EARTH DAY PROJECT PACK: Lesson Plans, Resources, Science Escape Room, STEM Project

Ideal for a whole week project, or full day of environmental activities to develop students knowledge and understanding of their role in Protecting the Earth and working through Global Earth Day! This resource is a complete project pack for learning about "The Pale Blue Dot" and how we can save the planet with the actions we decide to take now. The project begins by introducing students to the notion of Carl Sagan's image and text regarding the view of Earth as seen from the sun - a Pale Blue Dot. From then the students are introduced to the four main targets which could save planet Earth for many generations to come.

This is developed through the use of the following elements which are all included in the resource:

• 13 detailed lesson plans which all reference the resources included and when to use them alongside links to two videos to use to support the teaching
• Resource 1: Evaluation of learning and development of knowledge
• Resource 2: Key vocabulary word list for display
• Resource 3: Pale Blue Dot image to display
• Resource 4: 4 Targets to display
• Resource 5: 7 maps illustrating key geographical features (continents, oceans, deserts, rainforests, volcanoes, world rivers, world mountain ranges) all of which support life in different habitats (answer key also included)
• Resource 6: Escape Room: "Hi Honey! I'm home" - 10 Challenges focusing on habitats, food chains and food webs, developing the notion that many animals are interdependent on one another and require their specific habitats to thrive. Answer Key, Resources and Instructions are all included within this resource)
• Resource 7: Research four key environmental issues: deforestation, Global warming, Polar Ice Cap Melting, Plastic Pollution. Identify reasons for these issues and the impact, as well as possible solutions to these global problems.
• Resource 8: Using growing knowledge of global issues, habitats and needs of the globe to protect Earth for future generations, students use the four agreed targets for global protection to identify local issues which have been developed to support the environment. Part b of this activity is to identify possible future targets within the locality which students can solve the problem of by innovating a solution
• Resource 9: DT Planning booklet to develop and innovate a solution to one of the local issues identified by the students. The 6 pages include step by step support to research information, sketch ideas, review materials, produce step by step guide to build the innovation, building the innovation in template form, create the product, test and evaluate the final product.

The end of the project (lesson 13) is the students presenting the whole course to an audience through displaying the outcomes of each of the lessons - each of which produces a developing focus on how the students can play a part in protecting the global environment through taking on a local issue.

Lesson objectives (brief) are:

• Lesson 1: Elicitation - what the students know about the Earth before learning begins - self evaluation (using resource 1) and key vocabulary (resource 2)
• Lesson 2: Introducing the Pale Blue Dot and the four targets to save the Earth (developing renewable energies, reduce consumption of meat, manage the oceans, rewild the Earth)
• Lesson 3: Identifying and mapping the key geographical features of Earth (resource 5)
• Lesson 4: Where do animals live? Mapping habitats (ESCAPE ROOM) Resource 6
• Lesson 5: How are the actions of humans impacting on Earth (resource 7)
• Lesson 6: Top 10 of the most destructive, everyday items produced on Earth
• Lesson 7: How do living things grow and reproduce?
• Lesson 8: What is our responsibility?
• Lesson 9: Changes needed in our locality (Resource 8)
• Lesson 10: DT Focus - innovating change within our locality to support the environment (resource 9)
• Lesson 11: How has our awareness of the environment been developed over time?
• Lesson 12: How are we helping to save the planet?
• Lesson 13: Evaluation of learning

We think this resource is particularly powerful in making a global issue relatable to younger learners (4th, 5th and 6th graders) and make them feel that they are able to make a difference to their own environment and effect change in their community - particularly by sharing their outcomes at the end of the project.

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