WHY STUDY AIR POLLUTION? - OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON pptx

“Criteria pollutants” Synopsis of the Lesson: This lesson contains four activities that use a variety of instructional gies and are focused on answering the question of “Why Study Air Po

OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON

Scope and Purpose of the Lesson:

Students will examine the topic of air pollution, its possible solutions, andthe government agencies that are responsible to deal with environmentalissues

“Criteria pollutants”

Synopsis of the Lesson:

This lesson contains four activities that use a variety of instructional gies and are focused on answering the question of “Why Study Air Pollu-tion?”

strate-LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

 Identify some ingredients of air pollution

 Identify some causes of air pollution

 Identify some effects of air pollution

 Identify some solutions to air pollution

 Describe some actions they can personally do to improve air quality

 Explain why air quality is of special concern to the Delaware area

 Describe a remedy to the air pollution problems in Delaware

 Describe how our atmosphere was formed

 Describe the composition of the air we breathe today

 Explain why man is misusing the atmosphere today

 Define air pollution

 Trace the beginnings of pollution by humans

 Identify present day federal laws and agencies that deal with the

pollu-TIME: 7 1/2 Hours; @ 5 Blocks or 10

Periods

STATE STANDARDS:

Civics Standard 3 - Participation

in the Civic Process, P.I C.416

Grades 9-11

Civics Standard 4 - Mechanisms

for communicating with

elected officials, P.I 8.409

History Standard 3 -

Interpreta-tion, P.I H.408 - Grades 9-11

Science Standard 2 - Materials

and Their Properties (Material

Technology), 2.41; P.I 9.75

-Grade 9

Science Standard 3 - Energy

and Its Effects (Production/

Consumption/ Application of

Energy), 3.53; P.I 9.75

-Grade 9; P.I 8.316 - -Grade 8

Science Standard 5 - Earth’s

Dynamic System

(Components of Earth), 5.12; P.I 9.75

-Grade 9; P.I 8.316 - -Grade 8

Science Standard 8 - Ecology

tion of ground-level ozone

 Explain the action take by the EPA to reduce

ground-level ozone

 Identify the “criteria” pollutants

BACKGROUND

The Earth’s atmosphere is a constantly moving body

of gases that encircle our planet This body of gases known

as air is a mixture—not a chemical combination—of a

number of gases; that is, each gas retains its own

charac-teristic properties It consists of about 78 percent nitrogen;

about 21 percent oxygen, and carries along with it water

vapor, clouds, dust, smoke, soot, and a variety of

chemical compounds The remaining one-percent

con-tains all the other gases including carbon monoxide,

car-bon dioxide, ozone, methane, and ammonia that

contrib-ute to air pollution And at any time air may contain

con-taminants emitted by such natural occurrences as

volca-nic eruptions, forest fires, and decaying vegetation Only

during the past 20 years or so have we begun to

under-stand that air is a resource that is limited and can be

man-aged for health and environmental quality

Millions of tons of harmful gases and pollutants are

released into the air each year Once inhaled, polluted air

weakens the lungs’ natural defenses against harmful

con-taminants In fact, lung tissue has no reliable defense

against air pollution, and therefore, is gradually destroyed

by invasive pollutants

There are many health effects of air pollution

includ-ing irritation of the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat; chest

pain; labored breathing; and increased susceptibility to

lung infection At its least severe levels, air pollution is a

nuisance to healthy individuals and a burden to those with

respiratory diseases

Air pollution is a big problem in Delaware Delaware

exceeds the federal standard for ozone, and along with

the Philadelphia area, is the seventh worst area in the

na-tion for ground level ozone polluna-tion

Air pollution is nothing new In medieval England,

where burning coal was the primary method of heating,

Here in the United States, we have our own history ofair pollution incidents On October 27, 1948, Donora, Penn-sylvania was blanketed in fog, mainly due to weather con-ditions, which included a temperature inversion Duringthe four days of the episode, streetlights had to be turned

on during the day, and 17 people died on the third day,mainly from respiratory ailments In 1955 the visibility wasdrastically reduced by dense smog in Los Angeles Airpollution was blamed for causing 2000 auto accidents in

a single day In 1966 New York City had a three-day perature inversion over Thanksgiving weekend that wasblamed for the deaths of 168 people

tem-On December 2, 1984, a toxic gas cloud escaped from

a chemical plant in Bhopal, India, killing and injuring sands Unfortunately it took that tragedy to focus the world’sattention on the potential for death and destruction by ac-cidents involving extremely hazardous chemicals

thou-The amount of air pollution in our air is directly related tothe life-style choices we make as individuals Delaware has

a serious air pollution problem as measured by federal cleanair standards Air pollution is measured on a daily basis inmost parts of the world—including Delaware

