Curriculum

PLT's New PreK-8 Guide

The new PreK-8 improves upon the proven effectiveness of the former guide.
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About PLT Curriculum

The elementary and secondary curricula are the heart of PLT. The supplementary curriculum materials offer exciting and challenging activities that focus on the total environment. PLT activities guide students through a process that begins with awareness, moves to knowledge, challenges preconceived ideas, and seeks constructive avenues for environmental action.

The PreK-8 guide was revised and evaluated in the 1990s. In 2002, we introduced a new unit on Energy & Society. We continually revise the curriculum to make sure that it meets the needs of teachers and students.

Curriculum materials for students in grades 9 -12 include four secondary modules. The modules focus on forest ecology, forest issues, municipal solid waste, risk, places we live. In addition, the introductory handbook for the secondary modules and the biodersity module are available online. Upcoming modules currently in development include those on forests of the world, and biotechnology supplement to the risk module.

You can get copies of the elementary or secondary materials by attending a PLT workshop.

To meet the growing need for bilingual academic material, PLT has translated into Spanish the Student Pages and Glossary of the PreK-8 Activity Guide and the Student Pages of the secondary module Exploring Environmental Issues: Municipal Solid Waste. Please see Enhancing Learning Opportunities for Spanish Speaking Students for more information.

Also check out English Language Develoment Theory and Practices: Background Information for "EE" Providers.

Standards Correlations

All of PLT's curriculum materials are correlated to national education standards and many states have correlated the materials to state standards too.

PLT's Conceptual Framework

PLT's PreK-8 Activity Guide and other curriculum materials are arranged under five major themes:

 - Diversity
 - Interrelationships
 - Systems
 - Structure and Scale
 - Patterns of Change

Each theme covers the topics of Environment, Resource Management & Technology, and Society & Culture. The conceptual framework serves as the basis for the development of all of PLT's curriculum materials. PLT's conceptual framework was edited for the 2006 PreK-8 Guide.  Please select one of the following versions of the conceptual framework:

Editions prior to 2006

2006 PreK-8 Guide

Want to Reprint PLT Materials?

All PLT curriculum materials are protected under copyright laws.  No reproduction of PLT materials without prior written consent is allowed.  All requests for permission to reprint must be submitted to the national PLT office.  Please click here to see more reprint guidelines.