Content

In this unit, the students will learn about the different types of air pollution and the resulting effects on the environment and on the body. The unit begins with a discussion of particulate pollution, the type of air pollution that can be seen in particle form. Particulate pollution includes ash, soot, smoke and any other visible air contaminates. The students will create simple particulate collectors to place in different areas of our community. We will analyze the results to determine where our visible air pollution is concentrated and conjecture as to why.

The discussion will then proceed on to chemical pollutants, air pollution that cannot be seen. These contaminates include oxides of carbon, oxides of sulfur, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, petrochemical oxidants, and radioactive substances. Though chemical pollutants cannot be seen, they can be detected, and they do have visible effects.

One effect of chemical pollution is acid rain, caused when chemical pollutants react with the moisture in the air and form nitric and sulfuric acid. (Another effect is global warming, discussed in future chapters.) Acid rain can damage forests, crops, bodies of water, and buildings and statues containing limestone. Acid rain can be detected using both complex and simple processes. In our classroom, we will use cabbage tea as an indicator. Simple brewing yields a liquid that reacts with both acidic and alkaline items to produce different colors. The students will test our local rainwater to determine whether or not high concentrations of chemical pollutants are present in our area.

After roughly determining our local levels of particulate and chemical pollution, the students will learn about the ways in which pollution affects the body. After discussing both major and minor health risks associated with pollution (ranging from mild nasal aggravation to lung damage to premature death from extreme, prolonged exposure). The students will create posters depicting both the health hazards they learn about and possible strategies to prevent exposure and creation of pollution. The posters will be displayed around the school in an attempt to educate the entire student body.

Hopefully, by this time pollution has become a personal concern for every student in the classroom. They are aware of our local status and of the health risks associated with pollution. At this point in the unit, their drive should be to find out what local corporations like Michelin, BMW, and Duke Power are doing to uphold the Clean Air Act. The students will explore two methods of pollution reduction used by many corporations: wet scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators. In a wet scrubber, polluted gas streams are brought into contact with a liquid so that the pollutants can be absorbed by the liquid and then discarded. In an electrostatic precipitator, static electricity and Bernoullis Principle are used to collect negatively charged pollutant particles, rather than distribute them into the air.

The unit will conclude with a field trip/guest speaker activity. The students will be offered the opportunity to look inside a local industry to find out what their commitment to the Clean Air Act is and how the corporation is taking steps to prevent excessive polluting of local air.

Culminating Task

In the first culminating task, the students will be offered the opportunity to demonstrate their learning by creating a presentation about local air pollution. Given the following guidelines, students are to work individually or in pairs to produce an informative pamphlet or power point presentation:

q All information MUST relate back to Roebuck or to Gable Middle School in some way.

q Presentations MUST include at least three attractive and relevant pictures.

q Presentations MUST also include four articles from the following selection:

o Particuwhat? The Down and Dirty on Visible Pollution

o Recent Findings Show Reports from Around Spartanburg

o Statue of Miss Peters, Lovingly Carved by Her Students, is Melting! The Inside Story on Acid Rain

o Anyone for Cabbage Tea? Recipes for Rain

o Air Pollution is Making Me SICK!

o Row, Row, Row Your BoatThe Top Fifteen Ways I Can Reduce Pollution

o Wet Scrubbers: An Expose

o Balloons and Pepper

q Presentations MUST include a section entitled A Letter from the Editor that includes an evaluation of one major corporations efforts to reduce pollution and a plan of Pollution Reduction for Gable Middle School.

q Brochures MUST be three panels, fully covered front and back.

q Power point presentations MUST include at least six slides

Projects will be presented to the class and graded based on the rubric found in the Assessment section of my unit.

A second culminating task involves a traditional pencil and paper test, given over the course of a period to assess the students internalization of basic pollution concepts. The students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge bases through a variety of real-life application questions and situations. This test can also be found in the Assessment section of my unit.

Accommodations

Over the course of the unit, accommodations will be available to all students requiring additional assistance in any way. As always, I will be available both before and after school to re-explain content, explore inquiries, and clarify expectations. Modifications will be made for students with learning disabilities, including typed notes in handout form and extended time limits for test taking. Students with physical disabilities will be thought for on the field trip, as will students without the funds necessary to provide for this expense. Transportation to and from collection sites will be provided for students without other means of transportation on distribution and retrieval days. Students in both gender and racial minorities will be empowered during group work and partnership opportunities though leadership roles and opportunities to step outside their typical stereotypes. Any unforeseen accommodations will be handled discreetly and with the best interest of every student in mind.

Bibliography

Church, J. R. (1995). How can rain be acid? Retrieved November 1, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.beakman.bonus.com/beakman/acid/acid.html.

Health Canada (2002). Its your health. Retrieved November 27, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/environment/smog.htm.

Project learning tree: Environmental education activity guide. (1993). Washington, DC: American Forest Foundation.

Project WILD: Activity guide. (1991). Bethesda, MD: Western Regional Environmental Education Council.

Project WILD: Secondary activity guide. (1985). Boulder, Colorado: Western Regional Education Council.

Roa, M. L. (1993). Environmental science activities kit. West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in Education.

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (1994). Acid rain: The disappearing statue. Retrieved November 19, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/monops/lessons/statuelesson.html.

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (1994). How to make an electrostatic precipitator. Retrieved November 19, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/monops/lessons/statuelesson.html.

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (1994). How to make a wet scrubber. Retrieved November 19, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/monops/lessons/statuelesson.html.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2002). The plain English guide to the clean air act. Retrieved November 27, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaa02.html.