Ozone is the number one air pollutant and major lem in the state of Delaware Ozone is measured (hourlyduring the summer months) by Air Quality Monitoring Sta-tions at seven different locations in Delaware: Brandywine,Bellefonte, Wilmington, Route 9 in Delaware City, SummitBridge, Felton, and Seaford

Whether our air becomes better, worse, or remains thesame is primarily in our hands By changing our behaviors

we can directly impact the level of air pollution in Delaware

LESSON PROCEDURE

INTRODUCTION OF LESSON

Start the lesson with a Warm-up, Mind Set, or AnticipatorySet on the overhead or chalk board

1 WARM UP, MIND SET OR ANTICIPATORY SET - What is

Air Pollution? Put this on the overhead (see overhead

trans-ACTIVITY 1: Cornering Air Quality

1 Description/Overview of Activity:

Activity 1 is a kick-off activity that helps students understand

the basics of air pollution, including causes, effects,

ingre-dients, and potential solutions One of the purposes of this

activity is to explore the guiding question of the lesson: Why

study air pollution?

2 Materials Needed:

Photocopies of Air Pollution Posters - one of each—total

of four (included) - see Teacher Materials

Photocopies of Air Pollution Strips - one of each - one strip

per student (included) - see Student Handouts #1-4

Photocopies of Student Handout #5 - one per student

(in-cluded) - see Student Materials

Photocopies of Student Handout #6 - one per group

(in-cluded) - see Student Materials

Tape to fasten posters and Air Pollution Strips to the

wall (not included)

3 Performance Indicators of the Activity:

Geography P.I G.407, G.408; 7.423, 8.423

History P.I H.401

Science P.I 9.75

4 Preparation for Activity:

Place the four posters or placards in each corner of

the room before class begins with the titles:

Air Pollution: Some Ingredients

Air Pollution: Some Causes

Air Pollution: Some Effects

Air Pollution: Some Solutions

Make copies of the Air Pollution Strips on Student

Hand-outs 1, 2, 3, and 4 Cut the strips into individual strips

5 Activity Outline and Directions to the Teacher:

STEP 3: Next, tell each of the four groups (one for eachposter) to sit down as a team and briefly discuss the itemsand answer the questions on Handout #5 Give each group

a copy of Handout #6 for reference Then have each teamselect a spokesperson to share their answers and opin-

ions with the rest of the class (5 minutes)

STEP 4: When the four teams have answered their tions, bring the class together and ask each group or team

ques-to make its presentation (limit groups ques-to a 3-minute

Photocopies of Air Pollution IQ Quiz 1 per student (included)

3 Performance Indicators of the Activity:

Geography P.I G.407; G.408; 7.423, 8.423History P.I H.401

Science P.I 9.75; 8.316

4 Preparation for Activity:

Make a copy of the Air Pollution IQ quiz for each student

the quiz and explain to them to circle either True or False

on their papers (10 minutes)

STEP 2: Students are to exchange papers with another

student Go over the answers and explanations as the

stu-dents correct the quiz (Answer sheet is included in the

Teacher Materials) Students will return quiz when finished

On the board write the three categories and

correspond-ing scores (from the back of the answer sheet) and ask

students to find the category they fit into based on the

num-ber of questions they had correct Ask how many are: 1)

Well informed? 2) Informed? 3) What they don’t know

may hurt them? (20 minutes)

ACTIVITY 3: Jigsaw Activity

1 Description/Overview of Activity:

Activity 3 is a cooperative Jigsaw activity that provides

students with an in-depth understanding of air, air

pol-lution, ozone, the Clean Air Act, and reasons for

study-ing air quality

2 Materials Needed:

Photocopies of Readings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - (included)

Photocopies of Student Worksheets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - 1 per

