Education Commons^™

Environmental Stewardship: Protecting Our Planet’S Future, Barbara Pierce

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was how can Understanding by Design be used to create a curriculum that can be used to teach upper elementary students the basis of environmental stewardship? The motivating factor behind this project was a noticeable lack of outdoor exploration in public elementary schools, combined with limited science instruction in the classroom. Designing the curriculum using and Understanding by Design framework, the unit includes lessons on habitats, food webs, natural resources, and interdependence. Methods of teaching include hands-on and multimedia lessons, and time for free outdoors exploration. The unit culminates in a group presentation …