Students will learn how trees grow and cycle matter, and trees’ roles in a changing climate. The urban heat island effect is examined and students learn about the many benefits trees offer cities. The storyline culminates with students examining the trees and canopy cover in their or a nearby city and proposing actions to increase the urban forest through a letter to city officials.

The goal of the fifth grade Wetland: Ecosystem Benefits storyline is to build on students’ previous knowledge of plant/animal needs, habitats, and protection of Earth’s resources. In this storyline students develop an understanding of wetland ecosystems, photosynthesis, what plants need to grow/gain mass and blue carbon wetlands.

The students will be introduced to a historical account of global climate change and the human events that may have impacted those changes. Fire has been used by humans throughout history to modify their environment, particularly forests, for human benefit. Over time, the management of forests has changed and the result is an increase in catastrophic wildfires. This storyline explores the use of fire as a forest management tool to improve the health of forests thereby decreasing the incidence of catastrophic fires and the role fire plays in climate change. 

Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas. Wasted food and the resources to produce that food are responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this storyline, students learn about the resources required to produce food through following the carbon cycle and discover how food waste contributes to climate change. They will also learn the farm to table transport chain as well as how to conduct a food waste assessment. Finally, the students will research solutions to the problem of food waste and, as a final project, present one solution that they have thoroughly researched that can be applicable to their community. For CTE teachers, this storyline provides the basic knowledge needed to develop a deep understanding of WHY reducing food waste is an important solution to climate change. There are several potential extensions that Family Consumer Science teachers can utilize as well as Ag teachers and even Business teachers. There is a partial list at the end of the learning progressions. 

The goal of the high school carbon sequestration in forests storyline is to build on the science of carbon sequestration from the middle school storyline. In this storyline, carbon sequestration refers to the removal of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Carbon storage refers to the amount of carbon bound up in woody material above and below ground. High school students will develop an understanding of the variables and considerations that arise from managing forests for different purposes including carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. 

Students will be learning about the practices of regenerative agriculture and how regenerative agriculture is a solution to climate change. Embedded in the storyline are scientific concepts relating to carbon cycling and soil microbial activity. The storyline culminates with students creating an infographic that is intended for educating the community about regenerative agricultural practices. 

Se presentará a los estudiantes un relato histórico del cambio climático global y las acciones humanas que pueden haber afectado esos cambios. El fuego ha sido utilizado por los seres humanos a lo largo de la historia para modificar su entorno, en particular los bosques, en beneficio de los seres humanos. Con el tiempo, el manejo de los bosques ha cambiado y el resultado es un aumento de incendios forestales catastrófico. Este caso explora el uso del fuego como una herramienta de manejo forestal para mejorar la salud de los bosques, disminuyendo así la incidencia de incendios catastróficos y el papel que juega el fuego en el cambio climático.

El desperdicio de comida es uno de los principales contribuyentes a los gases de efecto invernadero. Los alimentos desperdiciados y los recursos para producirlos son responsables de aproximadamente el 8% de las emisiones mundiales de gases de efecto invernadero. En este caso, los estudiantes aprenden sobre los recursos necesarios para producir alimentos a través del ciclo del carbono y descubren cómo el desperdicio de alimentos contribuye al cambio climático. También aprenderán la cadena de transporte de la granja a la mesa y cómo llevar a cabo una evaluación de desperdicio de comida. Finalmente, los estudiantes investigarán soluciones al problema del desperdicio de comida y, como proyecto final, presentarán una solución que han investigado a fondo que puede ser aplicable a su comunidad. Para los maestros de CTE, este caso proporciona el conocimiento básico necesario para desarrollar una comprensión profunda de POR QUÉ reducir el desperdicio de comida es una solución importante para el cambio climático. Hay varias extensiones potenciales que los maestros de ciencias del consumo familiar pueden utilizar, así como los maestros de Agricultura e incluso los maestros de Negocios. Hay una lista parcial al final de las progresiones de aprendizaje.

Solar energy in the form of light is available to organisms on Earth in abundance. Natural systems and other organisms have structures that function in ways to manage the interaction with and use of this energy. Using these natural examples, humans have (in the past) and continue to design and construct homes which manage solar energy in passive and active ways to reduce the need for energy from other sources. In this storyline, students will explore passive and active solar energy management through examples in the natural world. Students will use knowledge gained to design a building that maximizes the free and abundant energy gifts of the sun.

This is a solutions-oriented storyline that leads students through a series of investigations to quantify and qualify the ecosystem and social benefits of an urban forest. At the end of the storyline, students will be able to design, evaluate and refine a chosen solution for urban forest ecosystem benefits.

