Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk

Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk module helps students explore the different aspects of environmental and human health risks that affect their everyday lives. It incorporates science, social studies, math, geography, and language arts. The module is designed to be infused into existing curriculum and is correlated to the national science standards.

Through eight hands-on activities, students analyze, explore, discover, and learn about risk assessment, risk communication, risk perception, and risk management. In addition, there are three special topics that encourage students to apply the knowledge they develop from the activities to actual risk issues. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making are stressed throughout the activities.

Here's what's inside:

• Introduction

• Background Information

• Student Activities (Overviews are available.):
  
  1. What Is Risk?
  2. Things Aren't Always What They Seem (2005 Activity Revision)
  3. Chances Are…Understanding Probability and Risk
  4. Risk Assessment: Tools of the Trade
  5. Communicating Risk
  6. Weighing the Options: A Look at Tradeoffs
  7. Decision Making: Ecological Risk, Wildfires, and Natural Disasters
  8. Taking Action: Reducing Risk in Your School or Community

• Special Topics
  
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Chlorine: Looking at Tradeoffs
  • Plastics, Risk/Benefit Analysis, and Environmental Legislation

• Appendices:
1. References Cited
2. Additional Resources
3. Glossary
4. Suggestions for Using the Internet as a Resource
5. Suggestions for Conducting a Debate
6. Biographies of Risk Professionals
7. Supplemental Readings
8. The Monte Carlo Method
9. Metric Conversion Chart
10. Subject Matrix
11. Activity Links
12. PLT Conceptual Framework

Additional Resources
Earth & Sky
The following activities can be supplemented with related Earth & Sky radio shows that you can download for use in your classroom.
       Activity 1: What is Risk?
       Activity 2: Things Aren't Always What They Seem
       Activity 3: Chances Are...Understanding Probability and Risk
       Activity 4: Risk Assessment: Tools of the Trade
       Activity 5: Communicating Risk
       Activity 6: Weighing the Options: A Look at Tradeoffs
       Activity 7: Decision Making: Ecological Risk, Wildfires, and Natural Hazards
       Activity 8: Taking Action: Reducing Risk in Your School or Community
       Special Topic: Electromagnetic Fields
       Special Topic: Chlorine: Looking at Tradeoffs
       Special Topic: Plastics, Risk/Benefit Analysis, and Environmental Legislation

A Healthy Skepticism Recommended for Statistics of All Kinds
Most of us get our exposure to statistics from reading the newspaper, watching TV newscasts, or searching the web. We need to remind ourselves--and students--that just because a statistic is in print or quoted by a figure of some authority does not mean it is true. Any given statistic may be accidentally, or purposefully, misleading, inaccurate, or simply misinterpreted. Statistics of the Descriptive Variety (Grades 4-12), a Classroom Calendar entry, aims to help you introduce a healthy sense of skepticism about the percentages, rates, and ratios that roll so easily from the pages of the newspaper and from the TV screen.  (Subscription required)

Article on Risk of Cell Phone Use

National Institute of Health's Chemicals, the Environment, and You: Explorations in Science and Human Health (7th-8th grade curriculum supplement)

TOXMAP helps users visually explore data from the US EPA concerning the release of toxic chemicals into the environment.

Tox Town uses color, graphics, sounds, and animation in lessons that show the connections between chemicals, the environment, and the public’s health. It lists everyday locations where you might find toxic chemicals, gives nontechnical descriptions of chemicals, gives additional links, etc.

Teaching About Controversial Topics in Science
This new series in NSTA Reports is based on the NSTA Press book Thinking Scientifically About Controversial Issues: Clones, Cats, and Chemicals. The book examines 10 dilemmas from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, technology, and mathematics to help challenge students to confront scientific and social problems that offer few black-and-white solutions. It provides the facts and the framework to provoke classroom debates.

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction is developing a web based simulation for teaching about pre-disaster preparedness.  The scenarios include hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires.  It's great to use with Activity 7: "Decision Making: Ecological Risk, Wildfires, and Natural Hazards."

Find a Risk workshop near you.