4 Preparation for Activity:

Make copies of student readings 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 (divide

number of students by five which will give you the

num-ber of each reading needed) Make copies of Student

Worksheets 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 for each student These should

be stapled in the form of a packet Make an Overhead

Transparency of the Warm-up question and lesson

ob-jectives (see Teacher Materials) Divide the class into

Co-operative Learning Groups of five students per

team—-they should be chosen heterogeneously by intelligence,

race and gender Any students left over should be placed

into one of the existing groups of five

pollution Each member of the base group will be assigned

a different reading to read and prepare to teach the othermembers of the group In that way, you have only part ofthe material to read, but it also means that you will have tobecome an expert in that reading or section That’s wherethe expert group comes in The expert group is made up

of all the people who are responsible for the same ing You will meet together and make sure that you will all

read-become experts You will read the section together, take

notes, and prepare ways to teach the material to the rest

of your base group Your expert group will compare anddiscuss answers to the student worksheet You should plan

an interesting way to present the information to your homegroup to enhance their understanding of the material that

you read (5 minutes)

STEP 2: Team Assignments - “Now I will tell you which

BASE team you will be on When I read your name, findyour teammates and sit next to them Then choose a teamname Students should move desks or tables together toface each other in a circle—circles of learning Record theteam names chosen by the teams on the TEAM SUMMARY

SHEETS (in teacher packet) (10 minutes)

STEP 3: Pass out the Readings and Student Worksheets.

Each student should be given all five student worksheets

in the form of a packet (stapled together) Each student inthe base group should be given a different reading Makethe assignments randomly within each group; it is not im-portant who gets which reading

STEP 4: Begin Reading and Completing Student

Worksheets Students in base groups will begin to readand answer the questions on the student worksheets Stu-dents should read over the worksheet before starting to read

This will give them a guide in their reading (15 minutes)

STEP 5: Introduce Expert Groups After the students have

finished reading and completing the student worksheetsbegin to assign expert groups: “Now you will all have achance to discuss your readings with others who have thesame topic In a moment, I will ask everyone who hasReading #1 to sit together, and so on In these expert groupsyou will be able to talk about your topic and share an-swers to the worksheets I will appoint a leader for each

reading to prepare the students for the test (15 minutes)

ACTIVITY 4: Culminating Activity

-Position Paper

1 Description/Overview of Activity: Activity 4 is a

stu-dent position paper developed on an air quality issue

cho-sen by each student

2 Materials Needed:

Photocopies of Handout #7 and # 9 - One for science and

one for social studies (student directions) - 1 per student

(included)

Photocopies of Handout #8 and #10 - One for science and

one for social studies (scoring rubric) - 1 per student

4 Preparation for Activity:

Make copies of Handout 1 and 2 and copies of the scoring

rubric - one for each student

5 Activity Outline and Directions to the Teacher:

STEP 1: Students working in their base groups will make a

list of five to ten most important air quality issues Then

each member of the group will select a different issue on

the list to research and write a position paper which might

be used to influence the decision of a legislator or

govern-ment agency (10 minutes)

STEP 2: Distribute Handouts 7 and 8 to each student Ask

students to read student directions on Handout 7 and then

examine the scoring rubric on Handout 8 (5 minutes)

1. Refer the class back to the learning objectives to be sure

they have mastered the material from lesson 1 (5 minutes)

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES

1 CREATE POSTERS - Have each of the students, or

coop-erative learning teams, create posters illustrating both

polluted and pollution-free scenes These scenes should

come from their daily lives—things they see or do day They should illustrate how these things could lookbefore and after exposure to air pollution

every-2 SHOW VIDEO - Ozone: Double Trouble This video is

produced by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency

3 POLITICAL LETTER - Have either individual students, orcooperative learning teams, select an important politicalissue (e.g., air pollution, air toxics regulation, acid rain),students would then examine news reports to find out whatposition different office-holders take on the issue Eachstudent should then research the issue and prepare aletter to one of the office-holders advocating a particularcourse of action [PARTICIPATION]

4 AIR POLLUTION REPORTS - Students could undertakeresearch which helps them understand how technologyand human needs have altered the air quality in the state

of Delaware They could then prepare reports on this sue and also how ozone can place constraints on humanactivity [ENVIRONMENT]

is-OVERHEAD TRANSPARENCIES

INTRODUCTION OF LESSON 1

IS AIR POLLUTION?

