Lesson 15.1: Air, Water, and Noise Pollution

Overview

This lesson focuses on injury prevention in the home and preparing for natural disasters.

Learning Targets

  • LO1: Explain how air pollution can affect personal and community health.
  • LO2: Understand influences on health by identifying four common sources of indoor air pollution.
  • LO3: Analyze two causes of water pollution and how individual actions can influence community health.
  • LO4: Explain how individual choices can affect health risks associated with noise pollution.
  • LO5: Analyze influences on air and water pollution.

Preparation

Chapter Opener: Use the chapter 15 How Environmentally Aware Am I? self-assessment to introduce the chapter before moving on to Lesson 15.1 or assign the self-assessment as a homework task before starting this lesson.

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 15.1 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 15.1 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 15.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Analyzing Influences on Air and Water Pollution.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Self-Assessment: Have students complete the How Environmentally Aware Am I? self-assessment.
  • Journal Question: In what ways do air, water and noise pollution affect your health? Provide specific examples in your explanation.
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 15.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 15.1 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Analyzing Influences on Air and Water Pollution

  1. Provide each student with one copy of the Lesson 15.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Analyzing Influences on Air and Water Pollution.
  2. Ask students to complete the first portion of the worksheet individually.
  3. Once students have finished the first portion of the worksheet, have students pair up to complete the worksheet.
  4. Ask for volunteers to share their list. Ask other students to listen for similarities between lists. After sharing the lists, have students discuss their reflection questions with a different pair of students.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

You noticed some discolored water in the stream near a manufacturing plant in your neighborhood. When you walked closer to the area, you also noticed a chemical smell. Write a short letter to a local government official explaining your concerns. Be sure to address why you think this may be a problem for your community and for the environment.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Explain how air pollution can affect personal and community health?

    Air pollution can trigger asthma and allergy attacks and cause sleepiness; headaches; and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. Air pollution can also affect plants, buildings, and other materials which can further degrade the natural and built environments.

  • Understand influences on health by identifying four common sources of indoor air pollution?

    The quality of indoor air can be affected by ventilation (access to outdoor air); humidity; mold; chemicals; tobacco smoke; dust; and other allergens, such as pollen and pet dander.

  • Analyze two causes of water pollution and how individual actions influence community health?

    At the individual level, there are several ways in which people contaminate water. When we do ordinary, seemingly harmless things like apply chemical treatments to our lawns or wash our cars in the driveway on nice summer days, the chemicals we use enter the water cycle. When we do not properly dispose of household products containing chemicals, such as paint, batteries, and medicines, we contribute to water pollution. When it comes to chemicals, it’s our individual responsibility to give pause and think about what choices we make.

  • Explain how individual choices can affect the health risks associated with noise pollution?

    Noise pollution can damage hearing and cause high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, and poorer performance at school and work. Individuals exposed to constant noise can also become irritable and suffer from depression or anxiety. Choosing to listen to loud music in earbuds or continually play video games in headphones or earbuds are choices that can harm long-term health.

  • Analyze influences on air and water pollution?

    Humans and natural events can affect pollution. Human decisions about what we eat, types of products we use and how we use them, and how we manage waste products are examples of influences that affect air and water pollution.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Pay attention to the noise in your environment. Keep track of the types of noises you encounter over a typical week. Once you have made your list, come up with ways to reduce your exposure to the noises. For example, if you hear construction noise on your walk to school, could you take a different route?

Option: Assign the How Environmentally Aware Am I? self-assessment as a homework task if it was not used at the start of this lesson.