Community-Centered Climate Action for 3rd-5th Grade Teachers
Mar 2 – May 25, 2023
Community-Centered Climate Action
In this course, teachers and students use the perimeter of their school to inquire about and monitor air quality as well as learn about emissions and activism in their community.
Did you know idling cars during school pickup impacts air quality and the environment? Learn how to use an easy-to-implement action project to motivate and empower your students. Your students will build an understanding of how air pollution impacts their community and the climate and learn what community members are doing about it. They will then work together to map their findings, develop an action plan and share what they have learned.
- Learn how the Next Generation Science Standards Engineering Design Process and Social Studies standards can be an integral part of students working on real-world problems.
- Explore the social-emotional side of climate change and how direct action can foster resilience and environmental justice.
- Collaborate with teachers from across the region to have a collective impact on air quality and the environment.
By the end of this course, participants will:
- INVOLVE their students in using an Engineering Design Process as a part of a community action project that supports educational equity and justice.
- Learn how HELPING with air pollution in their community can intersect with the Next Generation Science Standards, Social Studies standards and climate change education.
- COLLABORATE with other participants on adaptations that work for their students and community.
This course is intended for teachers of 3rd-5th grade students with some flexibility in what they teach. The action project in this course is focused on idling cars and buses during school pickup so is best suited for schools that have not already actively engaged on this issue with their community and teachers who can make the project a part of their school day. Others are welcome but will likely be unable to implement the materials.
- 10 STEM clock hours
- After completing this course, teachers will need to claim and pay for clock hours at pdEnroller.
- Washington State Public School Teachers will receive a $300 implementation stipend upon submission of teacher and student work and completion of assessments.
All sessions will be in Zoom.
- Session 1: Thu, Mar 2, 4:00 – 5:30 PM
- Session 2: Sat, Mar 11, 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
- Session 3: Thu, Mar 30, 4:00 – 5:30 PM
- Session 4: Thu, May 4, 4:00 – 5:30 PM
- Session 5: Thu, May 25, 4:00 – 5:30 PM
“My teaching of science was rather global and probably a bit overwhelming to my students; however, now I feel much more confident using local data and storylines which will scale down this overwhelming (and scary) topic for my fifth graders. Am very excited to really integrate this work in my classroom.”
– Teacher Professional Development participant
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