Better education now Better protection for our future Alamo Area Council of Governments 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite. 700 (210) 362-5200 [email protected] 2 The Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) would like to thank the following agencies for permission to use and adapt their education resources for this curriculum: Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) www.ase.org Department of Earth Science at the www.earth.uni.edu/ University of Northern Iowa Energy Information Administration (EIA) www.eia.doe.gov Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) www.epa.gov/ Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning www.nirpc.org/ Commission (NIRPC) Texas Commission on Environmental www.tceq.state.tx.us/index.html Quality (TCEQ) Texas State Energy Conservation Office www.infinitepower.org/lessonplans.htm West Michigan Clean Air Coalition www.wmcac.org 3 4 Table of Contents Key to Symbols: = Air Quality Lesson/Activity = Transportation Lesson/Activity = Activity = Lesson Activity/Lesson Grades Page Introduction 7 Learning from Stories K-5 33 Making an Alphabet Book K-5 31 Moving Air! K-5 27 What is Air? K-5 9 What is Air? Air is a Gas! K-5 13 What is Air? It Moves and It Smells! K-5 15 How we Know Air is There 1-3 55 What is Air? How Living Things Use It 1-3 19 Air Quality and Transportation 2 37 Conserving Electricity: Turn It Off 2 39 The Day the Air Pollution Gremlins Came to Town 2-4 49 Acid Rain: The Disappearing Statue 2-5 35 What is Air? Is It clean? 2-5 23 Air Pollution Word Search 2-12 45 Discovering Ways to Use Energy Wisely 3-5 67 5 Exploring Alternative-Fuel Vehicles 3-5 75 Smog 3-5 63 Studying the Sun 3-5 85 Using Alternative Energy at Home 3-5 93 Wasting Energy at Home? 3-5 103 Energy Sources 3-6 111 How Much Energy Do You Use? 3-6 117 Making Decisions 3-9 121 What is RideSharing 3-12 135 Particle Pollution: How Dirty is the Air We Breathe? 4 139 Acid Rain: An Air Pollutant 4-6 147 Air Terms: The Flash Card Game 4-6 149 Energy Activities 4-7 57 Designing a Clean-Air Environment 4-9 141 Harmful Effects of Acid Rain 5-8 229 How Green are We? 5-12 127 Air Pollution Control 6-8 151 Converting Fuels to Obtain Energy 6-8 153 Highs and Lows 6-8 173 Looking at Data 6-8 161 Oxygen and Ozone 6-8 167 Temperature Inversion 6-8 183 The Awful Eight Lesson Plan 6-8 187 How does a Cloud Form? 6-9 177 Acid Rain 6-10 41 6 Tracking Air Quality 6-10 199 Deciding to Clean the Air 6-12 203 Hop on the Bus, Gus! 6-12 213 Hot and Cold Running Oil 6-12 217 Inventing a Monitor 6-12 209 The Pressure’s On 6-12 221 What a Drag! 6-12 225 The Cost of Pollution 7-12 231 Researching Renewable Energy 8-10 239 Temperature Inversion 8-10 237 Is Your Air Clean 8-12 263 Finding Sources of Air Pollution 9-12 257 Lifestyles and the Environment 9-12 267 Testing a Windmill Generator 9-12 245 Appendix A: Glossary 275 Appendix B: Reading List 295 Appendix C: Index 303 7 8 Introduction This purpose of this curriculum, compiled and developed by the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG), is to assist teachers in the San Antonio region and throughout Texas in educating students on air quality issues as they relate to health and transportation. As of the date of this printing, Summer 2006, ground-level ozone pollution is the San Antonio region‘s most pressing air pollution problem, which creates significant public health concerns. The lessons within this curriculum will help students understand ground-level ozone pollution and its sources, and it will teach them how their daily choices can help keep our air clean and help us all breathe a little easier. AACOG gathered these lessons from organizations and agencies throughout the United States and wishes to express sincere gratitude to all of the air quality educators who have allowed us to adapt and reprint their work. AACOG modified each lesson for Texas and especially for the San Antonio region, and correlations to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) have been provided. As you use this curriculum, please contact AACOG Natural Resources Department staff at (210) 362-5200 or via the website, www.aacog.com/air , with any questions or requests for guest speakers. AACOG technical and outreach staff are happy to visit as guest speakers and have a number of interactive lessons to supplement those already contained in the curriculum. Back to top 9 10 What is Air? Target Grade Levels Overview Kindergarten - Fifth In this discussion activity, students will be asked a series of questions to see what they know about