Journal 9 - Teaching Green (NETS-T I, II, III)

Waters, John. (2011). Teaching green. The Journal, 38(4), Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2011/04/06/Teaching-Green.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=1

Summary: Throughout this article author John Waters discussed a multitude of educational websites that address the National Environmental Education Act, which was enacted by President Nixon in the 1960s.  All the websites Waters discusses provide teachers and students with resources about “...green teaching and learning.”  The first website Waters discusses is Classroom Earth.  This site, designed for high school level students, encourages the inclusion of environmental sciences into other high school subjects.  The site includes resources for both students and teachers.  The second source is Walk in the Woods, which is designed for early elementary-level students.  The purpose of the site is to expose young children to nature by giving them access to a virtual tour of the woods, pictures, and notes.  The third site, Environmental Education for Kids, is designed for student in late elementary school or middle school.  Designed as an online magazine students have access to lessons which inform students to a variety of environmental subjects.  The fourth site, The Ecological Footprint Quiz, allows students to take a quiz to determine their personal environmental footprint, thus encouraging them to live more sustainably.  The fifth site, Power Up, is an online multi-player game in which players attempt to save a foreign world from environmental disasters.  The final site is the US Environmental Protection Agency Teaching Center, which is a teacher focused site that offers resources and lesson plans divided for specific grade levels.

Question 1:  Which of these sites will be most valuable in your classroom?

Answer 1: Of all the sites provided by Waters the most valuable in my classroom will be Classroom Earth.  As a potential high school history teacher I know the environmental sciences can be included in my lesson plan, perhaps more than other subjects.  I think the other sites are either not grade appropriate or the responsibility of the science teachers.

Question 2: As an educator how can you incorporate these tools in your classroom?

Answer 2: To me the most important piece of this article was how it did not focus entirely on science.  As previously stated Classroom Earth can be implemented in any classroom, regardless of subject.  The Footprint Quiz can also be used in any class because it can be used to promote a reflection paper.  Power-up also addresses the growing fascination of video games.  Students enjoy having fun, especially when they don’t know they are learning.