Curriculum Unit: How does my environment affect me?

About This Unit

In this unit, students investigate an everyday phenomenon: how does the environment affect us? Students consider the various environments, how those environments impact them, and how they impact those environments. Students create an asset map for the area around their school and investigate the impacts of the environment on their health. The class develops a Driving Question Board (DQB), that helps generate ideas for investigations. Their questions drive the flow of the unit. Students plan and carry out their own investigations to answer these questions. This includes testing various sources of water, gathering environmental data to advocate for communities, and understanding historical policies and how they have affected community health. The unit culminates in a student developed action plan.

The anchoring phenomenon of this unit is an observation of the school environment. Students walk around the school and fill out a Healthy School Checklist and consider how their school environment impacts them.

Students develop asset maps to create and visualize quantitative data regarding community assets. Students consider how their neighborhood’s resources impact their life and how they can improve their neighborhood.

Students create air quality monitors using index cards, tape, and petroleum jelly to collect particles in the air. Students examine their monitors to make hypotheses about what the particles are and where they come from.

Students research online environmental data to understand how air quality, water quality, tree equity, and more vary from location to location. This research leads to an investigation into environmental interventions.

Students visit a greenspace to measure differences in surface temperature and learn about the importance of greenspaces on community health. Students also consider how environments affect mental health.

Pathway Overview

The Pathway Overview shows the conceptual and coherent flow of the entire unit.

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View pathway

Ask

Discover

Learn

How does my environment affect me?

My school has amenities that benefit me.

My school can also have areas that need improvement.

How does environment
impact our health?

The cumulative impacts of our environment affect our physical and mental health positively and negatively.

Cumulative impact assessments help us monitor how our environment affects our health.

How can we measure environmental impacts?

Collecting and mapping data can help in identifying environmental risks, monitoring impacts, and locating areas of concern.

How does access to resources impact communities?

How do environmental impacts vary by community?

Limited access to food, transportation, and healthcare negatively affects community health and quality of life.

People may or may not be able to choose whether they live in an unhealthy environment.

Who is most impacted by environmental hazards?

What is environmental justice?

Environmental stressors disproportionately burden marginalized communities due to historical, social, economic, and political factors.

Environmental justice is the right of all people to have a clean and healthy environment protected from pollution.

How can science be used to support environmental justice?

Scientific research, data collection, and engineering solutions can help address environmental injustices.

How do green spaces impact communities?

Green spaces benefit physical and mental health.

Green spaces also help communities adapt and mitigate unpredictable effects of climate change.

How can we effectively enact change?

What are the challenges of environmental justice?

We can practice self education, elevate the voices of impacted communities, hold representatives accountable, and use the power of boycott to support environmental justice.

How can I make a real world impact?

How can we make a healthier environment across Illinois?

Inclusion, advocacy, and information/education are important to ensure these communities have the power to enact change.

Teacher Guide

This document details the flow of lessons from the teacher perspective, including lab set-up and safety instructions, suggestions for discussion prompts, and examples of student work to assist in planning. Individual lessons from the Pathway document are included for reference, followed by detailed learning plans.

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Material & Supply List

A number of consumable and non-consumable materials and supplies are used during investigations. Some additional, optional equipment can enhance the investigations if available.

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Check Out Environmental Justice Kits from the Library

IEPA Environmental Justice Kits containing the necessary non-consumable materials for this curriculum are available for checkout at libraries in the Illinois Library System (View Activity Kit Contents). Click the link below to request the kit through the Illinois Heartland Library System or share it with your local librarian to help you request the kits through interlibrary loan.

Reserve Environmental Justice Kit

If you are unable to check out the kit through your school or public library, please contact the Illinois EPA staff below to request a kit be delivered to you:

Northern Illinois and Chicago: Eli Dollarhide, eli.dollarhide@illinois.gov
Central and Southern Illinois: Kristi Morris, kristi.morris@illinois.gov

Student Activity Sheets

Lessons in the Teacher Guide reference specific activity sheets; you can find links to these sheets below.

Anchoring Activity: Used in Lesson 1 to help students observe and assess their school’s environmental health.
Collecting Air & Water Data Activity: Used in Lesson 3 for students to measure and collect data on the air and water quality at their school.
Asset Mapping Activity: Used in Lesson 4 for students to create a map and visualize the community assets and resources available near their school.
Environmental Justice Case Study Activity: Used in Lesson 5 for students to research and present information on existing environmental justice cases throughout the state of Illinois.
Engineering a Water Filter Activity: Used in Lesson 6 to help students design, build, and test their own water filtering system.

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Additional Resources

The following collections of resources may be helpful to augment this Environmental Justice unit:

Teacher resources

All Materials

You can find all of the materials listed above and more in our public Google Drive folder. These documents can be downloaded or copied into a private Google Drive and modified for classroom use.

View all environmental justice unit materials

Unit Resources

Interested in learning more about environmental justice? Looking for additional lessons and activities for other grade levels? These resources can help you get started.

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