Lessons and Units for Teaching Science - Environmental Science Environmental Management Healthy Chesapeake "In this lesson students will investigate the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, observe cause and effect from data in the GIS mapping data and offer ideas as how to improve the environmental quality of the watershed area." Source: Math Science Innovation Center (Author: Drew Keller) http://mathinscience.info/teach/612_science/biolife_envisci/healthy_chesapeake/healthy_chesapeake.htm   Hog Wild "The Hog Wild curriculum is an interdisciplinary unit designed to engage students in a simulation focused on the establishment of a hog farm in their local watershed. Students prepare for and engage in a simulated town council hearing on the establishment of a particular hog farm in the area. Participating groups of students will take on the role of different stakeholders, conduct research from the perspective of that group, create GIS maps to support their positions, and then present and defend their positions during the two day hearing. One goal of Hog Wild is to help students see the political, social and economic dimensions of environmental issues." Source: GIT Ahead Project (Authors: Courtney Wilson and Jim MaKinster) Student Teacher Resources http://fli.hws.edu/gitahead/hogwild/ Teacher Resources http://fli.hws.edu/gitahead/hogwild/teacher.html   Siting a Proposed Walmart SuperCenter Using GIS Frequently, the construction of a new building or facility requires environmental planning balances a variety of needs and restrictions. In this exercise, students must consider how wetlands, road access, and topography, among other elements, limit where building can take place. Source: GIT Ahead Project (Author: Karen Edelstein) Walmart_siting.zip   Developing a Management Strategy for Japanese Knotweed Infestation Use GIS to calculate whether a natural area is most safely managed for invasive knotweed using mechanical or chemical control treatments. Lesson is prepared for use with both ArcGIS and AEJEE. Source: GIT Ahead Project (Author: Karen Edelstein - Finger Lakes Institute) Japanese_Knotweed_lesson.zip   ArcLessons (some may be written for ArcView 3.x, but serve as models for projects using AEJEE or ArcGIS 9.x Ground Level Ozone Assessment with Milkweed Plant Distribution - Slope and Aspect Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Animal Road Kill West Nile Virus Assessing Coal Impacts on Wilderness Areas GIS for Ecosystem Monitoring Great Lakes Exploratorium Source: ESRI ArcLessons (Authors: Tom Baker, Lyn Koller, Margaret Chernosky, Joseph Kerski, Mick Law, ESRI) http://edcommunity.esri.com/arclessons/search_results.cfm   Mapping the Environment "Sequenced investigations focused on particular science areas enable students to achieve depth and build toward independent investigations. Seven modules are currently available." These lessons are written for ArcView 3.x, but can be updated for use with 9.x. Lessons include: Mapping Ecoregions Mapping Urban Forests Source: Missouri Botanical Garden http://www.mobot.org/education/mapping/mapcr.html   Forest Fires "This exercise is designed to be an introduction to forest fires in Canada. Background information focuses on the role of fire in the environment. Past uses and current debates are examined. The mapping exercise examines the causes of forest fires and general distribution patterns across Canada." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5687.asp   Analyzing Land Use and Sustainability in Brazil "After reading for years about development and deforestation in Brazil, with your new-found GIS skills, you decide to do more investigating on your own. Your goal is to make an assessment about the pattern and reasons for development in one of the most widely known part of the rainforest, the state of Rondộnia, Brazil." Source: ESRI (Author: Joseph Kerski) brazil_lesson.pdf   Threatened Species "This exercise is designed to be an introduction to issues concerning species conservation. Students will use the data provided to complete a GIS exercise which examines the relationship between protected land and threatened species from a global perspective." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5718.asp   Who's Swimming in Our Gulf? "Millions of people depend on a healthy Gulf of Maine, yet few understand how the Gulf’s physical or biological processes affect marine or terrestrial life. Further, only a handful of people realize the complex issues about how endangered and commercial species interact. This education kit will allow students to explore how whales and traditional fisheries affect one another." Source: Kara Johnson http://www.elijahmm.com/~kara/home_page/GOM_Home_Page.html   STEM Lessons in Geospatial Technology "This collection of lessons is designed to introduce and use GIS as a tool for middle school science and mathematics.  