This document contains information about the driving question, grabber, and culminating activity used in a problem-based learning activity for a high school chemistry class. It also includes a rubric that can be used for evaluating student presentations and a template to guide the preparation of the presentation. This activity can be used to introduce and enhance understanding of gas behavior and thermodynamics.

What Are Some of the Best Environmentally Friendly Methods Which Help Preserve Our Environment and Protect From Global Warming?Grade: 5thNames: Stephanie Metzendorf, Karly Berger, Collin Johnson, and Anna KestenOverall Goal: To equip students with tools to make more environmentally conscious decisions.StandardsLearning ObjectiveAssessment5.ESS.3 Investigate ways individual communities within the United States protect the Earth’s resources and environment.To make the students aware of the use of resources in the U.S To build problem solving skills by helping to fix the use of wasted resources. To build researching skills and to be able to recognize credible material. To build collaboration skills by investigating with peers.We will assess the standards by our final assessment which will take the concepts which were learned in class and apply them directly to their lives. They will create a solution to an issue they see in their school. This will provide us with an understanding of what they learned because it allows the students to digest the knowledge, recognize the issue using this knowledge, and come up with an ecofriendly solution which shows how they can fix some of the issues they encounter.  Key Terms & Definitions: Recycle - to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuseReduce - To make smallerReuse - To use more than once or againPollution - The presence of harmful chemical in the atmosphereResources- A supply which can be drawn upon to function effectivelyEnvironment- The surrounding in which a person, plant, or animal lives in.Food Chain- A series of organisms depending on the energy from the organism before.Global warming- A gradual increase in the global temperatures attributed to greenhouse gases and pollution.  Lesson Introduction:For our hook, we will use a fun and engaging activity which incorporates the students ability to recognize the importance of the environment and touch on some of their favorite aspects of it. We will have the students make a rap or a song discussing the environment and maybe some ways that they could improve protection for the environment or how they are already doing so. For the teachers sake, I have included an example of what we are looking for. Instructions:Create a song representing a topic of the environment which you think is important. Some of these possible topics could be: Why we need to keep the planet safe . Things you love from the environment. What pollution does to the good things in nature. How you can help the environment.   Lesson Main:Competition for who has the best ecosystemThis section should provide a detailed description of the various activities that will occur throughout the lesson.  Make sure to include timing, formative assessments, and reference all materials that you will be creating and that you have found.  Could have environment machine which shows how the cycle works. Concept Map:This is a concept map which we can use to explain to the kids what the issue is with climate change and often how this climate change occurs. There are several things that humans do to make climate change an issue bigger than it needs to be and this is obvious by the flow of this concept map. From the increase of meat consumption in the U.S, there has been a dramatic increase of meat production which directly puts chemicals into the environment, causing pollution which is a direct factor of climate change. Another fact this concept map shows is that from the burning coal humans do to gain energy, greenhouse gases are directly released causing a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere which causes pollution yet again.  Lesson Ending:For our lesson ending we are going to have a little competition between the students. The students are going to be required to make a model or come up with an idea of what they think the best way to environmentally help the school is. The first thing we will do as the instructor is to randomly break up the classroom into groups of four students. After we have broken up these groups, we will explain the assignment as follows: Now that we have learned about some environmental issues we face and also some solutions that are already in place, we are going to ask you guys to save our school! Is there something you notice around school that could be changed in order to help the environment? This could include turning off the lights in the gym, making a compost for the lunch food, or even implementing a recycling program into each of the classrooms. After we have presented the assignment we will give each of the groups a little time to discuss what they notice around the school. To even further this, we will take the students on a walk around the school with their notebooks to allow them to write down notes about what they notice. After we complete this walk, we will give the students a couple more minutes to reconvene and share what they saw. After the group has decided on a problem, the instructor will create a spreadsheet and allow only two groups to focus on the same issue. For example, this means that only two groups can focus on a solution to the problem of plastic waste from the school.  After this has been recorded, we will distribute the assignment sheet which will be attached below, the students will have approximately 40 minutes to come up with a solution to this issue, create a presentation, and share what they thought of to their peers. They will be graded according to their knowledge, creativity, and the way they present their ideas. To make the incentive a little higher, we are going to have the best idea win and that group will receive a prize for their efforts. This prize will most likely be either a candy bar, a toy, or something else that is small yet exciting for kids this age. As well as the prize, the winning group will be able to present their idea to the principle in hopes that it will be implemented school wide!As for the grades of these groups, they will be graded based upon the rubric listed below. Save Your School! Your schools has become in great environmental danger due to all of the wrong ways they are handling the resources they have! Your task: Explore your school and identify issues you see around the school which contributes to the environmental harm taking place all around the world! Once you have identified this issue, come up with a solution which can either eliminate this issue or help reduce it!  After you came up with a solution, make a presentation explaining exactly what your solution is and why it is the best solution in the class and why it should be implemented! In your presentation, make sure you are answering the following questions: What is your problem? What negative effects does this problem have? How will this problem affect the earth globally? What did you decide as your solution? Why did you decide on that as a solution? What in your solution directly solves the issue? Why is your solution the best solution for the school? Good luck! And remember, the best solution wins a special prize and gets to present their idea to the principle!  Assessment Rubric: GreatAveragePoorEnvironmental Awareness Solution Quality Amount of Research TeamworkMasters the concept of being environmentally friendly Is able to think of effective ways to make our environment more eco-friendly and healthy  It is obvious that the students were able to recognize the issues in the school and know why they're bad habits. It is obvious that everyone in the group contributed and there is an overall general understanding for all of the knowledge.Students can identify what a friendly environment looks like Comes up with a solution which is not a huge issue. Completes minimal research and identifies a problem, but doesn't have the knowledge to back it up. 75% of the group seems to understand what is going on and has overall given an O.K effort to the solution.Students struggle to understand the concept of being environmentally friendly Needs assistance in identifying proper methods to make the school a better place Does Not find an issue and does not create a solution which is useful for the school. The group seems confused about what they are understanding and seem to lack to knowledge or teamwork to make the solution the best it possibly can be.  Resources / Artifacts: (Karly)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEk6JLJNg0U(Karly)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31XrAaH8YqI(Stephanie) Concept map showing what global warming is and how it becomes an issue. This will be used during the lesson to help to students understand what they could potential fix or look for in their school that is an issue.(Stephanie) Worksheet giving directions for the lesson ending.  Differentiation:Differentiation for ability levelsLow ability learners are students that learn and work at a slower pace than other students in the classroom. Throughout the lesson students will be able to work in groups to help each other come up with the rap. For the lesson ending they will also work in groups therefore each group member will be able to help each other in the competition. .      2. Differentiation for demographicsThis game is designed for all cultures, and ethnicities. It’s important for everyone student to know the impact of benefiting our ecosystem. Everyone sharing their different backgrounds will show students different ideas of how other cultures work with the environment and hopefully help make a global impact.      3. Differentiation for languagesStudents will be placed in groups where at least one or two people will speak English and can work with the other students to help translate. Students will work together to help expand everyone’s vocabulary.      4. Differentiation for access & resourcesStudents will have access to iPads and or computers in order to create a popplet about climate change.This tool is a fun and engaging way for students to showcase their work. Anticipated Difficulties:Complexity of the assignment: Some students may struggle with staying on task with the assignment. Being able to start out with a rap song will draw their attention. Working in groups throughout the entire lesson will also help them stay engaged as they create their popplet. As for the lesson ending a competition will also keep them interacted throughout the end of the lesson.  

