There are many ways that teachers can inform their students about the importance of a healthy environment. Forty one years ago our country started celebrating a healthy environment by declaring April 22nd “Earth Day.” Since that day, we have emphasized the importance of creating a e healthy earth by educating our youth about on the topic. Nowadays, educators have access to an abundance of online resources for green teaching. Take Classroom Earth (classroomearth.org) for example, it was created for highschool students and it contains an excess amount of information that can easily be included in your daily lesson plans. The purpose of the site is to broaden environmental education in high schools and include this topic in all areas and subjects. The site is loaded with helpful resources, it even contains news articles, videos, and lesson plans. Another great source is called A Walk in the Woods (urbanext.illinois.edu/woods/). This site was created for 3-5 graders from large cities. It offers them a virtual stroll through the woods and it is fully equipped with detailed photos and sound effects. This site is a perfect starting point to environmental education. Eek! also known as Environmental Education for Kids (http://dnr.wi.gov/eek/ ) is another great resource. This site was created for students between grades 4-8 and it is full of excellent content. It is considered an electronic magazine for kids and it was created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Services. It offers many links for k-12 educators with lesson plans covering a variety of topics from climate change to endangered trees. One of the key components on this site is its “Teacher Pages.” These pages contain an array of helpful information like site navigation instructions, tips for getting students onto the site, and a list of subject supported activities.
Question 1: Which of these three resources seems like it would be the most insightful?
Answer 1: All three of these resources seem like they would be very helpful in different ways. The first site would help instructors more than anything. It has a lot of great information and its primary goal is to spread the word about environmental awareness. The second site seems like it is kind of limited. Its audience it very small and its primary purpose is very simplistic—teach urban kids about the wilderness. I believe that Eek! would be the most helpful of the three. Not only is it an entertaining educational magazine for the students, but it also has a section for teachers. It is the most complete site out of the three.
Question 2: How well do you think our public schools are doing with communicating the importance of environmental awareness?
Answer 2: First and foremost, the idea of these websites is awesome. The only concern I have is how many people are actually using these resources. Personally, I’ve never seen an environmental education website until today. My teachers never really discussed the importance of protecting our mother earth. I think that the extent of being environmentally savvy in our public schools is through recycling. Other than that, most students aren’t getting educated on the topic. I think it should be part of the curriculum.
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