NRES 310/510 EE Teaching Methods

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All students complete:

Assignment 3: Writing an Environmental Education Unit Plan (100 Points)

INSTRUCTIONS: Your unit plan report should include the items listed below. For each item the number of points given for that portion is provided. A minimum of five (5) EE resource materials must be used in your unit. Cite complete reference information for each of the resource materials used. 

Note: If you are not currently teaching, please create a unit plan for the grade/subject area you anticipate teaching in the future. Hopefully that way you will have a useful product.

Note 2 (added 4/21/08): Yes, you may infuse the EE lessons into another unit. For example, one student indicated she plans to use an existing advertising unit and focus more on advertisements and the media in regards to environmental (or lack there of) products/consumption.  The goal is to produce something useable that incorporates EE.

EXPECTATIONS

(1)      Portfolio Quality.  We encourage you to include the Environmental Education Thematic Unit in your professional portfolio…which might be presented for graduation and included in future employment applications/interviews. For these reasons, the assignment should be prepared carefully and lead to a high quality, attractive, and useful thematic unit.

(2)    Use Bold Headings and Sub-headings to divide the lessons up and make it easy to follow. This way you can use the lesson plans as a quick reference outline while you teach the lesson. Also use spaces to break the write up into easy to read sections.   

(3)   Substitute Ready Provide enough narrative/detail to completely explain the teaching process and the role of the teacher and students for each of the steps.  The goal is to make the lessons complete enough that a substitute teacher could pick it up and conduct the lesson as you envision it should be taught. Add enough explanations, instructions, and discussion questions to make it complete and easy to follow. Within the lesson itself, refer to additional worksheets, additional information, etc. you have appended to the end of the lesson if applicable.

1. Identify one specific aspect of environmental education that you would like to explore with your class. (5pts. total)
1. Put this in the form of a research question (2pts) Some sample questions might be:
• Will a two-week survey of the newspaper help my students gain a greater insight into current environmental issues?
• Does infusing Environmental Education into my unit on _______ encourage more student participation in the learning process?
• Can a series of activities in which students wrestle with a moral environmental dilemma help students write about the ethical dimensions of a new situation?
• Can the study of water, water quality, and water quantity change my students' attitudes about water resources?
2. Give your reasons for choosing this question (e.g., instructional considerations, developmental psychology, philosophical). (3pts)
2. Describe your actual or likely school and classroom situation: grade level, subject(s), number of students, proportion of students with exceptional needs, and any other pertinent information. (5pts total)
3. Describe at least 5 activities that will help you address your question. (80pts total)
1. Each activity should include objectives, your detailed summary of the procedure, assessment strategies, and complete references for all resource materials used. (See suggested lesson plan files one and two) Each activity is worth 16 pts.
2. Summaries must be in your own words. A copy of the original activity may be submitted but will not substitute for your summary.
3. At least one of your activities must involve an outdoor site, a community resource, or students' families.
4. Explain in detail how the activities will help you answer the research question you outlined in #1. Be sure to include the following: (10pts. total)
1. The reason for sequencing the activities as you did. (3pts)
2. Anticipated or actual student response to the activities. (2pts)
3. How the activities address appropriate EE subgoals, grade level emphases and Wisconsin EE standards (5pts)