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Lesson Plan
City and County of San Francisco

I Want It! I Need It!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Discuss wants and needs with your elementary ecologists and get them to consider what would happen to our natural resources if we all got everything that we want. Learners play a card sorting game and take an ecological footprint quiz on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is an Ecological Footprint?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Introduce youngsters to the term ecological footprint. Learners identify ways in which humans affect the environment. They look at the problems associated with the use of natural resources, and focus on ways to preserve natural...
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Lesson Plan
Redefining Progress

Have and Have-Not

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique lesson to incorporate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Managing Your Energy Budget

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine their ecological footprint. In this technology based lesson, students calculate patterns of consumption and suggest ways to decrease their resource usage. This lesson includes several multi-media resources, videos, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecological Footprint

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discover their own ecological footprint and create a plan for reducing this figure. They extend this to the school and community to see how they are doing on this scale. They discuss the concept of the ecological...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conservation in Costa Rica

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students brainstorm what they do that requires land use and use a worksheet to calculate their footprint (the total area of land and water required to produce all the resources they consume). They then compare their footprints to each...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reducing Ecological Footprint Ads

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the impact of geological footprints. In this geography skills lesson, students calculate geological footprints and discuss ways to reduce the footprints. Students create advertisements that motivate others to reduce...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Managing Your Energy Budget

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students experience an inequitable resource distribution and electronically calculate their own Ecological Footprint. The assess their resource use and learn more about sustainable living strategies in a video tour by Penn State...
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PPT
BBC

Bbc News: Disposable Planet

For Students 9th - 10th
The Earth's population is soaring, but its resources are finite. Can we provide food, water, energy? Watch a slideshow on our planet's future, and take a quiz to measure your impact on the Earth.
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Website
Idaho State University

Idaho State University: Global Processes, Resources and Our Ecological Footprint

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive report on the creation of our ecological footprint on the earth and how it impacts the global processes and natural resources.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: The Lifestyle Project at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This is a five-week project where students explore and assess their personal lifestyle choices and how their habits impact on the environment. They try making choices that have less of a detrimental effect on the environment, and...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: The Lifestyle Project at the University of Redlands

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This is a three-week project where young scholars explore and assess their personal lifestyle choices and how their habits impact on the environment. They try making choices that have less of a detrimental effect on the environment, and...
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Unit Plan
Geographypods

Geographypods: Patterns and Change: Patterns in Resource Consumption

For Students 11th - 12th
This collection of three learning modules looks at issues related to resource consumption. It examines theories about how population size affects consumption, the changing patterns of energy consumption, and ways to minimize consumption....
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Lesson Plan
Other

Scic: Ecological Footprints From Around the World [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson plan, learners will discover their own ecological footprint and will be able to compare it to that of people in various developing countries. They will also explore how their actions can impact the earth.
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Website
Other

Grace Communications: Food Print

For Students 9th - 10th
An environmentally conscious group brings to light the relationship between food, water and energy, and the importance of sustainability. The site looks at issues such as animal welfare, social justices, food policy, the industrial food...
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Article
Other

Skidmore College: Lifestyle Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A copy of an article published in the Journal of Geoscience Education. It describes how the Lifestyle Project got started, and how it is used with students to help them develop an awareness of how their daily habits and actions have an...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Seeing a Sustainable Future

For Students 9th - 10th
In this video, Alex Steffen discusses ways that urban areas are able to reduce their ecological footprint and people can live more sustainable lifestyles. [10:14] Followed by a short quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.
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Unit Plan
E-learning for Kids

E Learning for Kids: Science: Pacific Ocean: Mexico: Why Must We Care for the Environment?

For Students 1st - 3rd
Join Mateo on his trip to Mexico. During his trip, he will teach all about conservation, and contributing to a healthy environment.
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Handout
Encyclopedia of Earth

Encyclopedia of Earth: Dairy Cows: Ecological 'Hoofprint'

For Students 9th - 10th
Article discussing research that supports having dairy cows live outside year-round rather than in a barn, as this practice produces a much smaller ecological footprint. (Updated: July 11, 2012)
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Article
Other

Few: Human Impact on the Environment & Environmental Impact on Humans

For Students 9th - 10th
Human beings have an enormous impact on the natural environment, and ultimately on each other. The way we chose to house, clothe, shelter, and meet the needs for vital resources such as food, energy, and water, not only affect the...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Resource Usage Project and Journal

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students pick a resource and track their use of it over the course of one week. Students record their data in a spreadsheet, write a summary of it, and draw conclusions from their usage patterns. A detailed student handout is provided.
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Website
Other

World Land Trust: Personal Carbon Balanced Calculators

For Students 9th - 10th
You will find a series of calculators here for exploring what your carbon footprint on the Earth is, based on your use of air travel, your regular means of transportation, your household habits, and fixed carbon dioxide emissions for the...
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Website
Other

Conservation Corps Newfoundland and Labrador: Climate Change Club

For Students 3rd - 8th
Join the fun at the Climate Change Club where you can find out ways to take action at home, in school, and in your community. Keep up with the latest news in climate science, and link to fact sheets and other fun sites that care about...
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Interactive
Other

Global Footprint Network: Footprint Calculator

For Students 9th - 10th
With this resource, students answer questions about their lifestyles and, in return, receive an ecological footprint report. It states how many planets would be required to support the human race if everyone had the same footprint.