Describes the organization, design, and implementation of a two-week thematic unit for sixth-grade students, which was designed to stimulate critical and creative thinking about environmental issues through integrated reading, writing, listening, and speaking in the context of their reading-language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics…

Environmental education is enhanced through day-long field trips that integrate children's literature, science, environmental awareness, and sketching. Literature sets the context of the learning, and sketching encourages children to carefully observe a natural area. After the field trip, children create community displays featuring writing and…

Examines educational resistance to nature study, focusing on the subtle resistance evident in the vicarious approach that limits nature study to books and videos, while ignoring the sensory richness and kinship developed through direct connection with the natural world. Suggests that environmental science, citizen education, inquiry learning,…

Proposes using illustrated fictional literature to promote in young children aesthetic appreciation of human creations and the natural environment. Defines aesthetics and recommends both "good" stories and books with vicarious encounters as two useful categories of stories with moral reasoning accessible to primary grade children. Offers three…

Described are awareness activities that deal with human population growth, resources, and the environment. Activities include simulations, mathematical exercises, and discussions of the topic. Specific examples of what individuals can do to help are listed. (KR)

Reviewed is "Exploring Tidepools," a computer software package for middle school aged students. Features and availability are discussed. (CW)

The development of the Science/Society/Technology (STS) movement in the United States is reviewed. The basic philosophy of STS instruction is discussed. Traditional instruction is compared to STS instruction. Suggestions for making STS instruction more effective are provided. (CW)

Describes KITES (Kids Interactive Telecommunications Experience by Satellite), a cooperative program that involved an eighth grade class in Massachusetts and a ninth grade class in West Germany; the program focused on environmental science and English language instruction. The computer technology used is described, problems are discussed, and…

Describes interdisciplinary activities with real-world applications ranging from science to mathematics to technology. Cites the study and construction of model bridges as a way for students to learn about engineering concepts and some of their relationships. States that the exercise enhanced teacher cooperation between the different fields. (RT)

Outlines the origin of World Environment Day, June 5, and the concurrent development of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. Outlines UNEP's activities and publications. Includes classroom activities on the environment, conservation, population, food, the United Nations, and the objectives of World…

Discusses ways people who live in rain forests make a living and some of the products that enrich our lives. Provides activities covering forest people, tropical treats, jungle in the pantry, treetop explorers, and three copyable pages to accompany activities. (Author/RT)

Illustrates the basis for misleading statements about the relationship between pH and acid content in acid rain. Explains why pH cannot be used as a measure of acidity for rain or any other solution. Suggests that teachers present acidity and pH as two separate and distinct concepts. (RT)

The importance of teaching to the affective domain is discussed in this review of the environmental education literature. Eight major ideas are used to summarize the research cited. Lists 63 references. (CW)

Assessed is the level of scientific and natural resource knowledge possessed by fourth-, eighth- and eleventh-grade students. Misconceptions are noted. Discussed are implications for teaching about acidic deposition. (CW)

Reports on the Third International Social Studies Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1994. Focuses on the need for an international thrust on environmental education. Discusses efforts by seven African nations to develop a common basic social studies text on curriculum and methods. (CFR)