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Students will explore how public health can be significantly affected by environmental factors and how climate change is disproportionately disruptive in “sacrifice zones/disadvantaged communities.” Students will conduct research on public health issues in their communities and investigate effective uses of evaluation tools.

Students will conduct an experiment that demonstrates the range of the pH scale and how carbon dioxide increases the acidity of the oceans.

Students will compare and contrast the sustainability of renewable resources vs. nonrenewable resources. Students will be able to articulate the impacts of decisions about energy resources and consumption.

Environmental action is about making a difference, but how can we help students understand what kind of difference they’re making? This module gives introductory, free resources to explore using the Arc platform to use benchmarking, goal-setting, and sustainability metrics as powerful tools for student learning. It is part of the Building Learners series of modules, through which additional guidance, training, and mentoring are available to educators who would like support in bringing these concepts into the classroom.

Arc + Schools Digital Playground
This website provides a walk-through of the Arc platform that has been specifically designed for K-12 educators. It gives users a window into how the platform works and how it might be used in the classroom. Throughout the walk-through, lessons on Learning Lab that are available to users at no cost are called out as resources to prepare students to engage with the elements of sustainability measurement contained in Arc. Visit the Arc + Schools Digital Playground now: www.schools-app.arconline.io

Learning Lab lessons referenced in Arc + Schools Digital Playground
The Arc platform demonstration site references several lessons that can be used to give students the foundation of knowledge they need to work with sustainability metrics and benchmarking. These lessons were created by Learning Lab partners and can be accessed at no cost.

• Earth Waters Our Lives (created by EcoRise and RIS as part of the Sustainable Intelligence program): This unit is comprised of 3 lessons for grades 5-6, including approximately 240 minutes of teaching time. It addresses the human and natural causes of drought, as well as the ways that water is used in everyday life and wasted through human activities.
• Waste Eco-Audit (created by EcoRise and RIS as part of the Sustainable Intelligence program): This unit is comprised of 4 lessons for grades 9-12, including approximately 605 minutes of teaching time. It leads students through the purpose of a waste audit, the process of conducting an audit at the school, and the methods for composing and communicating their results and recommendations.
• Energy Vampire Hunt (created by The Energy Coalition as part of the Climate Leaders in Action Program): This lesson for students in grades 9-12 includes 45 minutes of instructional time. In it, students plan and carry out an investigation of energy vampires using an Energy Monitor to measure the energy consumption of different electrical devices. Students then collect and chart the data from their investigation and calculate how much money could be saved by unplugging energy vampires.
• Transportation in Arc (automatic download)
• Indoor Environmental Quality in Arc (automatic download)

Participants in Building Learners have access to:

• Learning Lab subscriptions and the "Roadmap to Lessons" for Building Learners
• Access to Arc, an online platform to track and benchmark building metrics in five categories: energy, water, waste/recycling, human experience and transportation, and the Arc Getting Started Guide
• Volunteer services and career exposure from a local green building professional serving as mentor to your school
• Building Learners Project Management Guide
• Online trainings for staff, teacher and mentor, including:
  • the Green Classroom Professional Certificate
  • Building Learners Trainings:
    • Learn Arc
    • Build Your Team
    • Prepare to Teach
    • Populate Arc
    • Plan Your Program
• Program goals template
• Educators' planning template with calendar
• Best Practice Resource Center
• Guidance on documenting your school’s program (capturing photos, videos, examples of student work, testimonials from students, staff, parents, etc.)
• Sample letters to school leadership, school parents

The food waste resource guide is designed to give you all the information you need to teach your students about food waste. The guide provides food waste facts, a classroom certificate, food waste posters, guidelines for working with cafeteria managers and school administrators, and a resource for tackling food waste at home. It also includes a letter writing activity to raise awareness around food waste and implement food policy changes in schools.

Students utilize design tools (e.g. online drafting tools) to assess their campus’s capacity and need for solar energy. Students will design a solar master plan to present to their district’s energy management team. For schools that already have solar photovoltaic energy, students can create a master plan for another building or campus in their community.

Community/Career Connections: Students will utilize localized climate data and news from their communities to learn more about what’s going on in their own backyard. Students will have access to various resources to understand the environmental justice history of their area and start to plan their Student Action Project.