physics

microbiology

chemistry

hydrology

soil quality

botany

zoology

local lessons
for West Philadelphia

links and
references

Middle school is the place to introduce the scientific method (using logical "if this, therefore this" arguments to prove scientific hypotheses from observations.) Middle school students should begin to make the connection between themselves and their natural world. They should discuss controversial topics such as climate change and water pollution into the classroom.

There are many places to look for nature lessons for the backyard or outdoor classroom. Many teacher's homepages include virtual spaces for posting and swapping lesson plans. Some government agencies such as US Forest Service and state water utilities have kid's pages with nature activities and games. Many environmental not-for-profit agencies such as X and X also have kids' pages. There are private companies who develop and sell science exploration software targeting kids. Many commercially available books outline activities used in classrooms. Girl Scout handbooks (the only ones I saw were published in the '60's and '70's) have great ideas for nature exploration in the backyard.

Although there is a lot of information out there, not all of it can be found easily in one place. Teachers' homepages are general, so environmental curriculum material is interspersed withgeneral science curriculum as well as with history, art, and so on. Agency homepages are often quite specific, targeting wetlands or endangered species, for example. This list is neither complete nor detailed, but is a starting point for creating a full environmental science curriculum for a middle school science class. It includes lessons found from the sources in the previous paragraph. It also includes several exercises modified from the undergraduate MIT environmental science laboratory class. Finally, the list includes

The science lessons in this list are chosen because they are simple, cheap, and fun. They require cheap or free materials. Children should quickly understand the point of these lessons. For children with extra interest, the lessons can be expanded because most of the lessons are open ended.

The lessons are divided into different catagories although catagories overlap. For example, chemical and biological processes are always linked in nature, so the separation of chemistry and biology lessons is somewhat artificial. Click on catagories at left to see lesson plans.

Many of the items on this list of tools were used for research in earlier centuries (and in some cases are still used!) by oceanographers and limnologists. Many of these tools and the information they collect are well suited for young students as well. Chosen tools and activities are cheap, easy, fun, and directly teach important some of the most important and basic concepts in water science. Below are listed some of the tools: click on them to see their history and suggested uses in the outdoor classroom. Each tool also has follow up questions and "advanced study" questions. These tools can be used in any outdoor classroom that has running water and a natural pond. They could also be used in local streams and urban water bodies (the public outdoor classroom!)

Curriculum List of items:

CHEMISTRY
1. the secchi disk
2. pool or aquarium pH kit, nitrate/nitrite kit, oxygen kit (other chemical test kits also available commercially)
3. the sediment corer (super straw, thumb, and dry ice or freezer)

PHYSICS/FLUID MECHANICS
4. the water wheel/water speedometer
5. fluid tracer: floating balls or small, spherical fruit (or grapes), sticks or leaves
6. biodegradeable brightly colored fluid tracer dye
7. constructed classroom stream (also available commercially)

MICROBIOLOGY
8. the net and the filter
9. the aquatic microcosm: small aquaria or bucket
10. the underwater scope
11. the microscope or magnifying glass
12. the oil spill!

THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
13. hydological cycle model (also available commercially)

LOCAL LESSONS

Additional concepts and curriculum are based on more on the pavilion of the outdoor classroom described in more detail in SPECIAL FEATURES. This curriculum is designed to introduce the student to the water cycle and the relationships between their neighborhood and the water cycle. While the interaction between neighborhood and water cycle may differ due to location and water availability ­ for example, Los Angeles students, Seattle students, and Cincinnati students may have to learn different issues with water use and water supply.

Here, we concentrate on West Philadelphia and the short-cutting of the water cycle from sky to land surface to sewer, instead of the longer, slower route through soils and forests. We discuss mechanisms, and ask students to consider impacts of urbanization on the water cycle. These issues are especially important in urban areas where free flowing water and naturally landscaped areas are scarce. The impacts of urbanization can be invisible if one doesn¹t understand them, but quite dramatic once explained.

Aquatic Lesson Plans

The hydrological cycle [hydro = water (Greek hudor); logic = reason (Greek logice); cycle = circle (Greek kuklos)]
Porosity [pore = hole (Latin porus)]
Permeability [permeate = pass + through (Latin per + meare)
Retainability or "sponge factor" [retain = hold + back (Latin re- + tenere)]
Micropores and Macropores [micro = small (Greek mikros); macro = large (Greek makros)]
Subsurface aquifers or "underground lakes" [sub = below (Latin sub); aqui = water (Latin, aqua); fer = carry (Latin ferre)]
Soil Saturation [to saturate = to fill (Latin saturare)] like Saturday makes a full week! (sort of.)

Groundwater flow
How quickly does water flow underground? Depends on all above factors

Related lesson plans
GIS watershed analysis of watershed area percent permeable area (parks, vacant lots) and percent impermeable area (roofs, streets, parking lots)
calculation of immediate runoff using area and average rainfall "what if" scenarios changing % permeable, impermeable

Cloud identification ­ which ones cause rain?
What makes a rainy season and a dry season?

Lessons based on pavilion at Sulzberger Exploration of porosity and permeability: put out many small cans (of same size) under different patches of the structure during rain storms. After storm, collect cans, measure rainfall with ruler in millimeters. Also, put out "control" cans next to, but not under, the structure. Where did most of the water fall through? How much water fell through these areas relative to the control can?