Identify some ingredients of air pollution

Identify some causes of air pollution

Identify some effects of air pollution

Identify some solutions to air pollution

Describe some actions they can

personally take to improve air quality

Explain why air quality is of special

concern to the Delaware area

Describe a remedy to the air pollution

problems in Delaware

Describe how our atmosphere was formed

Explain why man is misusing the

atmo-sphere today

Define air pollution

Trace the beginnings of pollution by humans

Identify present day federal laws and

agencies that deal with the pollution problem

Define ozone

Explain how stratospheric and tropospheric ozone is formed

STUDENT MATERIALS

LESSON 1 ACTIVITY 1

FACTORIES DRY CLEANERS CHEMICAL SOLVENTS ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

BURNING FOSSIL FUELS CARS AND TRUCKS

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

HAIR SPRAYS, LAWN MOWERS,

LEAF BLOWERS

GLASS AND OVEN

CLEANERS MOTOR BOATS MOTORCYCLES

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

Lesson 1 Activity 1 Student Handout 1 Air Pollution Causes (Cut into strips)

CAUSES LUNG DISEASE

FADES PAINT CAUSES EYE IRRITATION

DESTROYS BUILDING

MATERIALS

BREAKS DOWN IMMUNE SYSTEM

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

Lesson 1 Activity 1 Student Handout 2 Air Pollution Causes (Cut into strips)

STUNTS PLANT GROWTH

CRACKS WINDSHIELD WIPERS

OZONE PARTICULATE MATTER CARBON MONOXIDE

SMOKE SULFUR DIOXIDE

LEAD

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

Lesson 1 Activity1 Student Handout 3 Air Pollution Causes (Cut into strips)

OXIDES OF NITROGEN

DUST

REACTIVE ORGANIC

COMPOUNDS

UV RAYS OF THE SUN

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

INVEST IN ELECTRIC CAR RESEARCH USE CLEAN-FUELED VEHICLES

RIDE A BIKE TAKE A BUS

TUNE-UP MOTOR

VEHICLES

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

Lesson 1 Activity 1 Student Handout 4 Air Pollution Causes (Cut into strips)

DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT DRIVE FEWER MILES USE NON-AEROSOL PRODUCTS

LIMIT INDUSTRIAL WASTE

USE ELECTRIC

OR PUSH MOWERS

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

Class: _ Period or Block:

1 Which items (causes, effects, ingredients, and solutions) surprised your team?

Lesson 1 Activity 1 Student Handout 6

Components of Air Pollution

ROC Reactive Organic Compounds Compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon Found in

gasoline and petrochemicals

NOx Nitrogen Oxides (Oxides of Nitrogen) Combinations of nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other

oxides of nitrogen that are created as a result of tion

combus-SOx Sulfur Dioxide A colorless gas produced during combustion and natural

decomposition (sewer gases)

CO Carbon Monoxide A colorless, odorless, toxic gas given off during

incom-plete combustion, primarily from motor vehicles

PM10 Particulate Matter Solid particles or liquid droplets, including fumes, smoke,

dusts, and aerosols

oxy-gen are combined (O3) High in the stratosphere surrounding the earth, a layer of ozone gas forms an important andeffective protective barrier against the sun’s ultraviolet rays.Tropospheric ozone or ground-level ozone is a major pol-lutant and is harmful

TEACHER MATERIALS

LESSON 1 ACTIVITY 1

AIR POLLUTION: SOME EFFECTS

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

AIR POLLUTION :

SOME CAUSES

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

AIR POLLUTION :

SOME INGREDIENTS

AIR POLLUTION :

SOME SOLUTIONS

Source: Sky High: An Air Quality Curriculum - Project>Clean Air, Ventura, CA

AIR POLLUTION: Some Effects

 Causes lung disease

 Fades paint

 Causes eye irritation

 Destroys building materials

 Breaks down immune system

 Stunts plant growth

 Cracks windshield wipers

 Reduces visibility

 Reduces agricultural crop yields

AIR POLLUTION: Some Solutions

 Invest in electric car research

 Carpool

 Use clean-fueled vehicles

 Ride a bike

 Take the bus

 Tune-up Motor Vehicles

 Drive the speed limit

 Use none-aerosol products

 Limit industrial waste

 Use electric or push mowers

AIR POLLUTION: Some Causes

 Factories

 Dry Cleaners

 Chemical Solvents

 Electrical Power Plants

 Burning Fossil Fuels

 Cars and trucks

 Hair sprays, lawn mowers, leaf blowers

 Glass and oven cleaners

 Motor Boats

 Motorcycles

STUDENT MATERIALS

LESSON 1 ACTIVITY 2