Holiday Facts & Fun: Earth Day Second Edition Teacher s Guide Written by Barri Golbus Produced by Colman Communications Corp.
Table of Contents Page Program Overview 3 Viewer Objectives 4 Suggested Lesson Plan 5 Description of Blackline Masters 7 Answer Key 7 Transcript of the Video 7 Web Resources 13 Purchase of this program entitles the user the right to reproduce or duplicate, in whole or in part, this teacher s guide and the blackline master handouts that accompany it for the purpose of teaching in conjunction with this video. This right is restricted for use only with this video program. Any reproduction or duplication in whole or in part of this guide and the blackline master handouts for any purpose other than for use with this video program is prohibited.
EARTH DAY SECOND EDITION From the Holiday Facts & Fun Series Grades K-5 Viewing Time: 14:15 PROGRAM OVERVIEW Intended Audience and Uses Earth Day has been produced for students in grades K-5. This video has several classroom uses. First, it can used to help students understand and appreciate Earth Day. Second, it can be used as part of the science curriculum when students study topics associated with the environment and ecology. Finally, the video may be used in social studies units in which important social movements in the second half of the 20 th century are covered. This program meets McREL U.S. History Standard 31 ( Understands economic, social and cultural developments in the -3-
contemporary United States ); and McREL Life Sciences Standard 6 ( Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment. ) Program Synopsis The program is divided into three sections. The first, an introduction, explains that the earth is important to all of us because it supplies us with the water, food and air we need. The second part presents a history of Earth Day. It shows Senator Gaylord Nelson becoming increasingly aware of pollution as he travels around the country. After a large oil well spill off the coast of California, Senator Nelson suggests that the nation hold an Earth Day to help everyone understand the seriousness of the pollution problem. A college student, Denis Hayes, heads the effort. Held in 1970, the first Earth Day was a huge success. Slowly, however, the lessons of the event were forgotten and pollution problems became worse than ever. A second Earth Day was held in 1990. This one, also headed by Denis Hayes, was an international event that would become the first of many annual celebrations. The third part of the program discusses how Earth Day is celebrated and shows various things everyone can do to help assure that the earth s air, land and water will remain clean and healthful for future generations. VIEWER OBJECTIVES After viewing this video and participating in the suggested activities, viewers should be able to do the following: 1. Tell how and why Earth Day was started. 2. Name the two key events that prompted the first Earth Day celebration. 3. Discuss the roles of Senator Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes in the establishment of the annual Earth Day -4-
celebration. 4. Tell how Earth Day is typically celebrated. 5. Name at least five things each person can do to help keep the earth healthy. The producers encourage you to make adaptations and changes to the following lesson plan whenever you feel it will enhance your students learning experiences. Only by tailoring the material to your unique classroom situation will you be able to maximize the educational experience afforded by these materials. SUGGESTED LESSON PLAN Viewing Strategies Various strategies may be employed when showing Earth Day to your class. If you wish to use the program as a way to give general information about the holiday, you may find it useful to show the entire program in one screening, then follow up with appropriate questions (see the Suggested Discussion Questions blackline master) and/or activities suggested in this guide. Alternately, you may wish to show only the first two sections of the video if presentation time is limited. If your class is using the program for a science unit on the environment or ecology, you may find it useful to show only the last segment, which gives detailed information on various ways individuals can help keep the earth s air, land and water clean. Screening the second segment a history of Earth Day might be ideal for those using the program in a social studies unit on significant 20 th century issues. Introduce the Program Show the class a picture of the earth. Ask if any of us could exist without our planet. The obvious conclusion, of -5-
course, is that we couldn t. Then ask, What if the earth s air, land and water were composed of poison? Would we be able to exist if that were the case? Again, the answer is obvious. Now tell the class that they will see a program about Earth Day, a special day we observe each year that helps remind us how important it is to keep the earth s air, land and water clean. Pre-Viewing Activities The producers encourage you to prescreen the program to familiarize yourself with its content. If your students are at the K-2 level, read aloud The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and discuss the environmental implications of the story. If your students are at the 3-5 level, print and duplicate The Happy Earth Day Coloring and Activities Book that comes with this guide (permission granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5). Have your students briefly look over the book and tell them that many of the items covered will be discussed in the video. Post-Viewing Activities Discuss the program, using the Suggested Discussion Questions, if you prefer. At the K-2 level, assign an art project in which each child draws a picture of himself or herself doing an activity (such as buying rain forest products or turning off the lights when leaving a room) that shows what he or she has done recently to help keep the earth clean. As an alternative, the class could create a mural that depicts members of the class, as individuals, doing the same. You may find it useful to create a list with the class before beginning. (If you don t recall every item mentioned in the video, a transcription is found on page 7 of this -6-
