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Service Need/Enduring Understanding:
Air pollution causes major health and environmental hazards: in particulate form, it damages humans’ and animals’ respiratory systems; in chemical form, it contributes to the erosion of buildings and landscapes. But many people do not consider or know what to do to help alleviate the matter.

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Project Description:

Conduct research into the causes and manifestations of air pollution then compile their findings in an article or series of articles for publication. As the students learn about the structure and composition of the atmosphere, develop experimentation techniques, and think critically. After collecting and analyzing the data the findings are presented and recommendations can be made.



1. Investigation:

After breaking into teams, students will begin by investigating the amount of air pollution around the school. Using Probeware that can measure ozone, carbon monoxide, methane, and other common air pollutants, students will take several measurements around campus over several days.



2. Planning and Preparation:

Students will organize their data into tables and graphs and analyze their results. Students will be challenged to design an action plan, based on their research, to help fight pollution.

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3. Implementation: ​

Students will spread their message to the local community to educate students, parents, and citizens of the perils of pollution and measures that can be taken. Students can choose from a variety of options to select from for their PSA: theatre, dance, stop-motion, news story, or music video.

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4. Reflection: ​

After viewing each other’s videos, commenting, and helping other teams peer-edit their PSAs, teams will vote for the top 3 favorites. At the end of class, students will write for the 7 minutes in their Science journals what they learned from this project, whether they think it will be effective, and what could have made it better. Afterwards, students will be invited to share their responses with the class.

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5. Celebration/Demonstration: ​​

The top 3 teams will be given extra credit and challenged to edit all 3 videos into a single, class presentation of an action plan to help reduce pollution. The video will be shown on the school news and put on YouTube so friends, family, and the community can learn from the students. Ideally, we will partner with a local TV news station to broadcast our PSA to a larger audience. We will also add the PSA to our ongoing class website and hopefully compare our information with teams from other schools.

Service Learning

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