These classroom-tested activities combine fundamental content with cutting-edge technology and help students see the power of spatial thinking in analysis and decision-making. Lessons include: We are the World: A Look at Demographics Production and Consumption: The Give and Take of Energy Disaster Strikes Should You Drink the Water? Watersheds: Why bother? What’s Your Carbon Footprint? Can You Grow Money? Survivor: The Agricultural Challenge Source: James Madison University (Authors: Barbaree Ash Duke, Bob Kolvoord) http://www.isat.jmu.edu/stem/curriculum.html   Groundwater Protection "In this exercise students examine how septic tanks could potentially impact ground and surface water.  Students learn about how septic tanks work, why they are good when functioning properly, and how when functioning improperly, they can impact water quality." Source: Lane Community College http://gis.lanecc.edu/Plone/modules/groundwater-protection   Identifying Toxic Releases (draft) "What are the toxics being released into your study area? This lesson illustrates some techniques you can apply in working with very large data sets. One of the challenges is to find ways to sift through the large number of different toxics released to make sense of the data – for example to identify which are the most significant in a particular locality in terms of type of chemical, whether the release is to the atmosphere or water, locations of the releases in relation to bodies of water, who is releasing them. You can use the EPA TRI Explorer to produce a variety of different reports about toxics releases by county, state, or overall U.S. for different time periods." Data are not included, but can be downloaded from the Internet Source: University of Michigan, VISIT (Virtual Immersion in Science Inquiry for Teachers) http://www.emich.edu/visit/modules/Toxic3.pdf   Climate Change Climate Change Lessons Part 1: Greenland "The Climate Change Part 1 lesson uses GIS and media to explore a critical area of climate change research. One of the potential impacts of global warming is the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.  Scientists have been monitoring the ice sheet for over 100 years using a variety of techniques, including ground based weather stations. Advances in satellite monitoring in the past 20 years have improved our ability to see changes in large-scale systems such as Greenland's ice sheet.  The combination of evidence from many sources of observations, both ground and space based evidence of change has given scientists reason for concern."  Part 2: Oceans View "The Climate Change Part 2 lesson uses GIS and media to explore a critical area of climate change research: glacial melting and its potential impact on the ocean currents. Evidence shows increased melting of glaciers in Greenland. The addition of fresh water to the North Atlantic threatens to alter the ocean's salinity in the North Atlantic region." Part 3: Impacts View "The Climate Change Part 3 lesson uses GIS and media to explore a critical area of climate change research: glacial melting and its potential impact on the ocean currents. How are climate and ocean currents interlocked? Evidence shows increased melting of glaciers in Greenland. The addition of fresh water to the North Atlantic threatens to alter the ocean's salinity in the North Atlantic region." Source: ESRI Canada   Metropolitan East Coast Assessment Project for Climate Change "The MEC Educator’s Pack is a package of GIS software, datasets and lesson plans designed for educators who are interested in using GIS technology to explore global climate change issues. The package includes a free GIS software program called ArcExplorer by ESRI the world’s leading GIS software developer. ArcExplorer is easy to use and comes with a user manual to help get you started. The datasets available includes much of the data used in the MEC project such as the climate change models and the US Census Bureau’s TIGER Files." Instructions can be adapted for use of data with ArcGIS 9.x. Source: Columbia Earth Institute, Lamont-Doherty Observatory http://metroeast_climate.ciesin.columbia.edu/edumod.html   Energy Use Oil Consumption Needs description Source: USGS (Author: Joseph Kerski) http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/oil.html   Selecting Wind Farm Sites in Colorado Using GIS Source: ESRI (Author: Joseph Kerski) In this 50-question activity, you will determine the best locations to site a wind energy farm in Colorado. You will use GIS as your primary investigative tool and use spatial analysis techniques to consider the best site. You will consider highways, wind speed, cities, size of polygon, contiguity, elevation, federal land, and will perform a number of geoprocessing functions including dissolve, intersect, erase, join, and more to arrive at your conclusion. http://edcommunity.esri.com/arclessons/lesson.cfm?id=447