These changes over time have a negative impact on our environment and contribute to climate change, which is the shift in long term weather patterns that can cause warmer/colder temperatures and alter the average amount of rainfall or snowfall in a particular area. Oxygen is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas that forms about 21% of the Earth's atmosphere (by volume). Using the numbers of days with air quality rating of good, have the students draw a best fit curve to show trends in air quality in each location. Every day, each of the world's 987.5 million cattle (as of 2020) gives off 250-500 liters of methane (produced in their gut as they digest food). K - Explain the properties of air (takes up space, has mass, can move, exerts pressure, can do work.). Abbreviated as VOC. Students will then conduct before and after measurements to see the effects that exercise has on their own heartbeat and breathing rates. P = Population Dynamics ... to deduce what human activities contribute to air pollution and suggest possible solutions. Also, some people choose to buy and use more environmentally-friendly products such as non-aerosol hair spray and non-toxic cleansers. These changes can result in rising sea levels, shrinking glaciers, and an increase in natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Identify some of the main causes, effects and sources of air pollution. It's basic but I want to get a lot of conversations about it. Ask the students to walk around and find their partner. It will help students to understand what air pollution is and how students can communicate their feelings about it. On a more personal level, adjustments can be made to help improve the air. Students representing cilia must block the foam balls from entering the lung. In this educational resource page you will find lesson plans and teaching tips about Science learn more about the ozone, carbon dioxide, pollution, waste, greenhouse gases, and smoke. Figure 3. Air Pollution Poster Projects For Middle School Air Pollution Poster Projects For Middle School. Discussion Questions: Have students respond to discussion questions provided in the Introduction / Motivation section. Originally found at: www.tceq.state.tx.us, Kalman, Bobbie and Schaub, Janine. About 800 years ago, King Edward I of England (1272 – 1307) imposed a death penalty on anyone found burning coal (the high sulfur type), because it created noxious fumes and an "intolerable smell." The purpose of this lesson is for students to apply knowledge and skills to create posters that inform the public about a specific pollutant and suggest where people with specific respiratory illnesses might want to relocate (if they were able to) in order to alleviate symptoms. Free K-12 standards-aligned STEM curriculum for educators everywhere. A fantastic lesson plan on urban air pollution problems throughout the world is here for you. Most curricular materials in TeachEngineering are hierarchically organized; Read more about air pollution in the attached Air Pollution Reading and Health Effects Reading. May 1, 2002. Students will determine the air quality for their area by analyzing data from monitoring stations. Browse the TeachEngineering NGSS Engineering-aligned Physics Curriculum hub for additional Physics and Physical Science curriculum featuring Engineering. Although often overlooked, … nitrogen oxide: A gas that form when nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere are burned with fossil fuels at high temperatures. Air enters our bodies through our mouths and noses. Discuss the following questions with the students. This is a bundle of lesson plans to support a unit about air pollution. Inhalation is the process of breathing air through the mouth and nose into our lungs. Most major air pollutants are invisible, but large amounts of them can be seen as smog when they are concentrated in areas such as cities. What is air pollution? Do you agree with this alignment? Explain that other students in the classroom have received a description of what one of the air sayings means. Results are discussed and related to human activity on pollution alert days and the AQI. Because of this, engineers work to solve our air pollution problems. Indoor air pollution causes just as many health problems around the globe as outdoor air pollution. Materials list: Note: Blank flash cards are also provided in the attachment so you can have students add to their flashcards throughout the unit by adding the new vocabulary terms in each lesson. Through this lesson students will be able to describe the relationships among air, water, land on Earth, characteristics of living and non living things, survival behaviors of common living specimens, the factors that help promote good health. After this lesson, students will be able to: 1. define air pollution 2. explain the sources of air pollution 3. discuss and describe types of air pollution Biology lesson plans, labs, activities, experiments, and projects for high school life science teachers. As a class exercise with student participation, read the attached The Day the Air Pollution Gremlins Came to Town short play. The degree of the health effects depends on the magnitude and frequency of exposure to the pollutants. Alternatively, you could give students a handout (Scrambled Air Sayings, use page 2 of the Air Sayings attachment) and have them match the sayings to the meanings, or write the air sayings on the board or on a transparency (use page 3 of the Air Sayings attachment) and ask students to describe what the sayings mean. Air allows us to smell (carries tiny particles that make up odors). Students make a working lung model then learn about how air pollution affects the respiratory system. I'll start by showing the video and having students guess what we're going to be discussing. DEP Environmental Education Curricula Lesson Plan GRADE/LEVEL: Middle School LESSON TITLE: Air Pollution Next Generation Science Standards MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, Dynamics MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. Reviews- Every Breath you Take (Thinkport), Reviews- What do Light Bulbs have to do with Air Pollution, Reviews- The Colors of Air Pollution Relay, Reviews- Idlers: Please Stop Your Engines, Reviews- Climate Change and Air Pollution, Part III: Lichens as Air Quality Bio-Indicators. (Source of air sayings quotations. Once the cells have finished with the oxygen, our body exhales and pushes out the remaining air (and the carbon dioxide by-product) from our lungs. Usually appears as a fine yellow dust. Students begin with this lesson to develop their understanding of the composition and properties of air as well as some general definitions and awareness of air quality. High School Lesson Introduction to Environmental Challenges in China. Jones, Maclyn. This lesson examines how data related to pollutants in the air are collected and reported. Air Pollution Science, level: Elementary Posted Tue Mar 4 20:01:00 PST 2003 by Laura Coxford ([email protected]).University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, B.C., Canada It’s not difficult to engage learners as the environment is a global and universally relevant subject. Students are introduced to the human respiratory system. Our Air Pollution lesson plan introduces students to air