Combating Coal Ash Lesson
Provided by: Great Lakes Now|Published on: October 16, 2024
Grades: 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology
Authors: Great Lakes Now, Detroit PBS
Region: Michigan
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will participate in multiple activities to look at the harmful effects of coal ash in Michigan.
- Students will watch a video that warns about how coal ash threatens the Great Lakes area, read an article detailing the possible dangers of extreme weather near coal plants, experiment with filtration methods, and use the Understanding Global Change website to create models of the cause-and-effect relationships associated with coal ash.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The use of the modeling tool gives students a simple introduction to climate modeling and cause-and-effect relationships.
- The water filtration activity allows students to be creative and demonstrate what they know about a variety of topics, such as states of matter, properties of matter, and others.
Prerequisites
- Teachers should refer to the Introduction section of the lesson plan for a list of topics students should be familiar with.
- It may benefit students to know the emissions-based impacts associated with coal before they learn about the impacts of coal ash.
- Students should know how to draw particle diagrams.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Younger students may not be able to read the article independently in one class period. They may benefit from extra time or having the article read to them.
- After completing the filtration experiment, students can try filtering water where they don't know the composition of contaminants.
- After using the modeling tool, students can brainstorm other ways to model coal ash's impacts or use the tool to model other climate change impacts.
The lesson discusses coal ash and its impacts, particularly on groundwater and the Great Lakes. In addition to learning about coal ash, its history, impacts, and efforts to address it, students will learn about how humans can impact the environment through pollution, how we attempt to clean up and remove pollution, and how severe weather can complicate these efforts. These concepts will help students understand coal ash and some climate change concepts, such as how humans can impact the climate and why addressing climate change is important. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