Los incendios forestales están ocurriendo a un ritmo creciente en el estado de Washington. Los estudiantes a menudo tienen preguntas sobre los hábitats forestales, la seguridad y la prevención de incendios forestales. En este caso, los estudiantes aprenderán sobre las formas nativas de conocer a través de la narración oral, los árboles como parte de los hábitats locales para ellos y la prevención de incendios forestales. Los estudiantes participarán en lecciones integradas de ciencia y literatura para desarrollar su comprensión de cómo los incendios forestales están conectados al clima, y para comunicar soluciones para prevenir incendios forestales iniciados por humanos.

Wildfires are occurring at an increasing rate in Washington state. Students often have questions regarding forest habitats, safety and the prevention of wildfires. In this storyline students will learn about native ways of knowing through oral storytelling, trees as part of habitats local to them, and wildfire prevention. Students will participate in integrated science and literacy lessons to build their understanding of how wildfires are connected to weather and to communicate solutions to prevent  human initiated wildfires. 

While food waste is not typically seen as contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, it is a major contributor. Reducing food waste ranks as the 3rd most beneficial drawdown solution. Wasted food, and the resources to produce that food, are responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. When individuals and groups reduce food waste, it has a huge impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste awareness is applicable to every person and community. In this storyline, students connect with cultural values around food, impacts of food waste and solutions to food waste issues.  

Mientras que el desperdicio de comida no es típicamente visto como un contribuyente de emisiones de gas de efecto invernadero, es un contribuyente mayor, siendo la 3ʳᵃ solución más beneficiosa. La comida desperdiciada y los recursos para producirla, son responsables del aproximadamente 8% de las emisiones globales de gases de efecto invernadero. Cuando los individuos y grupos reducen el desperdicio de comida, esto tiene un gran impacto en la reducción de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. La conciencia del desperdicio de comida se aplica a cada persona y comunidad. En este caso, los estudiantes se conectan con valores culturales alrededor de la comida, los impactos del desperdicio de comida y las soluciones a los problemas de desperdicio de comida.

Wildfires are a contributing factor to greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists estimate that wildfires emitted 8 billion tons of CO2 per year for the past 20 years. Wildfires have risks and benefits that humans are impacted by. In this storyline, students will learn about the risks and benefits of wildfires, the science behind how fire occurs and the conditions that make a fire catastrophic. Students will evaluate local/regional fires to determine how human activities contribute to wildfires. Students will research how forest management decisions are made to decrease the negative impacts of wildfires and to decrease the amount of CO2 that is emitted from those fires. 

Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas. Wasted food and the resources to produce that food are responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this storyline, students learn about the resources required to produce food through following the carbon cycle and discover how food waste contributes to climate change. They will also learn the farm to table transport chain as well as how to conduct a food waste audit. Finally, the students will research solutions to the problem of food waste that can be applicable to their own lives, their school, and their community. 

Students explore the phenomena of how a tree gets its mass. They are encouraged to think back to what they know about photosynthesis and explain what they know and what they wonder about the phenomena of a seed transforming into a large tree and having mass. Specifically, carbon is taken in from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 and transformed into glucose to provide energy and ultimately building material (cellulose). In this storyline, carbon sequestration refers to the removal of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Carbon storage refers to the amount of carbon bound up in woody material above and below ground.  Carbon sequestration occurs in trees, other plants, the ocean, and soil. Not all plants sequester the same amount of carbon, for example, there’s a difference in the amount of carbon sequestered between young and old trees, and between different species of trees. This has implications for working forests and old growth forests. Using information from this storyline, students will draw conclusions about the value of managing forests to benefit human needs and natural needs.  

Students will discover the carbon component in soils, the role carbon plays in soil health, and the role that regenerative agriculture practices play in soil health and climate change. 

Los incendios forestales son un factor que contribuye a las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Los científicos estiman que los incendios forestales emitieron 8 mil millones de toneladas de CO2 por año durante los últimos 20 años. Los incendios forestales tienen riesgos y beneficios que afectan a los seres humanos. En este caso, los estudiantes aprenderán sobre los riesgos y beneficios de los incendios forestales, la ciencia detrás de cómo ocurren los incendios y las condiciones que hacen que un incendio sea catastrófico. Los estudiantes evaluarán los incendios locales / regionales para determinar cómo las actividades humanas contribuyen a los incendios forestales. Los estudiantes investigarán cómo se toman las decisiones de manejo forestal para disminuir los impactos negativos de los incendios forestales y disminuir la cantidad de CO2 que se emite por esos incendios.

Solar energy in the form of light is available to organisms on Earth in abundance. Natural systems and other organisms have structures that function in ways to manage the interaction with and use of this energy. In this storyline, students will explore how light energy interacts with materials and how light energy can be transformed into energy for heating and cooling. Students design a solar water heater and explore how products like this can reduce carbon emissions to mitigate climate change.