The Human Impact
By:  Kevin Sills

Project at a Glance :

The class will design a method for monitoring or minimizing a specific human impact on the environment: focusing specifically on our middle school campus. This project will take approximately 2 weeks.

Driving Question:

How is our school making a difference for the environment, and what cool ways can we track our impact or make positive changes?

Standards:

• MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impacts on the earth

Team / Culture Building:

• Values Cards
• Hopes/Fear/Norms
• Creative Sequence Assessment
• Creative DNA ​

Entry Event:

• Guest speaker from the waste industry to talk about the human footprint on the environment. 
• Visit a local recycling center and/or landfill

Stakeholders:

• Teachers, Students, and Parents
• Administration and School Board 
• Local Waste Services
  
• Community

Empathy Building:

• Stakeholders Map
• Empathy Map ​

• Investigate where our clothes were manufactured to look at the global impact of manufacturing
• What are the different human impacts on our environment. Click here for more information

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Need to Know
• Pain/Gain Map

Gaining Insights:

• ​Jigsaw
• SOAR

Incubation:

• Idea Quota

• Subtract Something
• New and Novel​

 Checking in:

• Rip Slap & Pass

• Yes, and Can It . . ?

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Solution Building:

• Saturate and Group will help the group start to sort out solution ideas
• $100 Test
• Filtering and Objectives will bring us closer to a resolution
• Dot Voting will determine what will be presented to our stakeholders​​

Critique and Revision: 

• Gallery Walk during the Poster Sessions will provide feedback
• I Like, I wish, What If?

Authentic Audience:

• Teachers, Administrators, School Board
• Parents, Community members
• Waste Management employee​

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Click here for teacher's full plan.
Reflection and Feedback:

• Each guest was giving an Exit Ticket to write down feedback
• Students reflected with Fishbowl and SWOT Analysis

Meet the Educator:

​Kevin Sills has taught 25 years as an elementary teacher, mostly in 4th grade. He has a masters degree in elementary education. This past year, he moved from elementary to middle school to teach 7th grade science.

          "A way to dig deeper into generating ideas for questions that students may have as well as a way to collaborate with other students during the process."