Free K-2 Earth Environmental Education Curriculum Now Available
by TeachThought Staff
From a Press Release
The Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation, a leading non-profit provider of environmental education for primary and secondary schools, is making its award-winning curriculum available free online. Kindergarten through second grade teachers can now access free Think Earth materials at www.thinkearth.org to teach students about the environment and the everyday behaviors that can help protect it. Updated Think Earth units for third grade will be available in September 2015, and grades four through eight are in development and will be available online in 2015 and 2016.
The Think Earth Curriculum was originally launched as a print-based program, which has been used by more than 60,000 teachers nationwide. Each of the behavior-based instructional units provides teachers with everything they need to teach five to eight environmental lessons. Materials include a teacher’s guide, posters, handouts, practice exercises, videos, and songs. Each lesson helps students think about the environment and then take action to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and minimize pollution. Students also receive Family Activity Sheets that educate parents about the program and encourage students to share Think Earth behaviors at home.
“Environmental education is vital to stemming the effects of climate change around the world,” said Joseph Haworth, Chairman of the Think Earth Foundation. “Our curriculum makes it easy for teachers to show students that small everyday behaviors, such as turning off unused lights, putting trash in trash cans, carpooling to school, and recycling can have a big impact on the health of our planet. If we help young people establish positive environmental habits while they are young, they’ll carry them into adulthood and pass them on to the next generation.”
Core concepts explored in the Think Earth curriculum by grade level include:
• Kindergarten: Jay’s Tree: Students learn the benefits of trees and the importance of conserving natural resources.
• Grade 1: Bernie and the School Bus: Students learn that everything comes from the environment and how to use water, paper, electricity, and natural gas wisely.
• Grade 2: The Rascals: Students learn to reduce, reuse, or recycle products to conserve natural resources and minimize pollution.
• Grade 3: Trashbot: Students learn that waste from the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of products can pollute our land, water, and air.
The Think Earth curriculum was developed by Educational Development Specialists, Inc. Each unit is aligned with Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the McREL Standards Compendium. It is supported by: Edison International, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Water Replenishment District of Southern California, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Southern California Gas Company, along with others.
The curriculum has received a number of honors, including the President’s Environment and Conservation Challenge Award, and the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in the Children’s Environmental Education category from the State of California. A complete list of awards is available at http://thinkearth.org/about-
About Think Earth Education Foundation
Established in 1988 and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1995, the Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation is committed to helping communities create and maintain a sustainable environment through education. At the core of Think Earth is an award-winning environmental curriculum that is now available for free online (for K-3 teachers, presently). For more information please visit www.thinkearth.org. Follow Think Earth on Facebook (thinkearthfoundation), Twitter (@thinkearthed), and Pinterest (thinkearthed).