air— Time some possible answers are provided. Teachers can 20 minutes then choose from the accompanying series of activities Materials to help students check their assumptions about air. None Background Information Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Before understanding air pollution and what it means to Science: our air, students need to be able to recognize air itself. o Make wise choices in the Air is all around us and is a primary ingredient for life— conservation of resources; without air; there would not be any life as we know, so o Describe ways technology we need to take care of our air. influences human capacity to modify the environment; o Give examples of scientific Procedure discoveries and technological 1) Vocabulary innovations that have shaped the world; a) air g) carbon dioxide o Compare ways living organisms b) gas h) smokestacks depend on each other; and o Know that organisms need food, c) atmosphere i) transportation water, light, air, and habitat. Language Arts d) water vapor j) molecules o Listen and talk about e) smoke k) atoms experiences; and o Make contributions to small or large f) oxygen group discussions. 2) Activities a) Ask students to back up their answers with evidence. Questions for students with possible answers included below each question: i) What do you know about air? (1) We breathe air. (2) Air is a gas. (3) Air makes up the atmosphere. ii) What are some things you have observed about air? (1) Air moves (wind). (2) Air can change temperature. 11 (3) Air can smell. (4) Air can be seen (water vapor, smoke). (5) You can feel air when it moves (wind). (6) You can see air moves things (storms, trees, leaves, dust, litter). (7) Moving air makes weather. (8) Hot air rises (hot air balloon). iii) How do living things use air? (1) Living things use air to breathe oxygen. (2) Plants use air (carbon dioxide) to make food. (3) Birds use air to fly. (4) Seeds are distributed by the wind. iv) How does air become polluted? (1) Industry, such as smokestacks, pollutes the air. (2) Individuals‘ actions (driving, mowing) create pollution by burning gas. (3) Air coming from other areas of the U.S. pollutes the air. (4) Transportation (cars, planes, trucks, trains) helps create ozone pollution. v) Is all air clean? (1) Some air is polluted. (2) Sometimes we can see air pollution. (3) Sometimes we can smell pollution. (4) Sometimes we can‘t see it or smell it, but special equipment shows that there is air pollution on in the air. vi) What are the properties of air? (1) Possible Answers (a) Air is transparent. (b) Air has weight. (c) Air takes up space. (d) Air is a gas. (e) Air is made up of molecules and atoms. Back to top Adapted from: ―Ozone Action! Let‘s Clear the Air: Educational Activities Kindergaten-5th grade.‖ West Michigan Clean Air Coalition. 2003. 12 What is Air? Air is a Gas! Target Grade Levels Overview Kindergarten - Fifth Students will learn the differences between gas, solid, and liquid while viewing the teacher‘s experiment. Time One hour Background Information We need to breathe air to live. If our air is not clean, it Materials affects our health. Just because we cannot see 3 glass containers, such as jars pollution does not mean it is not in the air we breathe. solid object that will fit in the container Clean air actions all year help keep our air clean. water Procedure Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) 1) Vocabulary Science: a) gas d) air o Make wise choices in the conservation of resources; b) solid e) compress o Describe ways technology influences human capacity to c) liquid f) molecules modify the environment; o Give examples of scientific discoveries and technological 2) Activities innovations that have shaped the a) Set the three glass containers on a desk, one world; o Compare ways living organisms containing the solid object, another containing depend on each other; and some water and the third containing ―nothing‖. o Know that organisms need food, water, light, air, and habitat. b) Have students describe the relationship of these three states of matter. Possible answers include: Language Arts o Listen and talk about experiences; i) Solid has its own shape inside the jar. o Write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and ii) Liquid takes the shape of the container but problem solve; and has one free surface. o Make contributions to small or large group discussions. iii) Gas fills the entire container. c) They may be able to name some other properties. Ask students what they notice about these states of matter when they are compressed.