Environmental Health Lesson Plans

Students learn the criteria for and create the framework of an impromptu speech about an environmental health issue that is especially important to them. Students write a speech about an environmental health problem based on the material learned in this quarter's science and social studies classes and the research conducted in the last language arts class.

Students identify environmental health issues. They describe how human actions affect the health of the environment. Students discuss some ways in which the ocean environment has been polluted by industry, business and vacationers.

Students explore the Chernobyl incident and the resulting environmental health impacts. They explore three different isotopes that were released into the atmosphere. Through inquiry, students determine the difference between types of ionizing radiation and how elements are transmuted. They chart the decay series and health hazards of a number of radioactive isotopes. Students examine the future of nuclear energy.

Students examine four separate environmental health issues using fish-bowl technique, and discuss roles of both government and citizens in maintaining a pollution-free environment.

Students demonstrate how water quality and environmental health issues can be analyzed together, how hydrologic information can be built up, and how decisions can be made using GIS.

Students are introduced to the environmental hazards their community is facing. In groups, they develop a list of the ways humans have changed the Earth and how these changes have lead to environmental hazards. They record their observations on what types of pollution they see during a week and graph the results. To end the lesson, they role-play the various roles within a food chain and how insecticides can interrupt the cycle.

Students identify environmental health issues linked to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  In this environmental hazards lesson students read an article and summarize their findings. 

Students conduct a word association experiment to examine radiation and nuclear energy.  In this environmental health lesson students analyze perceptions that affect their decisions. 

Learners investigate the chemistry of coal. This lesson plan serves as a review of conservation of mass, simple reactions and equation balancing. During the lesson plan, students research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental health impacts of mining and burning coal.

Learners research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental health impacts of mining and burning coal. They discuss conservation of mass as it relates to combustion of organic compounds.