What enviromental words should I teach my 6th grade students?

Question

I'm putting together a series of lessons on the Earth's resources for my sixth grade students and I am trying to make a decent vocabulary lists of current terms they will com across in everyday life. or here in a political debate. ex.: green, free range, organic, carbon emissions, etc.

Answer 1

I agree about teaching them about the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  They should know that they are listed in order of importance since it is better to reduce the number of water bottles (for example) you use than it is to recycle them.  After all, food containers cannot be recycled into new food containers.

Pollution, endangered, and extinction are also key terms.

The EPA has a series of lesson plans available for this grade level.

http://www.epa.gov/students/

I also suggest letting them play Recycle City.  Students can see how different recycling programs affect the environment and the costs of each.

http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/gameint.h...

Answer 2

Recycle

Conserve Energy

Conserve Water

Reuse

Organic

locally grown

biofuel

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Footprint

Dioxin

solar

wind energy

coal

nucleur

fuel cell

Volitile Organic Compounds

fair trade

There's a start for you - great job!!!  Studies show that kids who learn environmental responsibility will take it home and influence their families.......spread the word!

Answer 3

Ecological sustainable development or ESD

'using, conserving and enhancing the community's resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased'.

Another Definition is to use resources in such a manner that ecological, economic, social and cultural integrity is maintained or enhanced for future generations.

The planet should not be used as a warehouse of resources to serve humanity's selfishness and if the nest generation learns that it is possible to use these scarce resources in a way that does not destroy them or render them useless such as clear felling rain forests or overfishing.

Answer 4

"carbon foot print"

- also note "free range" doesnt always mean what you think it does... sometimes it simply means chickens living in bigger cages.. as long as their feet can touch the ground...

good luck with the lesson - it may be the most important one they ever learn

perhaps you can touch on POPULATION concerns.. (more people = more problems)

in the past people didnt live as long as they do now.. more women died in child birth and so the population growth was very slow.. medical technology has improved and our population is now growing leaps and bounds - we already exceed the United Nations ideal population of 5 Billion and are already OVER 6.5 BILLION...

Answer 5

teach them the 3 R's and the responsibilities that go with them Reduce Reuse Recycle

Answer 6

Sustainability/sustainable - start with the word 'sustain' and they can brainstorm what this might mean in an environmental sense.

Global Warming and Climate Change (i like climate change because it recognises other things are changing too not just temperature increases eg more extreme weather events (cyclones, hurricaines, droughts, floods).

Biodiversity: bio meaning life diversity meaning a wide range. The importance of keeping this in nature so all the interconnected natural systems that we rely on for our survival can keep functioning, maintain species diversity, help save endagered species.

Habitat, energy, ecosystem, resource, endangered, conserve, waste, consumption.

Good luck