ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

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7 ) Observe and describe the effects of sunlight on Earth's surface (e.g., heat from the sun causing evaporation of water or increased temperature of soil, rocks, sand, and water).

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15 ) Identify the distribution of freshwater and salt water on Earth (e.g., oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, ground water, polar ice caps) and construct a graphical representation depicting the amounts and percentages found in different reservoirs.

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16 ) Collect and organize scientific ideas that individuals and communities can use to protect Earth's natural resources and its environment (e.g., terracing land to prevent soil erosion, utilizing no-till farming to improve soil fertility, regulating emissions from factories and automobiles to reduce air pollution, recycling to reduce overuse of landfill areas).

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17 ) Design solutions, test, and revise a process for cleaning a polluted environment (e.g., simulating an oil spill in the ocean or a flood in a city and creating a solution for containment and/or cleanup).*

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7 ) Use models to construct explanations of the various biogeochemical cycles of Earth (e.g., water, carbon, nitrogen) and the flow of energy that drives these processes.

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16 ) Implement scientific principles to design processes for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment (e.g., water usage, including withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or construction of dams and levees; land usage, including urban development, agriculture, or removal of wetlands; pollution of air, water, and land).*

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

You find water in oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds, in clouds and rain and snow. Explore how all of these are connected through a continuous cycle in the natural world. Then, Steve suggests ways to prevent litter and other destructive types of pollution. After all, it's no fun to play in the water if its full of garbage.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 3 :

3 ) Distinguish between living and nonliving things and verify what living things need to survive (e.g., animals needing food, water, and air; plants needing nutrients, water, sunlight, and air).

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6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

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11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

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12 ) Evaluate engineered solutions to a problem created by environmental changes and any resulting impacts on the types and density of plant and animal populations living in the environment (e.g., replanting of sea oats in coastal areas due to destruction by hurricanes, creating property development restrictions in vacation areas to reduce displacement and loss of native animal populations).*

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16 ) Collect and organize scientific ideas that individuals and communities can use to protect Earth's natural resources and its environment (e.g., terracing land to prevent soil erosion, utilizing no-till farming to improve soil fertility, regulating emissions from factories and automobiles to reduce air pollution, recycling to reduce overuse of landfill areas).

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18) Identify a broad range of digital devices, the services they provide, and appropriate uses for them.

Examples: Computers, smartphones, tablets, robots, e-textiles, driving directions apps that access remote map services, digital personal assistants that access remote information services.

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

Steve shares all sorts of magical ideas about wildlife and the wild critters, why they're important, and what things people need to do to protect them. Then, Steve explores the world of robots. What exactly IS a robot? What do robots do? Can robots think? Watch and find out!

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

[SC2015] (5) 16 :

16 ) Collect and organize scientific ideas that individuals and communities can use to protect Earth's natural resources and its environment (e.g., terracing land to prevent soil erosion, utilizing no-till farming to improve soil fertility, regulating emissions from factories and automobiles to reduce air pollution, recycling to reduce overuse of landfill areas).

In this Martha Speaks interactive story, students explore the benefits of sorting waste in order to help the environment. Students learn about how recycling and composting work. When used as a part of Martha’s True Stories Buddies Program, buddy pairs engage with the interactive story, then talk and write as they create their own Earth Pledge about how they will help protect the earth. To familiarize yourself with the program, begin by reading the Martha's True Stories Buddies Program: Overview.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

In this interactive Nearpod lesson, children will learn about the environment by going outdoors and picking up litter.

This digital lesson is delivered via Nearpod, a free, K-12 student engagement platform. Use these materials for virtual or in-person instruction, or share these resources directly with students and families to support learning at home.

NOTE: Teaching this digital lesson requires a free Nearpod account, but no account or student information is required for students to use Nearpod.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

Learn about kids who are helping the environment by reducing waste in their school. This Cyberchase-presented video features P.S. 110's Green Team who is helping their school recycle and compost more. P.S. 110 is a Greenpoint Eco-School, a local variation of a national Eco-Schools USA program for grades PreK–12 that combines the effective green management of school grounds, facilities, and curriculum to empower today’s students for a sustainable tomorrow. Refer to the accompanying discussion questions and teaching tips for ideas on using this video to help students consider ways to reduce waste and help the environment.

For more environmental education resources, visit the Human Impact on the Environment collection.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 2 :

2 ) Use observations and data from investigations to determine if a design solution (e.g., designing a ramp to increase the speed of an object in order to move a stationary object) solves the problem of using force to change the speed or direction of an object.*

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6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

Children explore reusing and recycling materials, and wind power, in this lesson plan featuring hands-on activities and a video excerpt from Curious George. They begin by watching a video in which Curious George gathers trash to help clean up the city streets and discovers that he can create something special with his found treasures. Children then use recycled materials to build toy boats that can sail. They discuss ways to make objects move with wind, then use child-generated wind power to move their boats in water. They conclude by sharing their boats with each other and brainstorming other ways in which they could recycle materials in the classroom.

This lesson is part of the Curious George STEM Collection.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

In this Martha Speaks interactive story, students explore the benefits of sorting waste in order to help the environment. Students learn about how recycling and composting work. When used as a part of Martha’s True Stories Buddies Program, buddy pairs engage with the interactive story, then talk and write as they create their own Earth Pledge about how they will help protect the earth. To familiarize yourself with the program, begin by reading the Martha's True Stories Buddies Program: Overview.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

In this Martha Speaks interactive story, students learn how the choices we make about our trash have different consequences for our environment. A discarded soup can can end up in a landfill, whereas a reused or recycled can could become something new. When used as a part of Martha’s True Stories Buddies Program, buddy pairs engage with the interactive story, then create an Advice Column that offers ways to reuse, repurpose, or compost old things. To familiarize yourself with the program, begin by reading the Martha's True Stories Buddies Program: Overview.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

In this activity, students brainstorm how people living along coasts harm ocean animals and plants. Then they analyze specific examples.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 6 :

6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

In this activity, students describe their experiences with beaches, compare and contrast photographs of beaches, and brainstorm how humans living near the ocean affect ocean plants and animals.