2nd Grade: Protecting Our

Planet

Introduction

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction

p. 2

Chapter 2 Environmental Problems

p. 3

Chapter 3 Avoiding Pollutants

p. 13

Chapter 4 Environmental Protection

p. 21

Culminating Project

p. 30

Goal of eBook:
I want students to understand the
environmental problems on Earth. I also want
them to understand the affects that humans
have on the surrounding environment.
Everything we do has a negative or positive
effect and we need to educate ourselves on
ways that we can conserve the Earth.

Chapter 1: Environmental Problems

Big Idea:
There are many ways that we can
decrease the environmental
problems everyday that effect the
Earth.
Compelling Questions:
How do we affect the environment?
What can we do to help the Earth?

Learning Outcome:
I can list 4 major environmental
problems with 100% accuracy.

Watch this BrainPop and

complete the quiz!
5

40% of the lakes in America

are too polluted for fishing,
aquatic life, or swimming.

Now that you have learned about

pollution, fill in this cause and
effect chart using examples from
the book.

Litter in the water affects the

environment. Plastic is a very common
material today. If you go to a beach, you may
see plastic washed up. Plastic pollution can
harm seabirds, fish and other marine
animals. Litter on the ground can hurt
animals. For example, a plastic bag dumped
in a stream could trap a duck.

Chapter 1 Quiz
1.What is air pollution?
_________________________________
_________________________________
2. Which is an example of air pollution?
A. Plastic bottles
B. Litter
C. Burning fossil fuels
3.What is one way pollution gets into bodies of
water?
A. Rain carries anything in its way
B. Manure from cows
C. Fertilizers
4.How does cutting trees effect living things?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

10

Using the word Deforestation, create

an acrostic poem using information
from the book! Look at my example:
Driving animals away
Environment is collapsing
Forests are being cut down
Only cutting for money
Remember trees give us oxygen
Earth needs more trees
Stop cutting
Trees need to be planted
Animals homes not being respected
Taking control
I hope everyone will plant one tree
One tree is all it takes
Not thinking of the environment
Now its your turn to try! When you
finish, record yourself reading your
poem and share with a friend.

11

Essay: Persuasive Writing

Role: Concerned citizen
Audience: New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation
Format: Persuasive essay
Topic: Stopping pollution and deforestation

Your essay should have:

A topic sentence
At least 3 details that supports your topic
sentence
A concluding sentence

Be creative! This writing piece should be

ready for publication. That means you have
went through and:
Proofread
Edited mistakes
Corrected spelling and punctuation
Made sure you used your best hand writing

12

Chapter 2: Avoiding Pollutants

Big Idea:
There are many ways that we can decrease
the environmental problems everyday that
effect the Earth.

Litter is anything (wrappers,

packaging, paper, bottles, cans, etc.) that is
left on the ground or left where it does not
belong. Litter does not look nice and it can
harm plants and animals living in nature.

Compelling Questions:
How do we affect the environment?
What can we do to help the Earth?

Learning Outcomes:
I can explain what it means to reduce, reuse
and recycle with 100% accuracy.
I can sort items into the correct recycle bin
with 100% accuracy.
I can identify things that can be recycled
and things that cannot be with 100%
accuracy.

13

To keep our environment and world

around us clean, we need to pick up litter
when we see it. Sometimes litter can be
thrown in the garbage. Sometimes litter
can also be recycled. When we recycle
paper, plastic, glass or metal, the material
will be made into something new.
The garbage each person in the US
makes in a year can weigh the
same as the largest polar bears!

14

Watch this short video and create a sign

that would be displayed in their park.
Here is an example of mine.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

To keep our environment
healthy, we can reduce the
amount of waste that we
create. Reducing means to
make something smaller or
use less of it. Waste is
anything that we throw away,
no longer need or use.

Please
HELP KEEP
THIS AREA

CLEAN

There are many ways to

reuse materials. When we
reuse materials we are using
them again. Instead of using
plastic bags for groceries, we
can reuse canvas ones over and
over again.

Recycling is finding new

ways to use old materials.
Having a bin for paper, plastic,
cans or glass helps people to sort
the waste into its proper bin so
that it can be recycled properly.
Helping to keep the
environment healthy is
everyones responsibility.

15

16

The two woodpeckers need to teach the boy

about littering. You need to help by
finishing the story! What would you tell
him?
Woody and Woodruff,
two woodpeckers, live in
trees in the park.
Hi, Woodruff! said
Woody, flying down to share
a seat on the branch.
Oh, Hi, Woody! I didnt
see you at the bench for
breakfast. Where were you?
asked Woodruff.
Well, I was picking up
trash. You know, just doing When your finished with
your writing, play
my part, replied Woody.
As Woody was talking,
this game to pick up
Woodruff looked down and
trash!
saw a boy flinging paper
The top country
everywhere.
Oh, look at that! Hes
that recycles the
trashing our home! Come
most at 54% is
on, lets teach him not to
Switzerland!
litter! exclaimed Woody.

17

Complete this recycling activity then

complete the chapter 2 quiz below.
1. What is litter?
________________________________
_____________________________
___
2.

Should we pick litter up when we see it?

A. No
B. Yes

3.

What are the 3 Rs?

A. Reuse, Reinvent, Revamp
B. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
C. Reduce, Rebel, Reuse

4.

