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Rachel Carson and the Environment
Context
During April, which is Earth Month, the students in my classroom
studied the environment. As part of this inquiry, students learned about
Rachel Carson, who was a pioneer of ecology and environmental studies.
I designed a two-week curriculum for on Rachel Carson. This unit went
hand in hand with a research project that students were doing on a current
environmental problem of their choice. Students researched their topics
and created poster presentations with the my guidance and that of their
cooperative teachers. These posters were eventually displayed at an "Enviro-Fair"
in which the school and community came to look at the posters.
With this poster presentation in mind, my primary goals
in the Rachel Carson unit were to allow students to see a woman who was
truly passionate about the environment, and to examine how she made an
impact on our planet with her actions. An emotional/personal goal that
I had was for students to begin to think more critically about their relationship
to the environment. These goals were also tied throughout their research
projects, in which they were spreading information about the environment,
much like Carson did.
The Rachel Carson Unit was all my own. However, I also
worked together with my cooperating teacher to design a rubric
for the research and posters that the students would create. Students
worked with my cooperating teacher, the librarian, and the gifted-coordinator,
and me in doing their research. I also led a mini-lesson
on creating eye-catching posters.
Lessons on Rachel Carson:
Two Week Objectives:
- Students will be able to give a brief biography of Rachel Carson’s
life.
- Students will be able to name Rachel Carson’s contributions to
environmental science.
- Students will be able to summarize the effects of DDT and other pesticides
on the environment.
- Students will be able to make list of the pros and cons of the causes
of environmental problems. For example, students will be able to see
that pesticides are both useful in saving human crops and harmful to
animals.
Lesson 1: (First lesson of the Environmental Unit)
Daily Objective:
Students will begin to engage with the notion that the choices that
humans make have great implications for the environment and the survival
of life on Earth.
Materials:
Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax
Procedure:
Read Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax to the class. Ask students to
pay attention to what the main problem of the book was and to what caused
this problem. After finishing the book, lead a discussion with the students
addressing the choices the Once-ler made and what their effects were.
Questions for discussion:
- What were the problems in this book?
- What caused these problems?
- Did the Once-ler intend to hurt the forest?
- What does Dr. Seuss mean by “unless”?
- Why do you think Dr. Seuss wrote this book?
Stress that human decisions often have implications for the entire
environment because life on Earth is very delicately balanced and one
seemingly small small decision may have big implications for the entire
ecosystem.
Tell students that they will be studying the environment in a variety
of ways. First, they will be studying Rachel Carson, without whom, Dr.
Seuss may have never written this book. Stress that people were not
always aware that their actions could affect the Earth, and Rachel Carson
helped bring this to people’s attention. Secondly, they will be
researching an environmental problem and creating a poster presentation
to help inform other people about this problem.
Define “environment” and “ecology” using suggestions
from the kids. Then, have students brainstorm lists of ecological problems
on a sheet of paper. Ask them to think about what caused these problems.
Compile a list of their ideas on the board. Students will use this list
to engage with the different problems from which they will then choose
a research project.
Evaluation:
Quality of student discussion and ability to answer questions posed.
Lesson 2:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Procedure:
Stress that we have talked about how human’s actions can affect
the environment, for better or for worse. Rachel Carson affected the
environment for kid. Give the students a brief background of Rachel
Carson (She was born in Pennsylvania in 1907, she wrote many books about
the environment, and wrote a very influential book Silent Spring
which was about pesticide use).
Distribute copies of Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen
Kudinski. Read Chapter 1 of Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology
to the students. Bring in a conch shell so students can simulate Rachel’s
early childhood experience of listening to a conch shell and dreaming
of the ocean. Discuss salient concepts with students as you read.
Some Questions for Discussion:
- How can we tell that Rachel is interested in the environment, even
at this young age?
- Have you ever taken care of sick or injured animal, like Rachel
did?
Evaluation:
Quality of student discussion of book.
Lesson 3:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Chapter Two and Three
Question Sheet
Procedure:
Have students read chapters two and three of Rachel Carson: Pioneer
of Ecology by themselves. When students are done, have them pair up
and begin making a timeline of Rachel Carson’s early life on a
single sheet of computer paper. Then have students work on the question
sheet for chapter two and three. Examples
of student work from this sheet
Evaluation:
Work on worksheet and on timeline.
