Our Environment & Environmental Issues Reproducible Workbook
The activities in this book are designed to give students a heightened awareness of the impact they can have in protecting and improving the environment. Many of the pages are appropriate for use with small groups or with individual students.
This book works well in conjunction with research projects on the various topics. Opportunities for creative writing and problem solving are plentiful, and many of the pages include interdisciplinary activities using math, art, social studies, and other subjects.
WORKSHEET & Sample PDF Activity
Sample PDF Activity
The Greenhouse Effect
When scientists speak of the “greenhouse effect” they are talking about the way gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap enough of the sun’s heat to warm our planet. The gases act like the sheets of glass in a greenhouse. They allow the rays of the sun in and then hold the heat inside.
In a greenhouse, the trapping of the sun’s heat allows gardeners to grow plants during cold weather. The trapping of heat that occurs during the greenhouse effect is also a good thing. In fact, it is not only good, it is necessary! Without it, our Earth would be a sphere of ice.
There is a problem with the greenhouse effect, however. The amount of gases we send into the air has increased. These gases include carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil to run factories and cars, and methane, which comes from burning trees and other vegetation. (Burning or cutting down trees without replanting them is known as deforestation.) Nitrous oxide is another gas which contributes to the greenhouse effect. It comes from sources such as some fertilizers and from burning fossil fuels and vegetation. Because the amount of gases in the atmosphere is increasing, the layer above us has grown thicker. This causes more heat to become trapped between the earth and the layer of gases. Scientists believe this is causing global warming, the warming of the earth.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE | TITLE
1 Environmental Quiz
2 The Greenhouse Effect
3 Slowing Global Warming
4 What Is Ozone?
5 The Tree of Life
6 Trees as Buffers
7 Tropical Rain Forests
8 Gifts from the Rain Forest
9 “Save the Rain Forest” T-Shirt
10 Endangered Species
11 Oil Spills
12 Space Junk
13 The Truth About Trash
14 U.S. Recycling Report Card
15 Recycling Rangers
16 The Earth’s Friend or Foe?
17 Smart Shopping for a Better World
18 Save Our Soil
19 Creating Compost
20 Environmental Jobs
21 Energy Store
22 The Wonders of Water
23 It’s a Start
24 What Can One Person Do?
25 Environmental Sentences
26 Environment Crossword Puzzle
27 Environmental Glossary
28 Environmental Glossary (continued)
