Smartboard lesson plan for elementary school with adaptations for high school ecology. Provides lesson slides, embedded videos, links to websites to explore and link to an interactive SMART Notebook lesson. A hands-on project based activity is included. How to use the lesson over several days in the high school classroom, tips, ideas and considerations for Universal Design for Learning are all included.

1. Saving the Earth
Through
Education
By Pam Hodgson

2. Saving the EarthThrough Education Lesson
• This lesson can be easily adapted for any age but the target audience is high school
environmental science.The original lesson is for 4th grade and this presentation shows how
to take the lesson and adapt it for older students.
• The lesson is based on the Smartboard lesson “Natural Resources” by Aysha Ames found in
Scholastic’s Earth Day lesson collection.
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=250
2
Topic Slide
Assets and what to keep from the
original lesson
3
Lesson accessibility- Universal Design
for Learning
4-6
Adapting it for older students 7-17
What to remove from the original
lesson
18
General information for how to use this
lesson
19

3. GreatThings AboutThe Original Lesson
[Natural Resources by Ayesha Ames]
3
• The lesson is well organized, easy to read, and easy to follow.
• The lesson includes easy to recognize pictures showing examples of renewable and
non-renewable resources.
• Slides are interactive, using a Smartboard, in several different ways to keep students
engaged, such as drag and drop, writing in answers, tabs with answers, rotate
pictures for answers, and buttons that reveal items/answers.

4. Universal Design for Learning Considerations:
Engagement
• The lesson begins with a video about how plastic garbage is overwhelmingly piling up on our planet. Students
should be drawn in to learn more about this problem and hopefully already motivated to find a solution.
• Students should be motivated further by the information about negative mining effects and deforestation.
4

5. Universal Design for Learning Considerations:
Representation
• This lesson includes visual information- pictures, icons, and videos.
• This lesson includes movement within the classroom as students can come up to the board to write
answers, move sliding tabs, and push buttons. Students can also move when they form groups.
• This lesson includes tactile information as they are able to touch and pass around objects that are
relevant to the lesson.
• This lesson includes varying degrees of difficulty, reaching students at each of their levels of
understanding.
• This lesson includes review of prior knowledge.
• One video is played with English subtitles. This may be difficult for students with reading difficulties
or if English is not their primary language. This video is included to show students that individuals
around the world are affected by the resources we use and it can be a good educational experience
for them to hear these individuals express their personal stories in their native language.The visuals
in the video show the impact and reading the subtitles is not entirely necessary. If needed or desired,
volume can be turned down and the teacher can read the subtitles.
5

6. Universal Design for Learning Considerations:
Action and Expression
• The lesson ends with an open-ended assignment where students can choose what mode of
expression will work best for them. Students can express their understanding of resources and
sustainability through words, actions and/or visual representations.
• Students will have opportunities to conference with the teacher about their choice of topic and mode
of expression. Students will be able to discuss with the teacher what they want their end product to
look like and get help and guidance along the way from the teacher.
• Students will work in an environment in which they can receive help and support from fellow
classmates.
6
Photo credit flickr.com
COD Newsroom

7. Adaptations to the Lesson for Older Students
• The original lesson is a useful starting
point for a high school lesson on
environmentalism.
• It is time consuming to build Smartboard
lessons so starting with a lesson already
created (with fun interactive slides) is being
wise with an important non-renewable
resource...time!
• Using a lesson that includes review of
concepts learned at younger ages helps to
be inclusive to learners with special needs.
• The lesson can easily include vocabulary
and topics from the State of Ohio
Science Standards for Environmental
Science p. 306-329
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachme
nt/Topics/Learning-in-
Ohio/Science/Ohios-Learning-
Standards-and-
MC/ScienceStandards.pdf.aspx?lang=en
-US
7
Topic Slide
Impact of
Mining
9-10
Deforestation 11-12
Sustainability 13
These slides would go after the
slide titled “Renewable vs. Non-
renewable” in the original
lesson. (Slide 7 with the rubber
duck.)
Topic Slide
Plastic Ocean
Engaging
Video
8
This slide would replace slide 1
in the original lesson.

8. Natural Resources and Sustainability
8
 “Plastic
Ocean”
 United
Nations
 7 1/2
minutes

9. Impact of Mining: Coal Mining in the United States
 “Coal Mining’s
Environmental
Impact-From the
Ashes”
 National
Geographic
 Approx. 3 minutes
9

10. Impact of Mining Continued: Mining Across the Globe
10
 “Impacts of
Mining”
 African
Coalition for
Corporate
Accountability
 Approx. 10
minutes
*If it is difficult to read the subtitles, turn down the volume and read aloud.
Pass around
items that we
use everyday
that the raw
materials were
mined.

11. Deforestation
11
In small groups skim through the
article at the site below. Create a list of
at least 4 reasons that deforestation
occurs.
https://www.livescience.com/27692-
deforestation.html
When everyone has had a chance to
discuss this as a group, we will fill in the
tree with common reasons for
deforestation. After the tree is filled in,
pass around everyday
objects we use that are
contributing to
deforestation.