Lesson 4:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Chapter Four Question Sheet
Procedure:
After recapping what happened in chapters one through three, students
should read chapter four independently and complete the question
sheet for the chapter. Students should continue to work with
a partner on their timelines when they are finished. Examples
of student work from this sheet
Evaluation:
Work on worksheet and on timeline.
Lesson 5:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Blank Paper
Procedure:
After recapping the previous 4 chapters, have students read chapter
five aloud, pausing for questions and comments. (This is a common way
that the students have been reading text in the classroom all year).
Then have students try to draw their own pictures of "frozen-fish
minded" and "raw headless dealers." (At this point in
the story Carson is working for the Bureau of Fisheries, where she and
her colleagues draw cartoons for funny phrases they find in the bad
writing they encounter - these two phrases are mentioned as two of these
examples). Examples
of Student's Illustrations When students are done, they
may work with their partner on their timelines.
Evaluation:
Work on drawing, questions and comments while reading and on their
timeline.
Lesson 6:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Procedure:
Students should read chapter six and write a chapter summary on it.
Then students hold work on their timelines with their partner.
Evaluation:
Quality of chapter summary and timeline.
Lesson 7:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
350 colored square tiles or other small object (1/3 are a different
color or bear a different mark)
5 plastic bags
2 shoeboxes
15 paper cups
Procedure:
Have students go to an open area. Explain to the students that they
are going to complete an activity about food chains. Have students define
food chain. Explain that each child will play one of three roles: grasshopper,
starling or falcon. (Two students will be falcons, five will be starlings
and fifteen will be grasshoppers.) There will also be markers representing
food (350 pieces - 1/3 of the food should be a special color, representing
food tainted with pesticides, though the students do not know this fact
at this point. In this case I has three colors of food, each comprising
a third of the total).
Explain that each animal eats only one thing. Grasshoppers eat the square
tiles, representing other grasshopper food. Starlings eat grasshoppers.
Falcons eat starlings. Each animal has a stomach - grasshoppers will
get paper cups, starlings will get plastic bags and falcons will get
shoeboxes. Explain that an animal can eat another animal by tagging
them on the shoulder and taking away the stomach of the eaten animal.
Have the grasshoppers spend 60 seconds gathering food in the designated
boundaries. Then let the starlings hunt for grasshoppers for 30 seconds
by tagging grasshoppers. When tagged, a grasshopper has to hand over
its stomach and sit on the sidelines. Then the falcons will have 30
seconds to hunt for starlings, with tagged starlings handing over their
stomachs and sitting on the sidelines.
At the end, have “dead” students identify what animal they
were and what ate them. Ask those who are still alive to empty their
stomachs and count the number of each type of food piece they have.
Explain that one of the colors of food was tainted by DDT or another
pesticide. If any grasshopper has a marked piece in his bag he will
die. If the starlings have one half or more of their pieces marked they
will die also. A falcon with more than one-third of their pieces marked
will not die, but will be unable to reproduce because it will lay eggs
with shells that are too thin. (Since students recently studied embryology,
they should be able to explain why a thin shell would result in no baby
falcons).
Ask students why the pesticide DDT is such a problem to wildlife. Have
students discuss the repercussions of being unable to reproduce, or
what happens when everything a species eats dies out.
Then, read Chapter seven of the Rachel Carson book together. Discuss
the use of pesticides in that era.
Students may then work on their timelines.
Evaluation:
Work during simulation and on timeline.
Lesson 8:
Materials:
Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology by Kathleen Kudinski
Photocopies of the first chapter of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Procedure:
Hand out the photocopies of the first chapter of Rachel Carson's Silent
Spring. Read these three pages aloud to the students.
Questions for Discussion:
- What is Carson saying in these chapters?
- What does she mean by a "silent spring"?
- Do you think this book could have made an impact? Was it persuasive?
Why or why not?
Read the final chapter of Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology
with the students. Have students generate benefits and costs of pesticide
use and ask the students their opinion on pesticides. Then students
may finish work on their timelines.
Evaluation:
Work during discussion and timeline
Lesson 9:
Materials:
The movie: American Experience: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Procedure:
Have students watch this PBS movie on Silent Spring. Stop periodically
to make sure students are comprehending key points. Although the movie
is on a high level, students should be prepared from reading about Rachel
Carson.
After the movie, ask students what things made the biggest impression
on them.
Evaluation:
Discussion after the movie.
Adapting this curriculum for a classroom containing
various special needs students
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