Description
This resource is on human impact on the environment for middle school science. Students will learn that humans impact the environment on the Earth in both positive and negative ways. Students will design a solution to a problem created by human impact on the environment.
This unit includes:
- A slide show
- A strategic notetaking guide
- Two engineering activities
- Scenarios to evaluate
- Follow-up pages
- A quiz
This unit is designed to address the following standards:
NGSS MS ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).]
Utah SEEd Standard 8.4.3
Design a solution to monitor or mitigate the potential effects of the use of natural resources. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well each solution meets the criteria and constraints of the problem. Examples of uses of the natural environment could include agriculture, conservation efforts, recreation, solar energy, and water management. (ESS3.A, ESS3.C, ETS1.A, ETS1.B, ETS1.C)
