Welcome to Step 2 of OEDSI’s Sustainable Education Program!

Step 2 of our program is split into Sections A; B; and C. Each section is designed to help you and your students begin to learn about basic concepts of sustainability in theory, in practice and by discussing local and global issues with one another.

~ Section A will provide you and your students with basic concepts.

~ Section B will take these concepts and show them in practice through video documentaries on global sustainability projects by schools, scientists and communities.

~ Section C will provide you with a way to ask questions to scientists through our Science Forum.

All of these sections will give your students ideas for their own projects and build their knowledge about local and global environmental issues by the discussions and activities you have them carry out and the materials we have provided.

Below you will find each section in a box. After you click on the box of the section you are on, you will find instructions on how to get started and links to download or print materials.

We recommend that you go through the sections in order so that you try to complete each section within Step 2.

There are two forms that you must fill out-one at the end of Section A and one at the end of Section B. These Evaluation Forms are for us to evaluate your progress and get feedback from you about the program so far before moving on to Section C. You will find the link for Evaluation Form A in Section B and the link for Evaluation Form B in Section C.

Although the time that you will be able to spend in each section will depend on your schedule, please try to cover at least all of the concepts in Section A in some way . If you need alternative materials or have already gone through these concepts with your students please contact us and we will provide you with the next link or some suggestions on how to proceed. After you have finished each section please have your students discuss what they are learning under the ‘Learning About Sustainability in the Classroom’ thread on the main forum (Food, Air, Water, Shelter: Making Resource Use Sustainable).

Note: As you and your students continue to correspond with other schools on the forum and communicate with participating scientists please remind them that the quality of how they write about what they are doing and the time they give to responding and asking questions will make the forum more meaningful and worthwhile.

You may use any of the sections of Step 2 to test your students on the concepts and knowledge they should be learning. We have provided examples, worksheets and activities within Sections A and B to try and help you to do this. If you would like more help or more information on ways to assess and evaluate your students please contact us through your teacher folders.

Have fun with Step 2!

When you finish Step 2 you and your students should be discussing possible projects you will be doing in your classroom and what kind of things you think you will need in order to make them sustainable. Step 3 will provide guidance and information about brainstorming and examining project ideas and possibilities; learning about different ways to create project materials; and keeping track of the projects progress by using consistent and effective scientific methodologies.

Section A: Sustainability PowerPoint and Supplementary Workbook

This section is designed to introduce the basic vocabulary, concepts and discussion about sustainability in your classroom and provide you with ideas for activities you can conduct with your students to apply the information.

Section B: OEDSI Video Documentaries, Information Packets and Worksheets

This section provides videos, information and worksheets that draw from the concepts learned in Section A and provide examples of global sustainability projects. Information packets are provided to further concepts and knowledge within each documentary and become a resource for you and your students in the classroom. Worksheets are provided to test your students on basic vocabulary and concepts in each video and information packet.

Section C: Ask a Scientist

Have your students come up with scientific questions to ask scientists about the information they have learned in Sections A and B and post them on our Science Forum.