I am the first to admit that science is not my strong suit when it comes to teaching. When my district adopted the NGSS standards, part of me was thrilled to finally have a science framework, and part of me felt overwhelmed. With science as my teaching weakness, reading through the many science standards made my head spin. One of the standards that stood out most as being important was how humans impact the environment. I knew I needed to put a strong emphasis on this standard, but wasn’t sure how to attack it in a meaningful way. So, I started doing some of my own research outside of the textbook and gathered a wealth of knowledge about the different ways that humans impact our planet. I put all of my research into concrete ideas, and created resources that I could use in the classroom to guide my instruction.
I learn best when I have both visual and auditory input, so I teach Human Impact on the Environment in the way that I would want it to be taught. I use digital slides to provide basic information, and allow our discussions to flow organically based on those slides. Students take notes as we go using the guided notes that I have laid out to follow the slides.
I start by teaching students about the negative ways that humans impact the planet. From soil degradation, to deforestation, to runoff. The top photos show the slides, and the lower photos show the guided notes for students.
I then teach students about the variety of ways that humans are can positively impact the environment from renewable energy, to reforestation, to more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Then, I reinforce the concepts we discussed by going over important vocabulary and analyzing cause and effect relationships (a HUGE part of NGSS).
Science can be challenging to teach in an engaging and effective way, and a lot of times the most memorable lessons for students are the ones that fostered the most organic discussion. It can completely change your science instruction!
Below are two resources that I use in my own classroom to teach students about the ways humans impact the environment. Click the photos to see how they can work in your classroom!
