Michelle+Harwood

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One topic affecting every individual in the world today is [|environmentalism]. The [|ecological footprint] that civilization has left on our planet is detrimental, global warming, sustainability, and recycling are only three of the many new terms used to define processes that are related to environmental awareness. It is our job as teachers today to make sure that we inform and educate future generations about the serious topic at hand. Learning about the history of [|Earth Day] is just one of the many ways students can start to be aware of and appreciate the Earth's environment.

Lesson plan objectives include summarizing and organizing key events in the format of a timeline concerning Earth Day that are collected from internet sites. Students will discuss the environmental problems affecting their community and summarize the important facts on the creation of how Earth Day came about, who was responsible for it, and what environmental factors still affect our planet today. Technology is also a large aspect of this project, as students will have to look for information online regarding Earth Day in order to create their timelines. Supplementary tools to be used during the lesson are lectures and handouts. Assessment and evaluation will occur throughout the whole process of the project, making sure that students answer questions verbally during teacher lecture and note students' ability to navigate the internet. Students' timelines will be graded on creativity, depth and variation of research collected from the internet, and organization of dates on the timeline.

Lesson Plan: [|The History of Earth Day]

**__Responses__** __Erin's Response:__ This sounds like such a great way to teach about something that is very current while still teaching a history lesson. I love the idea of having the class learn about ecological footprints and maybe they could even analyze their own individual ecological footprint, I know there are some sites out there that can determine your footprint. Again, I really love how this encompasses the past, the present, and the future. I can see this project leading up to a fun filled celebration on earth day that the kids could get really enthusiastic about. I think a really great addition to this project would be having a class discussion on what can be done to help save our planet in the future. I think a project like this could really get some of the students very conscious about the environment and very willing to be proactive in the future.

__Darryl's Response:__ I feel that we as an entire world forget the importance of the Earth. Without the Earth there would be no history of any sort. These ideas are great for teaching the importance of the history of the Earth. I really like the Earth day assignment. It gives students a chance to evaluate their own communities and compare it to the differences of today. I do not know if this should be a huge project though. I think it should be more of a discussion thing. Maybe even a compare contrast board project. Where they take an important event from the history of the Earth before, show how it is today, and the timeline of events in between.

__Danielle's Response:__ I think that this lesson plan is really cool because of how it can tie in something that the students are familiar with. I like how it begins with having the students answer questions about what they may already know about Earth Day. This will immediately help them to become engaged in the lesson and may help to encourage them to learn more. It would be very cool if you were able to do this project in the week leading up to Earth Day and have your students brainstorm ideas of what they as a class would like to do to contribute to our Earth. Not only would they be working with a history lesson and current events, but you could also pull in some community service!