Students examine how human activity affects the environment — through pollution, habitat loss, and resource use — and explore the conservation and sustainability practices that can help balance human needs with a healthy planet.
Students will be able to…
Humanity has reshaped nearly every ecosystem on Earth. How do we meet the needs of billions of people without using up the very planet we depend on?
Project this and tap each idea. Have students weigh human impacts against the conservation and sustainability practices that address them.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Humans have altered nearly every ecosystem — at what cost?
Students investigate.
Teacher explains.
Apply.
Three quick checks.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (High School Earth & Environmental Science) and Common Core literacy in science.
Create a model to describe managing natural resources and human sustainability.
Evaluate technological solutions that reduce human impacts on natural systems.
Design a solution to reduce human impacts on biodiversity.
Evaluate the hypotheses, data, and conclusions in a scientific text.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students estimate their own ecological footprint and identify realistic changes that would reduce it. A printable footprint sheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.