During this problem-based learning unit, students will explore dystopian societies of past and in short stories in order to identify dystopian elements in today’s society.  In turn, students will have a choice between multiple product outputs in which they will apply what they have learned to modern day life and provide ideas of how to improve our society by combating these dystopian elements.*Students will need some prior knowledge of Nazi Germany, Civil Rights America in 1930’s, Present Day China, and Sierra Leone in order to make connections to why these societies have dystopian elements.

This online module will provide strategies to manage cooperative and problem-based learning in the classroom

This was my inquiry-based project for W200. It was done with a partner and includes our driving question, hook or grabber for the project, and the culminating activity, as well as a rubric for how the culminating activity will be graded.

In this problem-based, blended learning mondule, students will investigate what is the single - most defining trait that makes  us human? Is it our highly developed speech, our imagination, creativity, or our upright walking posture?  Humans have mastered fire, developed tools, art, music, recorded our history, and accomplished a countless number of other things. In this module, students will explore genetics concepts regarding inheritance, natural selection, biology of the human brain, and our hominid evolution over the last two hundred thousand years. Students will utilize guided research, and independent work to formulate an argumentative essay, and substantiating their claim with evidence from their research. When the argumentative essay is completed, students will create a project from a choice board that demonstrates their understanding of one of the concepts of our humanity.

