity, students watch a demonstration of fermentation. For the fourth activity, they use a potted plant as a starting point for a discussion of photosynthesis and the carbon cycle. They set up "mold microgardens" in jars to observe how small items of trash and garbage break down over time. Students also watch an 18-minute videotape—Common Fungi—that allows them to see life histories of common molds, and at the end of the unit they investigate what happens to trash and garbage in their own communities.

Observation of the mold microgarden takes a few minutes a day for 2 to 6 weeks; the other activities take a total of 7 to 9 class periods. Included in the kit are a teacher's guide, photographs and captions for the photo-sorting activity, the videotape, and a poster illustrating the carbon cycle. Other inexpensive materials need to be collected or purchased to complete the unit.

Price: Kit, $149. Publisher/supplier: Ward's. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.62 Wading into Wetlands.

NatureScope series. Washington, D.C.: National Wildlife Federation, 1989.

Recommended grade level: K-7. Wading into Wetlands includes background information and activities for an interdisciplinary introduction to the ecology of wetlands, including salt marshes and mangrove swamps, and freshwater swamps, marshes, and bogs. Students participate in classroom and field experiences, observing flora and fauna. They engage in experiments, games, writing, art, and mathematical activities that demonstrate the unique characteristics of wetlands and their importance to wildlife and humans. Chapters usually begin with primary activities and end with intermediate or advanced activities.

Wading into Wetlands contains 20 lessons organized in 4 chapters; a fifth chapter provides art and craft ideas. Teachers may choose single activities or teach each chapter as a unit. Copycat pages supplement the activities and include ready-to-copy games, puzzles, and worksheets.

Price: $12.95 (ISBN 0-07-046507-X). Publisher/supplier: McGraw-Hill Order Services. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.63 Water Wisdom: A Curriculum for Grades Four Through Eight.

Carolie Sly, Leslie Comnes, and Sandra Brislain. Hayward, Calif.: Alameda County Office of Education, 1990.

Recommended grade level: 4-8. Water Wisdom contains 20 activities through which students explore the subject of water—its importance to biological systems, its use and distribution, and its symbolic role in myth and folklore. The activities are presented in 3 instructional units: a science unit, a social science unit, and a literature unit. In the science unit, for example, students predict how much water they use in a day, keeping a log of their actual water use; they also observe algae and learn how changes in water temperature and nutrient composition can affect algae and other organisms; and they learn about the adaptive characteristics of desert plants. In the social science unit, students conduct a survey to find out peoples' attitudes about water, and they evaluate

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
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whether animals or people have more right to water. In the literature unit, students read 2 creation myths and discuss the role that water plays in them. Although the lessons within each unit build on each other sequentially, they can also be recombined within other themes outlines in the unit.

Water Wisdom was designed to supplement the California State Environmental Education Guide, and some activities focus on California water issues. Each activity includes background information, procedures, discussion questions, extension ideas, home learning suggestions, and reproducible student pages.

Price: $15.70 (ISBN 0-88067-002-9). Publisher/supplier: Alameda County Office of Education. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
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Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
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Suggested Citation:"3. Environmental Science." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1998. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5774.
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With age-appropriate, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and sound teaching practices, middle school science can capture the interest and energy of adolescent students and expand their understanding of the world around them.

Resources for Teaching Middle School Science, developed by the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), is a valuable tool for identifying and selecting effective science curriculum materials that will engage students in grades 6 through 8. The volume describes more than 400 curriculum titles that are aligned with the National Science Education Standards.

This completely new guide follows on the success of Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science, the first in the NSRC series of annotated guides to hands-on, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and other resources for science teachers.

The curriculum materials in the new guide are grouped in five chapters by scientific area—Physical Science, Life Science, Environmental Science, Earth and Space Science, and Multidisciplinary and Applied Science. They are also grouped by type—core materials, supplementary units, and science activity books.

Each annotation of curriculum material includes a recommended grade level, a description of the activities involved and of what students can be expected to learn, a list of accompanying materials, a reading level, and ordering information.

The curriculum materials included in this book were selected by panels of teachers and scientists using evaluation criteria developed for the guide. The criteria reflect and incorporate goals and principles of the National Science Education Standards. The annotations designate the specific content standards on which these curriculum pieces focus.

In addition to the curriculum chapters, the guide contains six chapters of diverse resources that are directly relevant to middle school science. Among these is a chapter on educational software and multimedia programs, chapters on books about science and teaching, directories and guides to science trade books, and periodicals for teachers and students.

Another section features institutional resources. One chapter lists about 600 science centers, museums, and zoos where teachers can take middle school students for interactive science experiences. Another chapter describes nearly 140 professional associations and U.S. government agencies that offer resources and assistance.

Authoritative, extensive, and thoroughly indexed—and the only guide of its kind—Resources for Teaching Middle School Science will be the most used book on the shelf for science teachers, school administrators, teacher trainers, science curriculum specialists, advocates of hands-on science teaching, and concerned parents.

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