3 great activities and more for classroom use

The article, What would it be like without…? by Royce and Holzer offers 3 different lesson plans for inquiry-based learning on natural resource use, mining, and water, to help students under... See More

The article, What would it be like without…? by Royce and Holzer offers 3 different lesson plans for inquiry-based learning on natural resource use, mining, and water, to help students understand human dependency on natural resources. The first activity involves creating a timeline of resource use dating back to 2,000,000 B.C. to 2000 A.D. The timeline allows students to visually see the consumption of natural resources over time and place cards of historical significant on the timeline. Students are encouraged to identify trends, commonalities and differences and to predict future needs. During the second activity, Pasta Mining” students work collaboratively in teams, each representing a different mining company. Each team is given a different type of pasta that their “company” will mine. Students from each group rotate in and out in 1 minute intervals to “mine” their pasta while keeping track of their progress on a chart which is later shared with the class. The purpose of this activity is to explore the how resources are discovered and mined, if collaboration between teams is possible, and prediction of resources over time. The third unit is a water resource activity, which engages students to think about freshwater resources on Earth. A variety of props are used such as a globe beach ball and bottles filled with water representing the various resources of water such as sea, glacier/ice caps and fresh water for consumption. Student can also take place in a Community Water Contamination activity and logging their own daily consumption of water. In addition, a watershed activity helps students to understand where water comes from and explore methods of purification. All of three of these units contained great activities and ideas that could be easily used by environmental science educators in a High School setting. The units provide students with visual, interactive and inquiry-based learning and educators with lesson plan resources and ideas that can be easily attained and implemented at little to no cost.