What kinds of items can be recycled? List

7 items.

18

Complete the next two pages on

your own, then check with a buddy

19

20

Chapter 3: Environmental Protection

Big Idea:
There are many ways that we can decrease
the environmental problems everyday that
effect the Earth.
Compelling Questions:
How do we affect the environment?
What can we do to help the Earth?
Learning Outcomes:
I can list 3 ways we can save energy at
school with 100% accuracy.
I can list 3 ways we can save energy at home
with 100% accuracy.
I can list 2 ways we can save water at home
and at school with 100% accuracy.
I can identify 4 ways that recycled products
can be sorted with 100% accuracy.

21

A lot of people have worked out ways that are

likely to help our environment and are already
starting to make a difference. We all need to try to
change our ways to help the environment and
ourselves.
At Home
There are many ways that we can help protect
the environment at home. One way is to
take showers rather
than baths. Short
showers use less water
and also there is less
use of energy to heat
the water. Another
way that we can help
at home is to turn the
water off when your
brushing your teeth.
When you leave the water on, your wasting a lot of
water. Only turn on the faucet when you need to wet
your toothbrush. We can save energy at home, too!
Instead of using an air conditioner when it is really
hot out, try keeping doors and curtains or blinds
closed to keep out the heat.

22

A running faucet can waste a bucket

of water a minute!
When the weather gets colder, you can put
on a sweater at home or use blankets instead of
turning the heat on. This saves a lot of energy.
Turning the lights off when you are not
using them or not
in a room anymore
helps save energy,
too. When we save
energy, we are using
less resources and
less electricity which
helps protect the
Earth. You can also
change your existing
light bulbs to low energy lightbulbs.
Saving energy can be done in a lot of ways.
Instead of choosing to watch TV or use a
computer, try reading, drawing or playing a
game!
Try it! Try to use less water and energy at home
after reading this section! Write down all the
ways that you are saving the environment.

23

At School
There are a lot of ways that we can help
protect the environment at school. One way to
make sure that we are using the resources we
are given to the best of our ability is we can use
both sides of the paper. If you only need one
side of the paper, make a bin at school for
recycled papers that you can use over again!

Riding your bike, walking or using the bus

would use less resources and fossil fuels than if
everyone drove to school! You can also carpool
with your friends to school. Instead of using a
paper bag to bring your lunch, try using a
reusable lunch box so we can save paper.

24

Watch this brain pop and make a poster

to hang in your school with ways to
conserve resources!
Another way that you can help protect the
environment while youre at school is to help out
with recycling! If there are not already recycling
bins at your school, you can make bins that would
hold
glass,
plastic,
metal
and
paper.
When
we
recycle,
we are
allowing
materials
to be used
again. This also
means that if we see litter at
school, we need to pick it up and put it where it
belongs. When we keep our Earth clean the
one
tonbe.
of paper is recycled,
happierIfwe
all will

17 trees are saved!

25

Read this authentic text. When you

finish, click Quiz on the right!
If you were going to rewrite or add a
heading for a section in this article, what
heading would you write and why? If you
cannot find one you would rewrite, pick a
heading and explain why you think it is a
good choice for that section.

You must have:

A hook! Make your reader want to read it!
At least 3 details to explain why
A topic sentence and conclusion sentence

Listen and watch this video/song on

wasting water. What are 3 ways they
say we can eliminate wasting water?
26

Create a cinquain poem about

water or energy.

Watch this short video on how to

create a cinquain poem.
Then use the format below for a
cinquain poem!
Line 1: One word
Line 2: Two describing words
Line 3: Three action words
Line 4: One sentence
Line 5: One Word

Water
Wet, polluted
Swimming, flowing, raining
Help mother nature purify
Liquid

You may use mine as an example. I

chose the word water.

27

28

Chapter 3 Quiz
1.Why do we need to shut off the water when
brushing our teeth?
__________________________________
________________________________
2. Fill in the blanks.
When we save energy we are using less
_____________ and ______________.

Culminating Activity
We need your help! You are a
detective that needs to come up with
ways to conserve the Earth!
Complete this WebQuest to its
entirety.

3.Instead of driving to school, you can:

A. Ride your bike
B. Take the bus with others
C. Walk to school if youre close
D. All of the above
4.List six ways we can save energy at home and at
school:

29

30

When you have finished the

interview questions, put together a
PowerPoint presentation to show
the principal your plan of action as
a Recycling Specialist!
PowerPoint

Video record yourself on your

computer presenting your
action plan!
31

32

Bibliography
Websites:
www.dictionary.com
http://webcamera.io/
http://zunal.com/process.php?w=252360
https://newsela.com/articles/europebiking/id/14119/
http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/eday/trash
dump.htm
https://www.brainpop.com/science/ourfragileen
vironment/airpollution/

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=R9lBrHfzkrM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZcCAkWT7df4
https://www.brainpop.com/science/energy/cons
ervingenergy/
http://pbskids.org/lab/videos/93/

Images:
All from Google Images

Books:
Reusing and Recycling by Charlotte Guillain
Cleaning Up Litter by Charlotte Guillain
Kids Can Keep Water Clean by Cecilia Minden
The Environment by Louise Spilsbury
Helping the Environment by Vic Parker
Pollution by Christiane Dorion
We Can Help the Environment by Rebecca
Rissman

33

34