Asbestos Exposure Lesson Plans

Learners watch a film about the town of Libby, Montana and how they were exposed to attic insulation that contained asbestos. Using the internet, they research the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines for this type of insulation and work in groups to create a plan to help the community. They also develop brochures to communicate to the town about safety precautions.

Students research information about the mining, health, and economic aspects of the asbestos industry. They create a timeline of one aspect of the asbestos industry, including relevant facts, visuals, and narrative information about each event.

Students research asbestos, its uses, and the problems it creates. They write a paper answering if they think that asbestos is so dangerous that it warrants closing whole towns.

Students create a newscast feature to illustrate the impact of the demise of the asbestos industry.

Students divide substances into categories: made of chemicals/not made of chemicals, synthetic/naturally occurring, and toxic/nontoxic. They observe a mystery chemical and determine what precautions they need to take when handling an unknown substance.

Students use a newspaper article as a springboard to small group research about common household toxins, focusing on where would one find these toxins in the home, the effects of the toxins on the human body and treatment for poisoning by the toxins.

The students will measure the diameter, approximate the circumference, and determine the area of a soap bubble print. Students are given opportunities to practice measurement skills as they examine a soap bubble print.

Students work together to discover the type of risks at Superfund sites. They examine how sites are found and where to report hazardous sites. They evaluate the activities of the government to protect its citizens.

Students examine how hazardous wastes are cleaned up. They work together to identify the positives and negatives of cleaning up certain hazardous wastes. They answer questions as part of the activity.

Students react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and a vocabulary activity, then students read the news piece and participate in a think-pair-share discussion. Lesson includes interdisciplinary follow-up activities.