Lesson 15.3 Conservation and Living Green

Overview

This lesson focuses on learning how to make a positive impact on the environment by living green and develops the skill to implement environmentally positive behaviors into students’ lives.

Learning Targets

  • LO10: Explain five ways to protect the environment.
  • LO11: Provide two examples of commonly recycled products and what they are used for.
  • LO12: Explain what it means to live green and identify four related actions.

Preparation

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 15.3 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 15.3 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 15.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Living Green Challenge.

Warm-Up Activity

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

  • Journal Question: What does it mean to live green? Do you think about the environmental impact of your daily life? Why or why not?
    • 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 15.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 15.3 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: Living Green Challenge

  1. Prompt students by telling them they will be participating in a challenge to live green for one week and keep track of their progress.
  2. Provide each student with one copy of the Lesson 15.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Living Green Challenge.
  3. Show students the sample log at the top of the page, and direct them to create their own log to keep track of their environmentally friendly habits for the next seven (or more) days.
  4. Students should spend time each day filling out and updating their log for however many days they are tracking their habits.

Challenge Activity

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

Do you think it is appropriate to require individuals to change their behaviors in order to protect the environment? For example, should people be fined if they don’t properly sort their personal garbage into appropriate recycling bins? Explain your thoughts and support them with facts when possible.

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 five ways to protect the environment?
    1. We can reduce the amount of trash and pollution by buying less, consuming less, and buying only exactly what we need.
    2. We can reuse items (plastic bags, water bottles, etc.) to reduce the need for more of these items to be made or sold.
    3. We can recycle products, which reduces the amount of trash that goes into landfills.
    4. We can treat the land and water to protect people and animals from the damage that harmful substances can cause.
    5. We can properly dispose of materials that can’t be recycled or otherwise treated.
  • Provide two examples of commonly recycled products and what they are used for?

    In most places, plastic bottles, paper products, and glass are commonly recycled.

  • Explain what it means to live green and identify four related actions?

    Living green means being aware of the affect your lifestyle and choices have on the environment. A complete list of related actions can be found in the textbook under the section header “Tips for Being a Green Student.”

Assessment

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

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 15.3 quiz.
  • Reviewing Vocabulary: Collect the Lesson 15.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheet and evaluate it for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 15.3 Note-Taking Guide and spot-check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 15.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Living Green Challenge and use the Holistic Rubric: Practice Healthy Behaviors to evaluate their skill development.
  • Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the Journal Question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.
  • Test: Have students take the Chapter Test, which covers material from all three lessons, or create a test using the online test bank.
  • Test: Have students take the Unit V Test, which covers chapters 14 and 15. You may also create your own unit test from the individual chapter tests, if you prefer.

Take It Home

In what ways does your home environment support or detract from living green? Make a list of the ways your family lives green and the ways it doesn’t.