LITERATURE-BASED UNIT

 

 

TITLE: OUR PLANET EARTH

AGE LEVEL: 6th grade

TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Groundwater is the water that fills the spaces between rocks and soil underground. The biggest source of groundwater is precipitation that has trickled down through the soil (rain or melting snow) and this "trickle-down process" takes time and may require hundreds of years to replenish itself.

Conservation techniques

Pollution is any contamination of air, water, or land that affects the outdoor or indoor environment in an unwanted way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

In this unit, I will be teaching the students about how to appreciate the Earth and ways that they can help their own future lives by doing a variety of Earth activities. This unit will be described in a way that should be used in one day. It would be a great way to celebrate Earth Day.

I. MAJOR CONCEPT: SAVING THE EARTH

 

  1. OBJECTIVES

    The students will be able to:

 

  1. MATERIALS

 

  1. REFERENCES
    1. FOR THE TEACHER

      Project Wild K-12 Activity Guide (1992)which is an interdisciplinary, supplementary conservation and environmental education program emphasizing wildlife. This is a great book for teachers any level. Project Wild is a great way to learn about the Earth as a home for people and wildlife, too.

      Aquatic Project Wild (1987) is a part of "Project Wild" and helps the students to explore and understand the fascinating worlds of water and the aquatic habitats they support. Project Wild is a great way to learn about the Earth as a home for people and wildlife, too.

      Rescue Mission: Planet Earth Children's Activity Booklet is a wonderful booklet for getting ideas for activities that deal with air, water, and land pollution and ways for children to get hands-on experience in a fun way. This is also produced in cooperation with Project Learning Tree so by pulling the two books together you can have some great activities.

      Heath Mathematics Connections (1992) Teacher's Edition, grade 6 is a textbook based guide for the teachers. This has great ideas and worksheets on math lessons.

 

Rescue Mission: Planet Earth (1994) is an international book which tries to help children to understand and appreciate the fragile world in which we live and stresses for them to dedicate themselves to do everything possible to protect and enhance this Earth, our only home. This book is a great one for poems about the Earth and they are written by people all around the world.

Our World (1995) is a book that the children can browse through for insight of different aspects of the world. It is a good idea to have many of these books for the students to read in their spare time not just on Earth Day but also on any other day.

Quest: Invitations to Literacy (1996) grade 6 is a reading textbook that has a whole section on water called "Ocean Quest." The whole chapter has some great readings about water.

Science Horizons Activity Masters (1993) grade 6 is a supplement book to Science Horizons textbook. This book contains discover activities, problem solving activities, and exploring activities.

 

  • CONTENT RELATED WORDS
  • PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENT

     

    In this activity, the students will estimate how much water they each use every day. To get the actual answers, use equations to get the students involve in the problem solving. The teacher will guide the class through the "WATER USE CHART" information sheet. (Rescue Mission: Planet Earth Children's Activity Booklet, pages 4-5)

    The teacher would then have the students keep a journal in any way they wanted (for example: a notebook, piece of paper, paper bag, etc) to record the activity and how much water they used in that activity.

    In groups, the students will do the measurement activity. Provide the students with a large bowl of water and assorted measuring containers. Allow the students to explore the materials by pouring from one container to another. After exploring, guide the students through the estimation worksheets. To do this, have the students work together to come up with the answers after they have estimated. Talk about the definitions of capacity and measurement. (Heath Mathematics Connections pages 267-268)

    Towards the end of the day, the students solve the "A Day in the Life" problem solving sheets. This shows them exactly how much water one person uses in a single day. (see attached problem solving sheet)

    B. ART

    To get the students to be creative but yet also know their facts about saving the Earth, have the students make their own brochures. Also tell them that there will be a contest and make the prize something that a 6th grader would enjoy (for example: a pizza delivered to school, an extra preferred activity, etc). This should be done in the morning so the brochures can be displayed throughout the day and votes can be taken at the end of the day.

    (See enclosed brochures)

    After explaining the cycle of water, have the students make murals with butcher paper of the cycle with poster paints, vivid pastels or chalks, etc. These cycles will be displayed and the murals should include these words: condensation, precipitation, run off, evapotranspiration, evaporation, rivers, lakes, groundwater, ice caps and glaciers. (Aquatic Project Wild pages 174-179)

     

    C. READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS

    In assigned groups, the students will begin brain storming all the different ways that people need to help in saving the Earth. They will make a web, tree, or chart to show the different aspects of the Earth and what people can do. This should be done in the first part of the day and also at the end of the day the students can get these out again and add to them the things that they have learned throughout the day.