guide. Students at the 3-5 level should complete The Happy Earth Day Coloring and Activities Book. You may assign sections of the book as homework, individual seatwork or committee work. Discuss, if you feel it will be helpful to your students, the answers for Taking Care of the Earth Every Day, What s Wrong Here? and the blank spaces on the Do s and Don ts page. Description of Blackline Masters SUGGESTED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Gives questions that may be asked after each segment is viewed. THE HAPPY EARTH DAY COLORING AND ACTIVITIES BOOK Reviews and expands on the information pertaining to keeping the earth s environment healthful. ANSWER KEY Video Quiz: 1.Senator Gaylord Nelson 2. An oil well spill off the coast of California and astronauts sending back pictures of the earth from space 3. Denis Hayes 4. People forgot the lessons they had learned and started polluting the earth again. 5. It was held in many nations around the world and became the first in an annual event. 6. The ecology flag 7. Turn off the TV, turn off the CD player, turn off the lights, turn off the DVD player, turn off all other appliances when leaving the room. 8. Possible answers include paper, clothing, toys, computers, cell phones. 9. They contain harmful chemicals that if not disposed of correctly can poison the environment 10. Organic foods, rain forest products, ceramic cups TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO Part I: Introduction Our planet, earth. It s where we find the land on which our food grows the food that keeps us healthy. It s also where we find the water we drink the water that keeps us from becoming too thirsty. -7-
And it s where we find the air we breathe air that keeps us alive. In fact, the earth is home to everything we see, use and need in our everyday lives, like the pencils and paper we use for homework. If you're like most people, you haven't thought about how the earth gives us so much because you ve been busy thinking about other things, such as schoolwork and friends and what s for dinner. But giving some thought to the earth s air, land and water and how much all of us depend on them is very important so important, in fact, that we even have a special celebration in April called Earth Day, a holiday that helps us better understand our planet and appreciate the animals and plants that live on it or dwell in its waters. Part II: A Short History of Earth Day The first Earth Day, held in 1970, was started by a lawmaker from the state of Wisconsin, Senator Gaylord Nelson. As part of his job, he sometimes traveled around the country. And as he did, he saw many things that upset him. He saw people who littered. He also saw cars and trucks whose exhaust fumes poisoned the air, and factories whose smoke did the same thing. The dirty air the air pollution was so bad at that time that it damaged some peoples lungs, making it difficult for them to breathe. It also harmed plants. Senator Nelson also saw farmers who sprayed dangerous chemicals on their crops chemicals that got into the food people ate and into nearby streams and rivers, where fish and other animals that ate the fish could be poisoned. He saw that people used up so many things so quickly the trash kept piling up. "Where could all that garbage go?" he asked. -8-
In short, Senator Nelson could see that the pollution situation was going from bad to worse. Then, several things happened that helped a lot of other people understand what was going on. First, astronauts began sending back pictures of the earth. When scientists and others saw the pictures, they realized that our planet s problems were their problems. After all, they asked, where could people go if the earth were destroyed by pollution? The pictures made it clear there was nowhere else. Besides people seeing the earth from space, the second that that happened was a terrible oil well leak off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, north of Los Angeles. Straw was thrown on beaches to soak up the oil, for the onceblue waters were now dirty and slimy. Senator Nelson happened to be in California giving some speeches during that terrible event. On his trip back to the nation s capital, he had an idea. Why not set aside a special day to help people understand how serious things had gotten, a day with programs that would show them what they could do to make things better that is, to help the earth become cleaner, more healthful and more beautiful! Back in Washington, Senator Nelson announced his idea. One person who heard about Senator Nelson's plan, and liked it, was a college student, Denis Hayes. Denis decided to take a year off from school to help organize the nation s first Earth Day. More than 20 million people from all over the country took part in the event. It was a huge success. People actually began to change their behavior. They didn't litter as much. -9-
And in congress, laws were passed to keep businesses, cities, states and citizens from polluting. For several years after the first Earth Day, the water, land and skies became cleaner. Slowly, however, people went back to their old ways. And as the years passed, pollution once again became a growing problem. To make things even worse, large sections of rain forests where trees and other plant life cleaned the air were being cut down. In other places, mining activity destroyed much of the surrounding plant life! Somebody had to help people understand once again that the earth was in trouble. That "somebody" was Denis Hayes. He began to organize another Earth Day. But this time, he wanted it to take place all over the world, not just in the United States. The United Nations, an organization made up of almost every country in the world, decided to help Denis because its members realized that pollution was a problem everywhere, not just in the United States. So on April 22, 1990, people from all over the world participated in a global Earth Day. Part III: How We Celebrate Earth Day & Keep the Earth Healthy Nobody wanted the lessons of the second Earth Day to be forgotten, as they were after the first celebration. So it was decided that Earth Day would be celebrated every year. And so, on that special day in April, we learn about the earth's air, land, and water often at outdoor events sponsored by communities and by environmental organizations. -10-
