Alva Roy Hanson Jr.
During-Reading Lesson/Activities
In order for our students to best understand fertilizers, their functions, and their effects, I will conduct a hands-on series of activities. Many environmentalists, who are eager to educate our youth about the important issues, have created researched-based educational websites and learning tools. One fantastic tool is www.TheScienceofSoil.com. Educators can find PowerPoint presentations, hands-on activities, and demonstrations for free to enhance their classroom. Within this website, there is an important PowerPoint presentation titled, “Fertilizers and the Environment.”
Objectives for this lesson:
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Recognize that farmland is a finite resource
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Appreciate that the world’s growing population demands an increase in food productivity
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Describe the role fertilizer plays in increasing food productivity
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Distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers
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Describe how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment
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Identify different sources of nutrient pollution
Once the PowerPoint presentation is complete, we will use our school garden as an experiment. We will test the soil in the garden and inquire about fertilizers used to help the garden grow. After testing the soil and figuring out what fertilizers are used, our students will create a suggestion list for our garden coordinator, in order to sustain our garden in an environmentally-friendly way. The English co-teacher will facilitate this piece of the unit (see Political Debates over Climate Change by Patricia M. Sorrentino).
James Hansen’s TED Talk “Why I must speak out about climate change,” Scientific American’s “Behind the Hockey Stick,” and “The Nitrogen Cycle” will be the next informational texts we read. All three texts provide more of the foundational knowledge our students need to help them understand the issue. “Why I must speak out about climate change” discusses Hansen’s knowledge of climate change and his fears for the future. He outlines the evidence, which points to climate change and brings to light the possible negative effects. “Behind the Hockey Stick,” discusses Michael Mann’s highly criticized, but iconic hockey stick graph, which makes predictions for our world with the effects of global warming. Mann defends his scientific predictions, but receives push back from skeptics, such as the Greening Earth Society and the Tech Central Station Web site, because they obtain funds from petroleum interests. Petroleum is made from fossil fuels, so it is not in the interest of some to agree with global warming due to the financial implications. However, Mann’s prediction did not come true, which has led many skeptics of climate change to point to his graph with many questions. “The Nitrogen Cycle” discusses how a large majority of the population cannot utilize nitrogen. Nitrogen can only be used once specialized organisms fix it or when industrial processes take place. Fertilizers allow the nitrogen to be utilized, in order to farm; however, this is harming our environment. This article touches upon the issue of money, which is in control of everything—this brings us to the political issues connected to climate change. These two articles provide necessary information before we can move on to more in depth articles and debates.
During-Reading Lessons/Activities
A big underlying topic in the three texts is C02, so I will provide my students with an understanding of what C02 is and have them conduct experiments to experience what C02 does. While there are many great videos, the video titled, “What to do with C02,” will engage our students. The video also does a great job of breaking down complex information into a cartoon clip. It can be found on the following website: www.wonderville.ca/asset/whattodowithCO2. Once our students have viewed the video, the English co-teacher will read an informational text about C02 (see Political Debates over Climate Change by Patricia M. Sorrentino). These two activities will help provide the necessary foundational information about C02 for our students.
In order to engage our students and help them “see” C02, we will conduct the following experiments:
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Inflating Balloons—the objective of this experiment is to teach students that there is a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda and explain that CO2 is a product of the reaction.
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Add two tablespoons of baking soda to a balloon using a funnel.
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Add eight tablespoons of vinegar to an empty plastic bottle.
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Put the end of the balloon over the opening of the bottle, being careful not to drop the baking soda into the bottle just yet.
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Ask students to hypothesize what will happen when the baking soda and vinegar mix and what will happen to the balloon.
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Let the baking soda drop into the vinegar and watch the balloon inflate.
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Revisit the students’ hypotheses and discuss results.
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Bubbling Sandwich Bags—the objective of this experiment is to further teach students about the acid-base reaction between baking soda and vinegar.
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Preparing four toilet paper squares filled with two tablespoons of baking soda; twist or fold the edges of the toilet paper to seal in the baking soda.
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Fill one plastic sandwich bag with four tablespoons of vinegar, another with eight tablespoons, another with twelve tablespoons, and a fourth bag with four tablespoons of vinegar plus four tablespoons water.
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Students should know that the reaction between baking soda and vinegar produces carbon dioxide gas. Ask students to hypothesize what will happen to the plastic bag once the toilet paper and baking soda bombs are added to the vinegar. They should also hypothesize which bag will inflate the most, or if they think the bags will pop, which bag will pop first. Ask if they think the vinegar diluted with water will make a difference.
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Test your hypotheses by adding the baking soda bombs and quickly sealing the bags; the carbon dioxide makes the bags pop because there’s more gas than they can hold. Take this experiment outside to prevent an indoor mess.
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Review the students’ hypotheses and discuss the results.
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Carbon Dioxide and Breathing—the objective of this experiment is to test the acidity of carbon dioxide gas using red cabbage juice as a pH indicator.
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Make red cabbage juice by boiling shredded red cabbage in two cups of water for ten minutes; the juice should be purple. Tell students that the cabbage juice turns blue if exposed to a basic substance, but it turns pink when exposed to an acid.
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Put one teaspoon of cabbage juice into one small plastic cup, labeled “control” and another teaspoon into another cup labeled “test.”
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Put one end of a straw into the test cup.
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Ask students which color they think the juice will turn when they blow into the other end of the straw.
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Blow through the straw for a few minutes and watch the juice turn pinker than the control—does this mean the carbon dioxide you breathe out is acidic or basic?
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Test this theory further by adding regular water to a cup of cabbage juice and then carbonated water to another cup of cabbage juice.
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Soda Explosion—the objective of this experiment is to test the reaction of diet soda and Mentos candy.
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Ask students what they think will happen if they add the candy to a two-liter bottle of diet soda. Will this supposed reaction change if there are varying amounts of soda in each bottle, or will the reaction change if you add only two candies instead of four, six or eight?
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Test these hypotheses by placing four bottles of diet cola on a table outside (do not conduct this experiment indoors). Test only one variable at a time, so try either varying amounts of soda or candy. The explosion of bubbles occurs because ingredients in the candy break the attraction of water molecules and encourage carbon dioxide bubbles to form.
These experiments, combined with the foundational information, will help our students understand C02, so when reading about it and its effects on the environment, they can better understand human uses of the gas.
Scientific American’s “What Do Farmers Think about Climate Change?” will be the text to follow because it deals with our current effects of climate change and how we, as a society, are impacted. This article outlines farmers’ beliefs of the reality of climate change. However, these farmers are skeptical of those who are trying to make necessary changes because of the political influence. This text is another resource to help us discuss the political implications of climate change and will help direct us to understanding the political debates for the 2016 electoral debates.
During Reading Lessons/Activities
While we read the above article, we will also focus on the website, www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html, in order to gain more insight. While the English co-teacher does a close-read activity with the article (see Political Debates over Climate Change by Patricia M. Sorrentino), I will describe and discuss the charts and illustrations.
Each of the graphs and illustrations highlights an idea relative to understanding natural causes and human causes of climate change. In addition to understanding the charts and videos, we will calculate our carbon footprint. This activity will be done online at www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/. The objective of this activity is to help our students understand how much carbon they admit through their daily activities. We hope to have our students become more mindful of their contribution to the environment.