This problem-based learning module is students will be collecting their personal health numbers in a station rotation format.  After choosing their health numbers to compare, the students will create a scatter plot and line of best fit using class data. Students will do a gallery walk to compare their health numbers with their peers. The students will then create a presentation for a health fair to bring awareness to health numbers based on their personal findings and facts.

The growing number of electronics that are becoming obsolete is staggering. The responsible disposal of these materials remains to be a highly debated topic and is one that does not have an easy answer. In this problem-based learning module, students will research this growing issue and provide them opportunities to determine what actions to take. Students will then take their findings and use their research data as evidence to support their position. Groups will create a finished product in the form of a speech, radio broadcast, presentation or persuasive essay to help solve this problem.

In this problem-based learning module students will connect these standards to their personal life by completing a random sample from their environment in the area of careers to investigate to see if their own career is environmentally challenged.  Students will work independently as well as with a partner. Students will also complete a reflection in the form of a final product to make an inference and draw a conclusion about the population of their area in relation to careers.  The final product will be presented to their peers and teachers, but also can be exhibited to their families.    This blended module includes teacher-led instruction, student-led stations, partner comparisons and technology integrated investigations.

Geospatial data analysis is a growing field in science with practical applications in government and industry.   This problem-based learning module guides learners through exploring the relationship between the amount of trash found relative to the location of waste receptacles in their community. Recording the location of identified items of trash/recyclables and placing them on a map allows students to identify if there is a correlation between the amount of trash and the distance away from waste receptacles.  While this module uses trash, almost any item can be tracked and plotted for analysis.  Some other ideas were: locations of Pokemon in Pokemon Go, animal migration, safety devices, various plant species, texting and driving are just a few examples.  

This problem-based learning module is designed to bring “Awareness” to students about being judgemental and pre-judging people.  Students will become aware of their own judgmental issues and develop a presentation that will bring awareness to their audience on the topic.    This module is developed with instruction based on whole group discussions, station rotations, partner research as well as final presentation. This module is created with the ELA standards of W.7.6, W.7.2 , SL.7.1 and the history standard of 7.16 as the focus.

In this problem-based learning module, students will investigate the following question: Does the state of Ohio suffer from “Brain Drain?”If so why is this, where are people going, & what can be done to stop it?If not, what is keeping/bringing people here?After researching and learning about some of the push-pull factors that drove 19th century European immigration to the United States, student groups will be formed in order research, create, and share their findings to determine whether or not Ohio is a “push” or “pull” state.After the launch activity, students will spend the first two days gaining background knowledge on the historical components and content related to the topic.  Beginning on Day 4, students will be grouped into teams to begin research and development of the “BIG IDEA” question of: Does the state of Ohio suffer from “Brain Drain?”If so why is this, where are people going, & what can be done to stop it?If not, what is keeping/bringing people here?Once the groups have determined their position on the problem, they will begin researching information to be able to share out their findings.The final products will be presented to an authentic audience consisting of District Administration (i.e., media relations), Local Administration (elected officials), and possibly, local Chamber of Commerce members

In this problem-based learning module, students will raise awareness about the amount of excess food wasted each day in America’s schools highlights the consumptive mindset that our county has.  Each day in third world countries, as well as our own, children go without the proper nutrition needed to focus on other activities. This module will raise student awareness about the amount of food taken from the service line and then placed in waste receptacles.  Students will gather and analyze data regarding wasted food in an attempt to design a solution to reduce food waste. Sation rotation will allow to conduct research into the global problems associated with the lack of food and malnutrition. Mathematical skills will be required to calculate rates and percentages of consumption which will be used for analysis.  

After researching and learning about the possible devastation that would ensue if the Supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park were to erupt, students will work together in this problem-based learning module to use the information to create a news report to inform American citizens of the effects that would ensure in the event of an eruption. When creating the news report, students will be asked to think of a way to capture their audience attention about the topic while still explaining the science behind what is happening at this site. Students will also take the role of a number of different characters (i.e. experts in the field, scientists, concerned citizens, news caster etc.), and show at least one powerful image to aid in telling the story. After the Launch of the activity, students will take time to explore a variety of resources about this topic that will aid them in answering the “need to know” questions needed to create their News. These items should be shared with the students electronically in a collective folder,  and students will be asked to gather the information at their own pace.Once students have completed their news story, students will present their final products to an authentic audience consisting of district Administration, and building staff members.

This resource is a potential assignment for teachers to assign to their own classroom. The importance of recycling is immense for all members of society, teaching our younger generations this importance before it is too late is vital.