Lesson 1: How Humans Affect the Earth
Duration of Days: 5
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to analyze how human activities influence Earth's systems, evaluate environmental data, and explain cause-and-effect relationships between human actions and changes in air, water, land, and climate.
-How do human activities alter Earth's air, water, and land systems?
-What evidence can scientists use to determine the effects of human activities on the environment?
-How do patterns in human behavior contribute to environmental challenges?
-How are local environmental issues connected to global environmental changes?
-What solutions can reduce negative human impacts on Earth's systems?
-Human impact
-Pollution (air, water, land)
-Greenhouse gases
-Climate change
-Environmental degradation
-Mitigation
-Adaptation
-Sustainability
-Carbon footprint
-Natural resources
HS-ESS3-1 – Evaluate the availability and use of natural resources and the impact of human activities on Earth systems.
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
-Cause and Effect
-Systems and System Models
-Stability and Change
-Patterns
-Students will analyze environmental datasets, including pollution levels, greenhouse gas trends, and land-use changes.
-Students will interpret graphs, charts, and maps to identify patterns and support scientific claims.
-Students will evaluate evidence from case studies and construct data-based explanations of environmental change.
-Students will strengthen analytical reading and evidence-based writing skills aligned to SBA and PSAT expectations.
Students will investigate how human activities affect Earth's systems through the analysis of environmental data, case studies, and real-world examples. They will examine relationships between resource use, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental change while identifying patterns and evaluating evidence.
Activities may include:
-Analysis of local and global environmental datasets
-Mapping sources of pollution and environmental impacts
-Comparing carbon footprint and resource consumption data
-Evaluating potential solutions to environmental challenges
-Constructing evidence-based explanations using scientific data
Purpose: Develop scientific reasoning skills by analyzing environmental evidence and evaluating the impact of human activities on Earth's systems.
DOK Level: 3–4 – Strategic Thinking to Extended Thinking
-Human impacts can be observed in local communities through air quality, water quality, land development, and waste management practices.
-Students will examine environmental issues that affect different communities and explore how human decisions influence environmental sustainability.
-Understanding environmental impacts helps students make informed decisions about resource use, conservation, and community action.
-Students may think climate change is caused only by natural processes.
-Students may confuse short-term weather events with long-term climate patterns.
-Students may believe that environmental issues affect all communities equally.
-Students may assume that individual actions have little impact on larger environmental systems.
-Students may struggle to distinguish correlation from causation when analyzing environmental data.
-Tiered data analysis activities with varying levels of complexity
-Graphic organizers for evaluating environmental evidence
-Technology integration using carbon footprint calculators and environmental data visualization tools
-Structured discussion protocols for scientific argumentation
-Collaborative problem-solving and case study analysis
-Guided support for interpreting graphs, maps, and scientific datasets
-Analysis of environmental datasets and graphs
-Constructed-response assignments using evidence to explain human impacts
-Evaluation of local pollution mapping or sustainability investigations
-Quizzes on key concepts and vocabulary
-Participation in evidence-based discussions and problem-solving activities
-Exit tickets focused on cause-and-effect relationships within Earth's systems
-Environmental Science slides and worksheets
-Carbon footprint calculators
-Local air and water quality data sources
-Environmental datasets and graphs
-Materials for pollution modeling investigations
-Case studies and articles on human impact and climate change
-Mapping tools or geographic information resources