New Materials in the CRC
Here are just a few of the new resources members of our Curriculum and Resource Center can access now. Not yet a member? Check out the video tour, then download a guest pass to see samples lessons.
Our Community Food Systems (K-2):
This lesson is designed to introduce young students to food systems in their community. Learners explore the elements of their community’s food system by touring their neighborhood and collecting and displaying data on places where food is grown, sold, processed, etc. The lesson includes explicit instruction on reading and vocabulary words for this topic. Learners also create data tables and bar graphs to explain their findings.
Sustainable Food Systems (PK-2) (3-5):
These units engage students in exploring food systems and their role in personal and community health. Healthy food access, human-environmental interactions, and culture are strong themes. Literacy and math activities provide rich academic support for gardening or related projects. (Note: We will be linking this to Common Core standards in early 2012.)
Life Cycle Analysis of Jeans:
Through reading selections and graphic organizers, students compare and contrast the life cycles of jeans grown and prepared in two different ways: one pair uses organic cotton and is sewn in a cooperative; the other pair is made of conventional cotton and is sewn in a “sweatshop.”
CRC Video Tour
Interested in learning more about our Curriculum and Resource Center (CRC)? Take our video tour. The five-minute tour brings you inside the CRC's key features: ready-made units, a searchable database, professional development tools, and external resources.
February 2012 News
Calling Teacher Educators!
Creative Change has been awarded a national grant to integrate sustainability into university-based teacher education programs. The 20-month project will support a cohort of teacher education professors in multiple states to integrate sustainability content and methods into a range of courses. Participants will create and pilot a sustainability-focused course “makeover” that embeds EfS and Creative Change’s Curriculum and Resource Center materials into assignments and course activities. The project is funded by a grant from the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation.
Interested in participating? Download the project overview, then complete the two steps below. Space is limited!
1) Complete the application.
2) Attend the informational webinar: Thursday Feb. 16, 2012 at 1pm EST. Click here to register.
Partnership with Michigan State University
We’re proud to be partnering with Michigan State University on a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The three-year initiative focuses on increasing the use of experiential, competency-based approaches to sustainability to better prepare students for meaningful participation in solving global challenges. We’re providing faculty development, instructional design support, and on-going collaboration with the project team.
Supporting Literacy through Food Systems
Creative Change is supporting literacy instruction and curriculum transformation at River Rouge Public Schools through the integration of sustainability, service-learning, and project-based learning into the K-8 curriculum. Food systems and community health serve as a thematic focus with an emphasis on Common Core English Language Arts standards. We're helping the entire K-8 team "begin the change" with a systems approach that combines strategic planning, on-going professional development, instructional redesign, and evaluation. This strategy will ensure that instructional change supports the district’s other efforts.
More new materials in the CRC
The Natural and Built Environments
Learners explore the relationship between the natural and built environments with an emphasis on land use decisions, impervious surfaces, and water quality. Learners also explore design strategies to reduce environmental impacts while enhancing a sense of community.
Gimmick or Green?
This lesson provides an introduction to environmental marketing claims to promote critical thinking about consumer choices. Through readings and analysis of examples, learners develop an understanding of terms such as “organic” and the regulations or certifications that affect usage. The lesson also introduces the idea of “greenwashing,” the practice of making unsubstantiated environmental claims. Learners apply the concepts to evaluate a product or advertisement.
New Supplement to "Comparing Worldviews and Belief Systems
"Influences of Religion and Spirituality" is an engaging addition to the lesson “Comparing Worldviews and Belief Systems” and is appropriate for upper level high school courses and higher ed. When these lessons are taught together, learners are introduced to sustainability concepts with a focus on religious and spiritual belief systems. Learners begin by exploring cultural beliefs systems about human-environmental interactions, individualism, community, and concepts related to sustainability. Learners complete their study by comparing examples of religious and spiritual texts and how they may influence these beliefs.