The advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of non-renewable energy sources are the focus of this lesson. Students match different kinds of energy resources with their advantages and disadvantages, and then discuss whether these advantages and disadvantages are economic,ecological, or social. As an extension students identify the environmental impacts of their family’s electricity usage using EPA’s Power Profiler web site. The next lesson will deal with renewable resources.

The focus of this lesson is learning about the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of renewable energy resources and their potential use in Michigan. Students read about different renewable resources, watch a teacher demonstration, and match different kinds of energy sources with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Students then compare the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable resources and use the comparisons to write a letter to their state legislators.

Energy conservation and energy efficiency are the focus of this lesson. Students learn how basic energy conservation and energy efficiency choices can save their family money, reduce energy consumption, and prevent energy-related pollution. Students learn how to identify and fix air leaks,compare incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs, and list ways they can conserve energy and increase energy efficiency in their daily lives. An extension lesson, “In the Driver’s Seat,” which focuses on transportation and fuel efficiency, is also provided on the MEECS Energy Resources CD.

The lesson introduces the concept of a product life cycle and how it can be used as tool for the consumer to make more environmentally friendly product choices. The lesson uses the life cycle of a CD or DVD as an example to investigate the life cycle of an everyday product and examine options for reusing, recycling, or disposing of the item after its useful life. Students are introducedto pollution prevention strategies (the three Rs), how consumers can use them, and how the strategies can be incorporated at different stages of a product’s life cycle to make a product more economically and environmentally sustainable.

This lesson develops the concept of an ecological footprint. Students use data and tools to assess the impacts of their energy and resource consumption. They examine their results and assess their impacts on the environment. Students discuss and compare their impacts and try to identify actions to reduce their footprints.

 LESSON 1: THE SALTY STUMPER: A GROUNDWATER CASE STUDY Building upon prior knowledge of the water cycle, students explore how groundwater moves and interacts with surface water in a watershed. Using data from a case study in Ottawa County, students consider how both natural characteristics of an aquifer and human activities can affect the quantity and quality of groundwater for human use. Students build models to understand groundwater processes, construct arguments based on evidence for how and why issues of groundwater quantity and quality exist, and evaluate the benefits and constraints of various solutions to these problems. 

 LESSON 2: A MUCKY MYSTERY: A NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT CASE STUDY Students complete a reading about three teens who visit the Saginaw Bay to go swimming and encounter decaying vegetative muck washed up along the shoreline. Students interact with a mystery script and activity prompts that reveal clues as the teens investigate why the beach has so much muck. Students learn about other characters who have a stake in the phenomenon as they uncover the interaction between land use and water quality. Students react to questions and sketch and revise a model that reflects their discoveries about how multiple causes on land are connected to excess nutrients in the Saginaw Bay.

 LESSON 3: ROUGE RIVER WATERSHED Students create a simple model of a watershed, identify important terminology about watersheds and use an infographic to analyze data from the Rouge River Watershed (RRW). The conclusion of the lesson is an activity to design a stream daylighting project. The project explores the impacts of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO’s) as well as more comprehensive watershed restoration actions, including habitat restoration and storm water controls. The information from the infographic comes from several reports centered on the Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project, which was funded by the EPA, state and local governments.

 LESSON 4: THE DISAPPEARING DONUT: AN AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES CASE STUDY Students will learn about the invasive species and how they can impact native ecosystems. Using data from university research studies around the phytoplankton levels in Lake Michigan over the last 30 years, students will investigate how many factors combine to play a role in the complex aquatic ecosystem and decide how humans can minimize their impact on the Great Lakes Ecosystem.

 LESSON 5: WHITE LAKE THE BEAUTIFUL: AN AREA OF CONCERN CASE STUDY In this lesson, a classroom sediment and groundwater pollution demonstration engages students and introduces the now delisted AOC, White Lake. This demonstration is followed by a map and data interpretation activity from an initial sediment study of White Lake. Students then view the short documentary, Bringing Back White Lake the Beautiful. After the video, students take on the role of a member of the community or restoration projects to participate in a community conversation, discussing and evaluating the solutions to delisting White Lake as an AOC. Finally, students turn to their own community, and plan an action item for reducing the impact of human activities on the environment in their community.

What do Prairie Chickens Need in Order to Survive Today's Prairie?

This middle school unit covering ecosystems, animal behavior and symbiosis was developed through the Storyline approach. Middle school students will be figuring out why prairie chickens have a very unique dance and understand the role cows play to help ensure the dance takes place. Using this approach, students engage in science concepts to help ensure the survival of the prairie chicken.

Welcome to Promoting STEM Through Literature by the MiSTEM Network of the Northwestern Lower Michigan Region.  We are excited to build from the great work of Judy Bowling and Kerry Guiliano to bring you more STEM challenges, SEL discussion prompts, and career connections that you can use with your students. These lessons were created in collaboration by Danelle Brostrom, Sam Walters, Drea Weiner, and Shelly VanderMeulen with funds from a MiSTEM grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Education. If you are interested in learning more about the original project, please visit their website at https://www.stemandlit.com/Share your feedback and comments with us as we continue to add more books and less

This article describes seven strategies for assisting English Language Learners with science vocabulary development.