    Have the students read "After the Spill" which is a reading section from the book Oil Spills: Damage, Recovery, and Prevention. This reading talks about how precious petroleum was formed and how our society depends on it. It also talks about the oil spills that have happened since the 1970's. This is a great way to get the students to realize what oil spills are and how they happen. (Quest: Invitations to Literacy pages 586-591)

     

    D. MUSIC

    The teacher will play the CD with sounds of waves, animals, or other natural Earth sounds. This will give the students a chance to listen to music which is usually a priveledge. First have the students just listen to the music and then hand out the art materials and have the students draw or paint to describe what they are thinking in their heads when they hear this music. Make sure to play some music that sounds like waves.

    The next way to get the students involved musically is to have them read Earth poems in the books about caring for the earth. After the students have had the opportunity to read poems, have them make up their own poems about the Earth and put their poems into a song or a rap. This should be done in groups because most children do not want to sing or rap alone but will be better off in a group performing. At the end of this activity have the class sing, "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands" and then talk about what that song is saying. (See attached lesson plan, "Music in Motion")

     

      E. PHYSICAL EDUCATION

    To get the students moving around, take them out to the playground or on the lawn. Incorporate the number of gallons of water into some jumping jacks or short races. Use the numbers to make equations and the answers to the equations are the number of jumping jacks to do. After this activity, the teacher could have the children pick a spot on the playground or lawn to write about their feelings about the Earth and it's future. This will give the teacher a good idea of how the kids feel about certain issues and would know what subjects/topics to talk about in future class time. This would be a great opportunity to use recycled paper.

    Another way to get the students moving is to have them be "Pollution Detectives." Talk to the children about what pollution is. Tell them they are going to try to find pollution and pollutants themselves. Take the students on a walk in the neighborhood. Tell them to call out, pick up, and write down the pollution they see, hear, or smell. After returning to the classroom, have the students talk about what they observed. This is the best opportunity to talk about reducing, recycling, and re-using. Also talk about the "Blue Bag It" program. (See attached "Pollution Detectives" sheet)

     

    F. SCIENCE

      An experiment that the teacher would have to students do is "Should dilution be used to solve the problem of water pollution?" This experiment explains how some people think that dumping small amounts of poisonous substances into the oceans does not cause pollution and that that substance will be harmless when mixed with a large amount of water. This experiment has the students use six cups and a dropper to see the effects of dilution. (Science Horizons Activity Masters, pages 33-34)

    Another experiment/project that the teacher would use during a time when the students could have a healthy snack would be the APPLE SLICING PROJECT. This helps the students understand just how much water we can actually use-which is about 1% of the entire amount of the Earth's water. Then they can eat their apples when the project is finished. (Dr. Taggart's activity)

     

    1. Field trip to the water plant, water department at the City Hall, or the Kansas State Extension Office
    2. White elephant sale-have the students bring in items from home that they would be willing to trade with other students. This will enable them to benefit from the idea of reusing items and or recycling unwanted materials.
    3. Keep a journal of how they recycle, reduce, and re-use for one week
    4. Keep a journal of how much trash their house throws away in one week
    5. Start a recycling area in the classroom for cans, papers, plastic, and other items. Use that money for a pop party or some other way to reward the students for being "Earth Wise."

     

    1. EVALUATION
      • By observing, listening, and grading papers, I will be able to evaluate the students by asking these questions:
      • Can the student tell me the difference between the different kinds of pollution?
      • On the worksheets, can the student come close to the answer by estimating?
      • Does the student have an idea of how much water he/she uses in one day?
      • Has the student shown an understanding of knowing ways to conserve?
      • Did the student use their creativity to develop their own brochure and use correct information?
      • What effort did that student put into the mural of the water cycle?
      • Did that student help make up a rap or song to present to the class?
      • What is that student concerned about regarding the Earth's future?
      • Do you think that dilution is a solution to water pollution?

    Water use and journal A Day in the Life

    Pollution Detectives

    Playground Measurement Activity

     

     

    SAVING OUR PLANET

     

    Music Reading and Language Arts

    CD listening brainstorming and describing oil spill reading "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands"

     

    Science Art

    Apple Slicing Project Brochures

    Experiment about oil spills

    Water cycle murals


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     "published 10/06/99"
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