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What is Environmental Science? Who are Environmental Scientists?

Learning Experience 3

Big Ideas

The field of environmental science includes how the natural world works, how we as humans interact with the environment, and also how humans and our environment affect one another over time.Individuals and teams from many nations and cultures have contributed to science and to advances in engineering. A scientist’s background, theoretical commitments, and fields of endeavor influence the nature of their findings.

Summary

Explore the study of Environmental Science and learn about the vast array of issues and topics scientists are studying in this field.

Engage

This is meant to be a quick class discussion to help your students prepare for the Explore and Explain portion of the Learning Experience coming up next. The ability to identify the meaning of a word using the prefix and suffix can assist in identifying what field of science a person is in. This strategy  will be useful to help students figure out the many fields of environmental science, not just the ones explored in this lesson.

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new world  

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters added to the end of a word to make a new word.

“Pre” is the Latin word for  “before” .  Suffix comes from the Latin word “sub.” 

Prefix is before; Suffix is after.

Show students a preview of the list they will be using in the next activity and ask them if any sound familiar.

Here is a pdf copy of the word list

See if they can recognize any scientific terms using the list.

Explore and Explain

Who are Environmental Scientists?

Walk the students through the instructions (Slide 2) for the “Who are Environmental Scientists?” Activity

Model the first activity found on Slide 5 .

Break them into pairs, download the file and print a copy for every student.  Ask them to fill in the right side on slides 6-27.

Remind students to put their names on the types of scientist(s) that they find intriguing. Go even deeper in the Extension with a multiple class mini lesson created by Greg Smith (formerly) at Saul High School.

Extensions

Environmental Science Career Pathways

Use Smth’s Professionals in Environmental Science Mini Lesson to dive in to the following components of the lesson:

  • Students will conduct online research.
  • Students will create a Slideshow.
  • Students will make a Presentation.

Teacher Support

Essential Question:
Why do we all need to understand what science is, how we do it, why it changes and what it’s good for?

Guiding Questions:

Who are Environmental Scientists?

Students will be able to:

Research and list the different fields of environmental science? Who studies them? Fields and Careers (diverse examples…women, people of color, disciplines using local examples of Water career)

Research and present to their classmates a prominent figure/professional/advocate within the earth sciences.

No Vocabulary for this LE

Create an engaging slideshow that will present their assigned professional and related earth career.

PA STEELS

Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

3.4.9-12.D Environmental Literacy Skills: Apply research and analytical skills to systematically investigate environmental issues ranging from local issues to those that are regional or global in scope.

Related Standards

NGSS

HSLS2-6 Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

Education for  Sustainability

EfS C48

Student Materials

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