|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home|
This resource-based curriculum unit, Environmental Health Hazards and Children, will provide teachers with the information to inform their students of the effects of environmental hazards both globally and locally. The end result will provide students with helpful information to assist them in keeping their communities, homes, and schools as environmentally safe as possible and will make them aware of potential environmental health hazards. The curriculum unit is geared for fourth and fifth grade students and could be used as an impetus for students to continue with further research on a variety of subjects. The unit will provide teachers with successful activities and science experiments. Life science is a major part of this curriculum. According to the National Science Education Standards, students at this level should be able to understand characteristics of organisms, life cycles of organisms, and organisms and their environments. This curriculum unit will concentrate on the latter of the three.
Thirty-four years ago marine biologist and writer Rachel Carson changed the course of the environmental movement with her book Silent Spring. At the time the book was published people believed that pesticides were the best solution to controlling insect pest. Rachel Carson warned that if DDT and other chemicals found in pesticides continued to be used, they would spread throughout the environment. The pesticides would make ill and kill not only pests but other organisms, including humans. After reading Carson’s book, people who previously had little concern for the environment began to ask questions about the use of pesticides and their effects on humans and environment and related health risks. This began the biggest social movement in United States history, environmentalism. Gaylord Nelson was a U.S senator from Wisconsin who was very concerned about conservation. He proposed a nationwide environmental teach-in on college campuses. People joined in with the students and in 1970 the first Earth Day was celebrated. In 1972 the United States created the Environmental Protection Agency. The Environmental Protection Agency sets limits on the uses of toxic substances, hazardous wastes, and carcinogens.
Develop a glossary.
Schedule a time for the students to visit the school library or public library to locate books and other resources for information on the topics listed above. Have students work in pairs and research the list. Discuss the various sources from which they were able to get information and discuss the results. While at the library, students should get addresses of places to write to obtain the most current information.
- Toxic substance-
- hazardous waste-
- Rachel Carson-
- Gaylord Nelson-
Record a weeks worth of visible pollution.
- Step 1—Spread a thin layer of Vaseline on one side of several 3 by 5 index cards.
- Step 2—Place the cards in a variety of places were they will be undisturbed for one week. (windows, outside hung from a branch, in the garage, kitchen, classroom or other area)
- Step 3—At the end of the week collect all the cards and record what you have observed. The result is one weeks worth of visible air pollution of that place. Do this experiment as a class project. Have the students contrast and compare data. What are the most polluted areas, what are the least? Have class discussions on what students think caused the visible pollution. Record the classes’ data in the form of a graph. Share your findings with others.
Design a Food Chain
Show the students several samples of drawings of a food chain. Have the students work in pairs to create an 18 by 24 inch poster of a food chain. The poster should include decomposers, green plants, primary, secondary, and tertiary animals and the sun. Research should be done on what animals are herbivores and carnivores. Display the results.
Materials needed 18 by 24 pieces of poster board,
pencil, markers and rulers.
Students should be given access to the library to find out information about the different animals.
Clean up an oil spill.
Objective To have a better understanding of why oil spilled in water is so difficult to remove.
- 1. Shallow rectangular baking pan.
- 2. Cooking oil.
- 3. Cold water.
- 4. Baking soda, cotton balls, dish washing liquid, towels, and sponges.
Form your conclusions.
- 1. Pour water into the pan so that it is half full.
- 2. Pour a small amount of oil into the water and notice the slick that form on the surface.
- 3.Try to clean the spill with the different cleaning materials.
- 4. Rate the effectiveness of the different materials.
Nuclear power plants provide electricity to heat, cool and light our environment. Nuclear power can generate electricity without emitting soot or other polluting by-products. Nuclear power sounds like a great idea! So what is the big deal about nuclear power? Nuclear power stations produce a very deadly poison called radioactive waste which is extremely toxic and is so poisonous that it can affect people 1,000 years into the future. No one is sure how to safely store radioactive waste.
In 1979 an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The accident was caused by a combination of equipment failure and plant operators not having enough knowledge about what to do when equipment fails. The accident caused the release of a small amount of radioactive material. During the accident 700,000 gallons of radioactive cooling water spilled onto the floor of the reactor building, contaminating it. Radioactive material was also released through a stack into the atmosphere. It was luck that the Three Mile Island accident caused no injuries or deaths Studies have shown that there was no increase of cancer as a result of the accident. They did, however, find evidence of psychological stress. Immediately following the accident authorities ordered the evacuation of all pregnant women and preschool children within 5 miles of the plant site. All other residents were advised to stay indoors. The federal government and the nuclear industry took swift action after the TMI accident . The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) has changed the way nuclear power plants are managed and operated. An increased improvement of plant performance over the past fourteen years has been reported.
Nine years after the Three Mile Island accident, on April 26, 1986 the meltdown of a nuclear reactor occurred at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union. The release of radioactive waste at the Chernobyl plant in the Northern Ukraine caused more than 300,000 deaths. Chernobyl released 200 times more radiation than the combined radiation from the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945.