12. But I thought trees were a RENEWABLE resource.
Can’t we just plant more trees?
12
Class Discussion:
Why is deforestation a
problem that can’t be fixed
but needs to be stopped?

13. Sustainability
• What is sustainability?
• What practices do we already do that are sustainable?
• Create a brainstorm of ideas for how we
can live more sustainable lives.
13

14. Students of any age need HOPE!
• Learning about human impact on the
environment can often be difficult if
students take it to heart so lesson/units
should always include ways students
can have a positive impact.
• The original lesson has a quiz that can
be used as a springboard for discussing
environmentalism. I would likely edit
the questions to pertain more to the
topics covered in the lesson but it is
usable as is.
• After the quiz students will engage in a
hands-on project based assignment
about environmental solutions that they
will continue to work on for the next few
days as an ongoing assignment.
14
Topic Slide
Assignment 15
Student ideas 16
Teacher’s
ideas
17
These slides would go after
the quiz in the original
lesson plan.

15. Let’s take action!
Choose a method:
• Write a letter
• Write an email (draft)
• Make a flyer
• Make a pamphlet
• Make a video
• Make a book for younger children
• Make a picture collage or slideshow
• Other! (ask for approval)
15
Choose a topic from our solutions
ideas to communicate to others
outside of class. If you think of a new
idea/topic that’s great but get
teacher approval. See assignment
handout for more information.
After teacher review…
• If you write a letter or email it will be sent.
• Other forms of media will be
printed/published/posted in the school and/or
our school’s Facebook page.
• Children’s books will be printed and distributed
to teachers at the elementary school (which
grade will depend on what exactly you write
about.)

16. Student SustainabilityTopic Ideas
What can we inform others about to make positive changes for the environment?
What suggestions can we promote to make positive changes for the environment?
16

17. Teacher’s Ideas for Sustainability:
Preserving Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources
Reusable/cloth diapers
17
Be diligent
about recycling
Reusable plates,
coffee mugs, water
bottles, silverware
Reusable
feminine
products
Reusable produce
and grocery bags Donate to and
shop thrift
Renewable energy (but you must
consider the mining involved)
There are many more
possibilities! One thing to
keep in mind is that
REDUCE is first in
“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!”
Photo credit
flickr.com
rusvaplauke
Photo credit flickr.com athriftymrs.com
Photo credit flickr.com Jeffrey Zwartjes

18. Other items to edit
It is necessary to note that there are things to change in the original lesson plan
regardless of what age you use it for.
• The links to games on the last page don’t work and that slide needs deleted.
• If you don’t have Adobe Flashplayer installed, some items in the lesson will not work. Either
download Flashplayer or edit those pages for other content.
• The slide with a wordsearch should be deleted or moved to the end for students to work on if
they are done on their assignment before others.
18

19. How to UseThis Lesson
• This lesson is intended for use withAdobe Smartboard, however it can be used as a presentation without a Smartboard if
necessary, but you lose some of the student interaction. Students could potentially do some of the same things on the
laptop showing the presentation.
• To use the lesson posted on the Scholastic website you will need to install SMART Notebook to your computer.The basic
version can be downloaded for free. https://www.smarttech.com/products/education-software/smart-learning-
suite/download
• The added slides can be edited into the lesson or used independently as a slide show.
• If you would like the videos to be played in full screen, click on theYouTube icon in the bottom right corner after pressing
play.
• Students should be provided with a handout of the explanation of the project, the goals, the list of possible (but not
limited to) topics and modes of presentation and a rubric. If the product should show at least a part of what they learned
in the lesson (i.e. vocab words or main points about deforestation or mining) then the handout should also make those
expectations clear. However, the intent of this activity is not for students to expressly show what they learned but for
them to find ways to take civic action in regards to sustainability-but still showing what they learned, only in a less
apparent way.
• The lesson is intended for a 90 minute block or two 45 minute periods. However, with quality student engagement in
activities and discussions and if the teacher shows the full length of all 3 videos the lesson will most likely need to last an
extra day, regardless of block/period length.
• The “Take Action” assignment slide, student sustainability ideas and teacher sustainability ideas can easily be used to start off the lesson on an
additional day that then leads to work time on their projects.
• Students should be given a day or day and ½ of class time to work on the project and conference with the teacher on their
topic and mode of presentation and get any help that is needed.
• If the class is comprised of lower income students, provide a stockpile of materials so that they are not limited in their choice of product.
• Depending on the makeup of the class and the support needed, more days can be provided to allow work time.
19

20. 20
Sources:
Images (as noted on picture):
Flickr.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
Lesson:
Aysha Ames. Natural Resources. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=250
Lesson Adaptations:
Ohio Department of Education. Ohio’s Learning Starndards, Science. 2011.
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Science/Ohios-Learning-Standards-and-
MC/ScienceStandards.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US
Sarah Derouin. Live Science. 2019. https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
Videos:
African Coalition for Corporate Accountability. Impacts of Mining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJZY14fOgk
National Geographic.Coal Mining’s Environmental Impact: From the Ashes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynN39sfqT8w
United Nations. Plastic Ocean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_2NuK5O-E