Earth Day activities often are held at nature centers, too places where we can learn about the earth and its many kinds of creatures. Many earth day programs at nature centers teach us how to treat animals so they'll be around for many years to come. What s more, we may learn about the various things we can do to keep our earth healthy. Outdoors, of course, is the best place to observe nature. Hikers can see the beauty of the awakening land on Earth Day and can enjoy the wonders of springtime smells and sounds! As Earth Day approaches, teachers may discuss signs of the holiday, such as the ecology flag. And their students often learn about the many things each person can do to clean up the earth and help it stay clean. For instance, we can pick up litter in our communities. We can plant trees trees that clean the air and that give birds and insects places to live. In addition, we can turn off the TV, the lights, VCR and DVD players and other electrical appliances when we leave the room. Doing that can cut down the amount of fuel, such as coal and oil, taken from the earth. That fuel is used to make electricity. We can fill our recycling bins and carry them outside on pick-up days. We can give others the clothes and toys we've outgrown. In that way, things won't have to be taken from the earth to make new toys and clothes. We can recycle our computers and we can recycle our cell phones. Both cell phones and computers have dangerous chemicals in them chemicals that can pollute both land and water if they re merely thrown away. -11-
Another thing we can do to protect the earth is shop wisely. If possible, we should buy organic foods, those grown without harmful chemical fertilizers. Organic foods not only help keep the earth clean, they also can be better for you than other kinds of foods. We also can buy rain forest products. Two examples are cashew nuts and figs. If people can make money by selling things from the rain forest, they'll want to save its trees. And remember, those trees are needed to clean the air. When we buy things packaged in cardboard containers, we can make certain that the package states that its cardboard has been used before or as we say, "recycled." Using recycled paper products saves trees, too, because trees are cut down to make cardboard and paper. We should buy reusable cups (those made from ceramics are best) and reusable tableware not those made from Styrofoam. That's because Styrofoam, when burned, gives off a gas (seen here as the bouncing white dots) that's very harmful to an important part of the sky called "the ozone layer." If possible, we should walk (or ride our bikes) to and from the store, instead of riding in a car. That helps keep harmful auto fumes from getting into the air. If you have to take transportation to get to school, why not car pool with a schoolmate in your neighborhood or take a bus, both of which are better ways than riding alone. You can send emails and letters to people in government, also messages that ask for laws that protect the earth. And finally, you can read and learn about the environment. In short, then, Earth Day is a reminder for all of us a reminder that our planet earth is a wonderful and beautiful place. -12-
But it's a place we must all take care of, every day not just Earth Day at home, at school and in our community. In that way, we'll be doing our part to keep the earth wonderful and beautiful forever! Web Resources The Kids Domain Earth Day Site www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/earthday/ Information, activities songs, downloads all geared for Earth Day. The Child Fun Earth Day Site www.childfun.com/modules.php?name=news&file=arti cle&sid=18 Earth Day actvities, songs and more. DLTK s Earth Day Site www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/earth.html More activities coloring pages and games, all with an Earth Day theme. -13-
Discussion Questions Earth Day, 2 nd Edition For Segments One and Two 1. Why do we have Earth Day? (to help us better understand our planet and appreciate its plants and animals) 2. When was the first Earth Day held? (1970) 3. Who had the idea for Earth Day and why did he think it was necessary? (Sen. Gaylord Nelson; because the pollution problem was getting out of hand) 4. What did Senator Nelson see that made him so upset? (people who littered; cars, trucks, factories whose smoke poisoned the air; chemical fertilizers that poisoned food and waters; trash piling up) 5. What two things happened that helped people understand how serious the pollution problem had become? (an oil spill off coast of CA; pictures of earth from space) 6. Who heard about Senator Nelson s plan and decided to help plan the first Earth Day in 1970? (Denis Hayes) 7. How many people participated in the first Earth Day? (20 million) 8. What happened after the first Earth Day? (water, land, air became cleaner) 9. What did people forget after awhile? (lessons learned during 1 st Earth Day) 10. What was happening to the rain forests? Why was that bad for the environment? (Trees cut down; they cleaned the air) 11. What was some mining doing to the surrounding plant life? (destroyed much of it) Earth Day, 2 nd Edition 12. What organization helped organize the second Earth Day? Where was it held? (United Nations, all over the world) 13. What person helped organize the second Earth Day? (Denis Hayes) For Segment Three 1. Where are Earth Day programs often held? (nature centers) 2. What is a well-known symbol of Earth Day? (ecology flag) 3. Why is it a good idea to turn off the lights when leaving the room and turn off electrical appliances when they re not being used? (saves electricity which cuts down on fuel taken from earth) 4. Why is it a good idea to buy organic foods? (they don t use chemical fertilizers and are better for you) 5. Why is it a good idea to buy rain forest products? (their trees will be saved) 6. What symbol should we look for when buying packaged goods? (recycled) 7. Why should we not buy products made with Styrofoam or packaged in Styrofoam containers? (burned Styrofoam destroys the ozone layer) 8. Why is it good for the environment to plant trees? (they clean air, provide homes for birds and insects) 9. How should we get to and from the stores where we shop? (walk, ride bike) 10. What are better ways to go to school instead of taking a car by ourselves? (car pool, take bus) 11. True or false? We need to take care of our planet every day, not just Earth Day. (true) 2005 Colman Communications Corp.