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Respect
Elementary School - January 2010
Character Education
Newsletters
Broward County Air
Quality Program
The Broward County Pollution Prevention, Remediation & Air Quality Division
continues to incorporate Character Education into its educational efforts. Each
month the newsletter will relate core values to science and the environment in an
effort to educate students about good character and the importance of protecting
our natural resources. The curriculum resources and materials provided include
the applicable FCAT Science Test Item Specifications.
Respect is defined as showing consideration, understanding, and regard for
people, places, and things. January’s theme is respect, and Florida Arbor Day falls on January 15th. The
mission of the Arbor Day Foundation is to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. In our 2010
“Green Footprints Calendar,” a student from Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary West nicely captured the Arbor
Day Foundation mission with her drawing titled “Hug a Tree.” Be sure to educate students to respect animals,
plants, the environment, and ourselves by showing consideration, understanding, and high regard to all that
share the planet with us.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Sunshine State Standards: SC.D.2.2, SC.G.1.2, SC.B.2.2
Plants will seek out light even if they have to run an obstacle course. Plant cells have special light receptors.
When they don't get enough light, they signal the plant to grow long and thin to seek out a light source. Also
those plants don't produce chlorophyll, which makes plants green and absorbs sunlight to produce food.
Materials
Box (shoe box, storage box, etc.)
Scissors
Bean Plant
Black paper
Instructions
1. Have your students prepare a box with dividers like a maze.
2. Cut holes here and there in the dividers as well as a hole at one end of the box.
3. Place a bean plant at the other end of the box and cover the entire box with a black paper except for your
light hole at the far end. It helps if you make a trap door to water the plant and check its progress.
4. After several days you'll notice the plant winding its way through the "maze" toward the light at the other
end of the box. If you give it time your bean plant will actually grow to the other end of the box and out the
hole.
Source: www.proteacher.com/110013.shtml
Tree Conservation Crossword Puzzle and Connect the Dots Activity
Sunshine State Standards: SC.D.2.2, SC.G.1.2, SC.G.2.1
Source: ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MT/www/about/treepub.pdf
Go Green
Climate Change
Broward County Kids
Corner
Naturescape Broward
If a Tree Falls in the Forest...
Sunshine State Standards: SC.D.2.2, SC.G.1.2, SC.G.2.1
Overview:
Forests cover nearly one-third of the Earth's land and provide us with wood, food, medicines, paper, and many
other products that we use every day. Forests also oxygenate the air, modify climate, and contribute to our
recreational and personal needs. In this lesson, students will explore the role that forests play in their own lives
by listing everyday products made from trees, then researching and categorizing less common products that
may be less familiar to students.
Write the following fact on the board or overhead:
"The average American uses wood and wood products equivalent to one tree over one foot wide and 100 feet
tall!" (Source: Smokey Bear)
As a class, brainstorm a list of common products derived from trees (for example, writing paper, money, and
books). Ask the students if they can think of other benefits trees provide (for example, shade, recreation, and
oxygenation of the air). Tell students that there are countless other products that contain components derived
from wood that may not be as obvious.
Development:
Explain to the students that they will be conducting research to find out about some of the less obvious benefits
of trees. Have them use the Web sites listed in the Related Links section of this lesson to begin to identify those
more obscure uses. Create a class list of the products and uses the students find. Challenge students to
investigate the manufacturing processes involved in making these products, including what part of the tree is
used for each product or derivative. As new products get added, have the students explain what they
discovered about them.
Once the class has developed a list, ask students if they can identify categories for these forest products, such
as the following:




Foods from trees: almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, lemons, cinnamon, maple syrup, figs, cloves, olives,
coffee, coconuts
Products derived from all parts of a tree: pencils, books, carpets, firewood, ink, chopsticks, houses,
luggage, golf balls, cardboard, tissues, magazines, cleaning compounds, tea bags, newspapers, beds,
fish food, rayon fabrics, colognes, boardwalks, napkins, guitars, shampoo, football helmets, bottle
corks, baseballs, medicine, chewing gum
Environmental benefits of trees: absorbing noise pollution, providing oxygen, providing shelter for
birds and other animals, holding soil in place
Recreational uses of trees: climbing, tree-houses, making canoes or other types of boats
You may end up with an "other" category that might include aesthetic values, providing shade from sun, serving
as windbreaks, and cooling hot asphalt or concrete.
Closing:
Have students imagine a day in their lives without trees. How would their routines differ? How would their
environments change?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students prepare a short illustrated story about their day—or a facet of it—without trees. They might opt
to describe their school day, a sporting or recreational event, or home life.
Source: www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/15/g35/treefalls.html
Which of the following forms of energy come to Earth directly from the sun?
A. chemical energy and light energy
B. electricity and heat energy
C. heat energy and light energy
D. light energy and mechanical energy
Answer:
C. Only heat and light come directly from the sun. The other forms of energy, chemical, electrical and mechanical, are transformations of heat and light.
Climate Change Impacts & Solutions Around the World
2010 Poster Contest
Open to Elementary & Middle School Students
Prizes Include Tickets to Local Attractions
In December 2009, the United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Copenhagen, where participants
from 192 countries met to create common ground for a coherent global response to climate change. The theme
for this year’s contest is “Climate Change Impacts & Solutions Around the World” and will focus on the impacts
associated with the changes in the climate and the solutions taken by communities around the world. Examples
of impacts include Arctic sea ice melting and coastal community impacts around the world. Example of
solutions include hydrogen-powered buses in Berlin, wind farms in Brazil, the banning of plastic grocery bags in
San Francisco, and the use of geothermal power in Greenland. All the impacts and solutions raise awareness of
world-wide issues and set in place actions to help reduce our carbon footprint through mitigation actions and
responses on how to adapt to those impacts.
Please visit http://www.broward.org/kids/kidsclubcontest.htm for contest rules and further information.
The Environmental Education Council of Broward County,
with support from the Broward County School District,
sponsors the annual Environmental Stewardship of the
year awards. This ceremony is for elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers as well as
administrators and volunteers. The nominees, their families and principals will be invited to attend a reception
at that time; winners will be announced during a special program following the reception.
Award Ceremony
May 7, 2010 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Alyce Culpepper Center, South Plantation High
To nominate a teacher, student, administrator or volunteer from your school for this most prestigious award,
please see instructions below. Applications are due to the EEC by January 29, 2010. For more information
please visit www.browardeec.org
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