Love Canal has become a symbol of the hazardous waste problem in our country, In a period of ten years the Hooker Chemical and Plastic Corporation dumped 22,000 tons of toxic waste in steel drums into an old canal. The covered the canal with topsoil and the property was then turned over to the Niagara Falls Public School District. Many homes, recreational fields, and a school were built on the site. In 1976 residents became concerned.They began to notice odd smells. The steel drums were leaking toxic waste into sewers, lawns and even the basements of some homes . Due to the actions of concerned citizen, Lois Gibbs,0 the state performed many health studies on the area and by 1978 the federal government declared Love Canal a disaster area. It cost the taxpayers 275 million dollars to clean up the site.
Today the EPA has identified more than 30,000 contaminated waste sites.
Have the students make and try the following alternative cleaning products. * Borax or hydrogen peroxide for bleach. * One cup white wine vinegar to each quart of warm water for floor cleaners
Rate the effectiveness of the alternative cleaners and take note of the harmful ingredients on the labels of cleaners being replaced.
- * Baking soda for scouring powder.
- * Baking soda and a heavy brush for general cleaner.
- * Worcestershire sauce for brass cleaner.
- * Lemon juice and salt for copper cleaner.
- * Olive oil and lemon for indoor wood cleaner.
Pesticides Pesticides are poisons used to kill pests. Many farmers use pesticides on their crops. Most pesticides disappear but the traces of pesticides that remain on crops are called pesticide residue. (Remember Rachel Carson). What can you do about pesticides?
- 1) Read the labels of these product in your home with your parents. Discuss with them the best way to store and dispose these products. Try to use as many alternative non-toxic substances. (See alternatives mentioned earlier) If you have younger brothers or sisters, it is extremely important to keep these products out of their reach.
- 2) Post telephone numbers of your local poison control center near you phone in case of an emergency.
- 3) Always were long sleeved latex gloves when using toxic chemicals and before removing them wash them with soap and water.
Pesticides are graded according to their toxicity .
- 1) Always wash your fruits and vegetables before eating.
- 2) If purchasing pesticides at home, buy only EPA registered products.
- 3) Before using pesticides outside, remove children’s toys.
- 4) When using pesticides outside, children and pets should stay inside, with windows shut.
- 5) Remove all clothing after applying pesticides and wash separately.
Caution Least harmful, but can be lethal to small children.
Warning Use extreme caution.
Danger Should be use only by professionals.
Finally, if an accident should happen, call your poison control number.
You can avoid lead in your drinking water by never using the hot water to prepare food , instant soup, hot cocoa or other beverages. Always use cold water for drinking and cooking. Be sure to let the water run for several seconds before using.
If your home was built before 1950 there is a good chance that lead from the exterior paint has seeped into the soil. Keep your yard well vegetated to minimize exposure to the dust. Clean floors , window sills and other surfaces regularly. Make sure that there are no old toys or pieces of furniture that may contain lead paint. Always practice good hygiene, especially frequent hand washing.
East Shore Waste Water Treatment Plant
345 East Shore Parkway
New Haven, Ct.
New Haven Regional Water Authority
90 Sargent Drive
New Haven, Ct. 06511
- 1. Identify the problem. What do you want to find out?
- 2. Form a hypothesis. Make an educated guess as to what you think the answer to step one might be.
- 3. Perform the experiment. Do the experiment, make observations, and record and collect data.
- 4. Form a conclusion. Study the data collected, form a conclusion and compare it to your hypothesis.
Collinson, Alan. Pollution . New York, New Discovery Books, 1991.
Dashefsky Steven H. Kids Can Make a Difference!: Environmental Science Activities . McGraw Hill, Inc., 1995.
Elkington, John. Going Green: a Kid’s Handbook to Save the Planet . New York, Viking, New York, 1990.
Java, John. 50 Simple Things Kids Can do to Recycle . Berkeley, CA., Earthworks Press, 1994.
Keyword, Robin. The Environment . New York, Marshall Cavendish Corporation., 1994.
Miles, Betty. An Action Handbook for Kids, Save the Earth . Alfred A Knopf, Inc., 1991.
Nerd, Don. Oil Spills . San Diego, CA., Lucent Books, 1990.
Patter, J. M. Toxic Waste . Veto Beach, Florida, Rework Book Co., Inc., 1995.
Patter, J. M. Trash . Veto Beach, Florida, Rework Book Co.,Inc., 1995.
Schwartz, Linda. Earth Book For Kids . The Learning Works, Inc., 1990.
Sheehan, Catherine. Earth Child Games, Stories,Activities, Experiments and Ideas About Living Lightly on Planet Earth . Tulsa, Oklahoma, Council Oak Books, 1991.
Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring . New York, NY., Hutton Mifflin Company, 1962.
Colborn, The. Our Stolen Future . New York, NY, Penguin Books, 1996.
Gunk, Larry. The Cartoon Guide to the Environment . New York, NY. Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1996.
Kane, Dorothy Notes. Environmental Hazards to Young Children . Phoenix, Arizona, Press, 1985.
National Research Council. National Science Education Standards . Washington D.C., National Academy Press, 1996.
Contents of 1996 Volume II | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute