The Great Indoors
Synopsis
In this unit, students will follow the journey of Mira as she discovers factors that can impact indoor air quality, working to design a solution in their own homes.
Students will explore the components of the air, how outdoor air and particulate matter impact indoor air quality, investigate the use of air filters, understand the dangers of volatile organic compounds and other indoor pollutants, and come up with ideas for keeping their indoor air safe.
This unit includes 17 main lessons, each about 30 minutes long, which work to connect design thinking to indoor air quality.
Teaching Materials
Preparation:
Name and email are required, and access to the material will be emailed to teachers.
Before engaging in the pie chart activity in Lesson 1, check classroom allergies and adjust accordingly.
Consider sending a note home to parents and guardians, informing them about the various at-home challenges students are encouraged to complete.
For the final capstone project, be mindful that the language used in the materials references students' "parents," which may be alienating for students who have other grown-ups they go home to.
Prerequisites:
Ensure students are familiar with fractions and how to represent them.
Consider providing background information on states of matter.
Materials:
Each lesson requires a variety of materials that teachers may not immediately have on hand. Check the materials list in each lesson to know what materials to gather.
Broken Links:
In Lesson 1, the link for the extensions article, "What is Air?", is broken. This doesn't impact the main lesson.
In the Topic 2 Overview, the link for the National Geographic article provided as teacher background is broken. This doesn't impact the main lesson.
In Lesson 4, the link to the AirNow website may be broken. This link may work instead.
Differentiation:
Prepare to support students, especially those with anxiety, who may feel overwhelmed by learning about dangers to their health that may be in their homes.
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.
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