Formulating An Environmental Science Curriculum

dogwood sprout
Dogwood  Tree Sprouting
This fall the high school I work at will have two honors environmental science courses that will run in sequential semesters and I get to teach them! I am very excited about this, but I will have no paper-based textbook and the curriculum needs to be assembled. Looking at courses online, most are designed for AP Environmental Science, which is not what the courses will be. The courses will also be linked to the Pentucket's Safety and Public Service Academy.

The goal of the environmental science courses is to provide students with an understanding of the interrelationships of the natural world and humans impact on those interrelationships. Both courses will address the application of scientific process to environmental analysis, the management of natural resources, and analysis of private and governmental decisions involving the environment. Course I will focus on "ecology, energy flow, ecological structures, earth systems". Course II will focus on "energy, environmental hazards and human health, economics and public policy".

The students will need a text to refer to and give them structure and study material, so I am looking at using the free Annenberg Press The Habitable Planet as a baseline for them. There are other units I will need to add, plus I need to split the work into two reasonable sections.

Dogwood Tree Blooming
I will be using this blog for reflecting on the units as I read the text, find supplementary materials, and put the courses together.Student lessons will be posted separately from this blog.


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