Date: May 7, 2003

Grade Level: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Subject(s):

• Science/Environmental Education
• Language Arts/Literature/Children's Literature
• Language Arts/Writing

Duration: 8 or more class periods depending on the abilities of the students and the availability of computers and research materials

Description: Our earth is fragile and becoming more polluted each day. How will we protect it for future generations? It is interesting to note that our recognition of Earth Day started with the efforts of one man, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin! While we may not make such a recognizable contribution, each of us can make a difference in protecting our environment. We need a clean environment, free of pollutants in the air, water, and land. This lesson will give students the opportunity to research ways to "reduce, reuse, and recycle" by creating a book, "Everybody Needs a Clean Environment" based on the pattern in the book, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor.

Goals:
NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts :

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language to communicate with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions, media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

National Science Educational Standards :
Science in personal and social perspective / Content Standard F:

• Students will be aware of changes in the environment (3-4);
• Students will be aware of populations, resources, and the environment (5-8);
• Students will be aware of environmental quality (9-12)

Objectives:

1. Students will be aware of the pollution that exists in/on our earth.
2. Students will use the Internet to research forms of pollution.
3. Students will follow the pattern of Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor to create rules for "reducing, reusing, and recycling."
4. Students will edit for punctuation, spelling, and usage.
5. Students will write to inform an audience.

• computers with Internet access
• paper, pencils and other materials for writing/illustrating
• Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor
• Clean Environment Task
• Clean Environment Graphic Organizer
• Clean Environment Form for Writing Rules
• Clean Environment Rubric

Handouts in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click the icon to obtain the free Reader.

Teacher Preparation:
Locate the book, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor in the Easy section of the library. Run off copies of the Task, Rubric, Graphic Organizer, and Form. Bring in texts, articles, and videos that might be informative to students researching the pollution in the world.

Instruction and Activities:

Day 1:
Begin by finding out what students know about pollution. Let them brainstorm the many kinds of pollution. After a list has been generated, ask students if they can group these into categories (Air, Water, Soil, Hazardous Waste, Noise, Animal Extinction, etc.) Tell students that they will be doing research in each of these areas to find out what can be done to "reduce, reuse, and recycle" in order to have a cleaner environment for ourselves and for those who come after us. Tell them that before they begin, you want to review the Task and the Rubric so that they will understand exactly what is expected of them during the study. Hand them out, and go over them as a class. As a homework assignment, and depending on the age of the students, you could have them bring in articles from the newspaper that mention pollution anywhere on the earth.

Day 2:
If students have brought in articles about pollution, briefly go over these and add any new information to the list that was brainstormed on the first day. Tell the class that before you hand them the Graphic Organizer that will be used to record research data, you are going to read them a little book. Ask them to listen to how the pattern of the book might be used for an assignment on a clean environment. Read Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor. Point out that the Form they will use will allow them to follow the pattern of the book. (If the book is not available, go directly to the Form, reading it and discussing how students will be finding 10 rules that people can follow to have a cleaner environment.) Hand out the Form for the books students will be creating. Explain that the rules might be different for each student, depending on what they each feel is important and obtainable by the average citizen, including themselves. Either list or make copies of the Internet sites for students to begin their research. If computers are not available for all students, research can be made in small groups with each student recording his/her own data. Let students begin their data collection.

Days 3-5:
Students should continue their research. Some could use texts or articles collected.

Days 6-7:
Students should begin their "Everybody Needs a Clean Environment" books using the Form that has been provided. Students should be reminded that the rules will be the topic sentences, but the detail sentences in the rest of the paragraph should explain how the rule could be accomplished. Remind students that the Rubric explains the need for correct punctuation, spelling and usage when writing for an audience. Encourage students to illustrate their rules with drawings or pictures. Inform them that they will be presenting their books to the class.

Day 8:
Sharing day. Let students present their books to their classmates. Ask students to look for similarities in the rules. Point out that each person can contribute to the cleaning up of the earth by "reducing, reusing, and recycling."

Lesson Extensions:
Have students share their books with other classes. Ask the local library to showcase the books. Read the books on Earth Day.

Assessment: Teacher observation, class discussions, and the Rubric are all forms of assessment.

Useful Internet Resources:
* Encarta Encyclopedia Article: Pollution
http://www.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761570933

* Hazardous Waste
http://www.scorecard.org/

* EPA: Air Now (air pollution)
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/

* EPA: Nonpoint Source Pollution (water pollution)
http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/nps/

* Wastes - Kids Page
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/kids/index.htm

* Recycling Information
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Environment/
Pollution_Prevention_and_Recycling/Recycling_Information

* Environmental Issues
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Environment/Pollution

* NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
http://www.ncte.org/standards/standards.shtml

* National Science Education Standards (NSES)
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/