Patricia M. Sorrentino
During-Reading Lessons/Activities
After the science co-teacher leads our students to learn about fertilizers, test our school’s garden soil, and inquire about fertilizers used to help the garden grow, I will facilitate a research-based activity with our students (see Potential Causes of Climate Change by Alva Roy Hanson Jr.). 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, “Nourishing the Plant in the 21st Century.”
Objectives for this lesson:
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Appreciate how soil properties contribute to plant health
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Recognize that nutrient deficiencies limit crop productivity
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Understand the role of fertilizer in growing crop plants and in restoring nutrient balance to agricultural soils
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Relate crop productivity to the need for more farmland
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Describe challenges associated with feeding the world’s growing population
After this PowerPoint presentation is concluded, students will write a persuasive letter to the garden coordinator at our school, making suggestions for environmentally-friendly cropping. Within their persuasive letter, students must make three suggestions and provide the research behind each suggestion, in order to educate the garden coordinator and prove their new learnings about sustainable food productivity.
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 the science co-teacher will provide my students with an understanding of what C02 is and have them conduct experiments to experience what C02 does (see Potential Causes of Climate Change by Alva Roy Hanson Jr.). After he shows them a foundational video about C02, and before he conducts experiments with our students, I will read an information text about C02 with them. The text titled, “Overview of Greenhouse Gases” will provide our students with necessary information about how C02 is used and what its effects are. The article can be found on the following website: www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html.
While we read the text, students will be required to look up the definitions of words in the text I have underlined, so they can fully comprehend the reading. This text provides three areas where C02 is utilized: electricity, transportation, and industry, and a graph of how these sources contribute to the C02 emissions in the United States. After reading the article, I will ask students to look up three countries of their choice (besides the United States) and find how much C02 is emitted due to electricity, transportation, and industry. Once they have found their three graphs, they will have to make observations about their three graphs and the one from the text. They will have to present comparisons and contrasts between the graphs for their peers.
The objective of this activity is to help our students begin thinking about how the United States compares to other countries and their C02 emissions. All of this information will help them begin to research for their final debate topic. This activity also helps them begin to think about human effects on the environment and become conscious of their own use of electricity, transportation, and industry. Overall, we want our students to become mindful consumers and users, so this activity skims the surface of our overall goal.
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 science co-teacher will watch the embedded videos and describe, in great detail, the charts and illustrations (see Potential Causes of Climate Change by Alva Roy Hanson Jr.), I will be conducting a close-reading activity with the website’s article.
The article is divided into four sections: ‘Earth’s temperature is a balancing act,’ ‘The Greenhouse Effect causes the atmosphere to retain heat,’ ‘Changes in the sun’s energy affect how much energy reaches Earth’s system,’ and ‘Changes in reflectivity affect how much energy enters Earth’s system.’ In addition to having students determine the meaning of words based on context, they will have to write the main idea for each of the four sections. This skill will allow them to boil down a lot of content into smaller ideas, which will be easier for them to remember. Finding the main idea of non-fiction is also an important skill for our students to master, so this activity will be useful for their ELA skills and competencies.
To culminate the unit, students will be asked to participate in a formal debate. The class will be divided into two groups—those defending climate change and those arguing against climate change. As an English teacher, my job will be to provide the students with the skills to analyze and assess the information. I will guide them in understanding the non-fiction texts. The science co-teacher will focus on the science of the issue. He will provide them with guidance in understand the effects of climate change.