The Heartbeat of Our Planet!

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The Heartbeat of Our Planet!
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The Heart Beat of Our Planet

• A Thematic Presentation
• By
• C. Dion Stocks
• Using Literature to Save Our Planet!

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Fast Facts

• One gallon of motor oil can contaminate up to 2
  million gallons of water!
• Earth is 2/3 water, but all the fresh water
  streams only represent one hundredth of one
  percent.
• 14 billion lbs. of trash is dumped into the ocean
  every year.
• It takes 90 less energy to recycle aluminum cans
  than to make new ones.
• 84 percent of household waste can be recycled.
• Most families throw away about 88 pounds of
  plastic every year!
• Each gallon of fuel releases 20 pounds of carbon
  dioxide into the air.

From http//www.planetpals.com/fastfacts.html
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Connection to Our State Standards

• COMPETENCY GOAL 1 The learner will conduct
  investigations to build an understanding of the
  interdependence of plants and animals.
• Objectives
• 1.01 Describe and compare several common
  ecosystems (communities of organisms and their
  interaction with the environment).
• 1.02 Identify and analyze the functions of
  organisms within the population of the ecosystem
• Producers.
• Consumers.
• Decomposers.
• 1.03 Explain why an ecosystem can support a
  variety of organisms.
• 1.04 Discuss and determine the role of light,
  temperature, and soil composition in an
  ecosystem's capacity to support life.
• 1.05 Determine the interaction of organisms
  within an ecosystem.
• 1.05 Explain and evaluate some ways that humans
  affect ecosystems.
• Habitat reduction due to development.
• Pollutants.
• Increased nutrients.
• 1.05 Determine how materials are recycled in
  nature.

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One Planet-Many Faces

• Who lives here, how do we describe these areas,
  how are they connected?
• Looking at the connection between habitats and
  animals who inhabit them.
• What are the cycles that are important to our
  ecosystems- water, carbon, etc.

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The Diagnosis

• -building an understanding of how we are
  damaging our planets and their fragile
  structures.
• -learning the importance of making a change
  today, not waiting for future generations like we
  seem to be doing now.
• -building an awareness of the state of
  emergency we are currently in.

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Band-Aid Patching Up Our Planet

• What can we do to stop the bleeding
• Steps to improving our own conservation efforts.
• Raising the awareness in our homes and schools.
• Ideas and solutions for a cleaner earth and
  saving our natural resources.

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Earths Heart and Mine

• We all connect with the earth, it is like our
  mother. It provides nourishment, shelter and
  when we give it love and respect it returns it.
• How does going into nature help heal you?
• Having a passion for something- the importance.
• Relating hardship to what we see in our world
  everyday.

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And So It Begins

• Students keep a journal for 3 days of everything
  they throw away, how long they bath/brush teeth
  or anything else using water, and the number of
  times they consume food.
• Students will compile data as a class into a
  spreadsheet and make a graph for each category.
• Discuss use and possible conservation efforts
• Possible Culmination- do journal again for 3 days
  at the end of unit compare and contrats data.

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Me, Myself, and I

• Read Diary of A Worm
• Students research and create own diary based upon
  an animal from a certain biome
• Must include location
• Habitat
• Food producer or consumer
• Adaptations
• Illustration

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A Few Friends and I

• Biome Box
• Students are given 3-4 days in the library to
  research a biome.
• Students must collect information about how it
  looks, animals that live there, and its
  location.
• Bringing items in from home or around their home
  they construct their own biome. It must
  accurately represent the biome and use 3-D items
  as much as possible. Limited use of construction
  paper and magazine clippings.

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While Surfing I Found.

• Students would prepare a Power Point presentation
  on 5 different Endangered Animals and 2 Extinct
  Animals.
• Must include
• Why endangered/extinct
• Efforts to save the animals
• Description of habitat and location
• Picture of endangered/extinct animal
• Bibliography

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All Good Things Must Come to an End!

• After reading Seedfolks students will each be
  given a quilting square in which they may draw an
  endangered animal, a biome, importance of a cycle
  or soil, any wow from the unit.
• The squares will be put together to represent the
  unit and hung in the classroom. It could be
  given to a student at the end of the year as an
  award to the outstanding science/conservationist
  of the classroom.

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Websites

• Endangered TV
• www.endangeredtv.com
• A beautiful website that shows the slow
  destruction of some of our most beautiful animals
  such as the tiger.

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Web Sites

• Seedfolks
• http//www.harperchildrens.com/schoolhouse/Teacher
  sGuides/seedfolks.htm
• A Teachers Guide for Seedfolks, includes
  questions that may be used during the reading of
  the story and information about the author.
• The Great Plant escape.
• http//www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case6/index.html
• Learn the mysteries of plant life and go on some
  adventures with Detective LePlant and his friends
  Bud and Sprout
• Endangered TV
• http//www.endangeredtv.com/
• A wonderful site that provides information about
  the several of the most beautiful endangered
  animals such as the North Chinese Leopard.
• Game Templates
• http//jc-schools.net/tutorials/PPT-games/
• Web page that includes templates designed in
  powerpoint such as Jeopardy, 21 etc. Teacher
  simply goes in and fills in the questions and
  answers!
• Biomes
• http//lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/biome.html
• An informative and useful web page for students
  when completing their biome boxes. Gives lots of
  information about the terrain, habitats and
  animals in each of the biomes.
• Try Science
• http//www.tryscience.com/teachers/teacher.html
• A unique website that allows students to interact
  with 3-D characters (if their system supports the
  application) in science quest. Also provides
  lessons and ideas in relation to ecology under
  lesson plans and experiments.
• EarthDay

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Just A Few Of Our Endangered Friends
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THANK YOU
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I CHALLENGE YOU
TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN THAT TOMMOROW IS IN THEIR
HANDS TODAY!
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Bibliography

• Pictures
• www.educationalimages.com/ im110011.htm
• http//www.eduplace.com/monthlytheme/february/grap
  hics/endangered_art.jpg
• www.kritterkountry.net/ EndangeredKritters/End...
• www.pi-schools.gr/.../ finland/main.html
• www.uen.org/utahlink/ activities/view_activity...
• www.yptenc.org.uk/.../ env_facts/end_species.html
• www.hickerphoto.com/ details.php?image_id199
• www.worldkids.net/eac/
• www.lukimbi.com/fauna.htm
• www.pi-schools.gr/.../ finland/main.html
• www.greenpeace.org.uk/ forests/forests.cfm?uci...
• www.geocities.com/.../ Vines/6875/school1.htm
• www.thegreenschool.fsnet.co.uk/ Endangered20A...
• members.aol.com/ bcciam/index2.html
• www.djhobby.com/catalog/ images/RBCPJL8.jpg
• www.jerusalemzoo.org.il/.../ month/tamarin.html
• Information
• www.learnnc.org

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The Heartbeat of Our Planet!