pollution, including its causes and effects. Air Pollution. You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. Word Origins & Metaphors: Take Their Word for It! Register to download toolkit . As of 2019, the world's most polluted city was Ghaziabad, India. Project A.I.R.E (Air Information Resources for Educators). units and these again are bundled into subject areas. Random House Children's Books, 1988. Lesson Planet. Who Cares? See the Background section for more details. In 2019, California passed a bill that will effectively lower emissions by the equivalent of taking 145,000 and 375,000 trucks off the roads in California alone through a maintenance and emissions inspection program for heavy-duty trucks. Bon Voyage to Bad Boating Habits: … Activity 2: Illustrating Pollution Solutions. The Air I Breathe. Follow-up with the associated activity. High School and Middle School Air Quality Education Program 7-1 WHAT ARE THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION? (Answer: Air pollution is caused by several things that people do, especially burning fossil fuels. Acid Rain & Environmental Effects Air Quality Index Criteria Pollutants Finding the Planetary Boundary Layer Factories - Friends or Foes Concentration is Essential for this Task! ), Does the quality of our air matter? Students will learn how to calculate the amount of CO2 is emitted from each light bulb. (Grades Download the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book (especially the air pollution section), 2004. Thanks for your feedback! Car exhaust is another primary source of air pollution. Tell the students that some of them have received a strip with a saying that we commonly use that makes a reference to air. This is a list of lesson plans for middle school grade level. During this lesson, students will clarify their understanding of weather and pollution through Internet research. The purpose of this lesson is to give students the opportunity to explore the creation of ozone, and the effects of different pollutants on the lungs. Air pollutants consist of numerous particulates, fibers, mists, molds, bacteria, and gases. pollutant: A harmful chemical or waste material discharged into the water or atmosphere. In 2018, science teacher Michael Naka led his students in an environmental science field study to measure air pollution. Lesson Plan/Activity Beginner Causes of Pollution Lesson Objective In this lesson, students will Identify and discuss different kinds of pollution, sources of pollution, and why it is important to keep the environment free of pollution. Lesson Activities: (45 min. Have them pick the two sites that interested them the most and share them with the class during the next class period. Thanks for your feedback! Human air pollution is caused by things such as factories, power plants, cars, airplanes, chemicals, fumes from spray cans, and methane gas from landfills. dioxin: A highly toxic family of chemicals used to make poisonous substances such as weed killers and bleaching products (for example, to make paper white). Students can learn more about their local air qualities with the associated activity What Color is Your Air Today? ... Middle School Earth Science NGSS Essential Lessons and Labs ... Earth Science for High School - Full Year Curriculum Lesson Plans. Students learn about conserving energy by using certain bulbs. Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. 4. The teacher leads a review of how air moves into and through the body. Let the children identify what is wrong in the pictures. Students will gain an understanding of the Air Quality Index. Describe the roles of engineers in addressing air pollution. At the end of one week, using a microscope, have students count the number of particles in each square and observe particle size. The purpose of the lesson is to explore the relationship between temperature and inversion layers. Lesson Plan Lesson Preparation • Read the Science Background provided in the Unit’s Overview, ... to air pollution, which sometimes reduces the visibility over the islands, causing a smog-like condition called vog (the shortened term for volcanic emissions). An airplane uses air to help it take off from the runway, a bird needs it to fly, a sailboat needs it to move in the water, and a hot air balloon uses it to rise off the ground. After this lesson, students should be able to: Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, volatile organic compound: An organic chemical containing carbon that escapes into the air easily. According to the World Health Organization, 2.4 million people die each year from air pollution and 1.5 million of these deaths are caused by indoor air pollution. The water cycle usually cleans the air of pollutants naturally. When air moves, it has great power (to push sailboats, drive windmills, and move clouds), and when it is compressed (squashed into a small space), it has great strength (air in a tire supports a vehicle and helps a helicopter to rise into the air). technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. atmosphere: The layer of air that surrounds the Earth like a blanket. Lichens Two Lives in One. Middle School Activities in Air Quality. The average person takes about 20,000 breaths a day. ), Land, Lea. Step 1: Create a list of words that remind you of pollution and words that remind you of a clean environment. Air pollution can make people sick, make things dirty, damage buildings and our ecosystem, change the weather, trap heat and make the air warmer than it should be, chew holes in the atmosphere and mix with clouds to form poisonous acid rain. Students explore scientific and human dimensions of air pollution. In this educational resource page you will find lesson plans and teaching tips about Science learn more about the ozone, carbon dioxide, pollution, waste, greenhouse gases, and smoke. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government. The free toolkit combines curriculum-linked lesson plans and resources with the latest scientific understanding and campaign tools. This destroys the food and nutrients for fish and other aquatic life in oceans, lakes and streams. Abbreviated as CO2. Students will observe the cilia’s ability to block different quantities and sizes of particles from reaching the lungs. It involves creating a simple model that demonstrates how pollution can be drawn up into plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set national standards for six specific air pollutants that tend to reach unsafe levels. As of 2020, only one-fifth of the Earth's original forests remain pristine and undisturbed. Students will learn about the respiratory system and how air travels through the body. It contains both invisible gases (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides) and particles. I like to split the class into small groups and then have them each read different articles. Air -The Search for One Clean Breath. Air helps distribute heat and water around the world. Thanks for your feedback! Properties & Quality. Cut apart each of the boxes containing the sayings and meanings. See Figure 1. A high concentration of pollutants in the air is called air pollution. Pollution can also end up in food chains, including our own, which can have a negative on health and wellbeing. 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