A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Audience Approved by PEP for children in grades 2-6.

Description Through a variety of basic skill activities intended for use in the classroom, Conservation for Children teaches students about the interdependence of plants and animals, requirements of life, energy sources and use, pollution and other environmental problems, recycling, and other conservation concepts based on scientific principles. The grade-leveled conservation guides provide instructional materials which combine basic skill practice in the areas of language arts, math, social studies, science, and art with a conservation concept. Teachers can use the materials as a primary resource for teaching basic skills, as supplementary materials to a core program, as enrichment activities, skill review, or as independent units of study. The program integrates conservation concepts as part of any regular classroom schedule. Updated and revised in 1993-94 under a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The goals and objectives of the program are to:

• Increase students' awareness, knowledge, and understanding of science based conservation concepts;
  
• Provide teachers with a curriculum program which will enable them to include conservation education in their daily instruction; and
  
• Provide schools with proven successful materials to enable them to meet local educational mandates and the requirements of the National Environmental Act, Public Law 101-619, enacted by Congress on November 16, 1990.

Evidence of Effectiveness Students in grades 2-6 who receive a minimum exposure of 30 minutes per week for one semester to the Conservation for Children materials, demonstrate a significantly (p<.01) greater knowlwdge and understanding of fundamental environmental and resource conservation concepts than groups of equivalent comparison students when measured by criterion referenced tests.

Requirements No special facilities are required. Six grade level sequenced guides are available (grades 1-6). Each guide contains 100 pages of appealing student skill sheets (40 in language arts, 25 in mathematics, 25 in social studies/science, and 10 in related activities such as art and music) emphasizing conservation topics such as energy use, animal habitats, rainforests, recycling, and land, air, and water pollution. Each guide also provides a quick reference table to correlate basic skills with conservation topics, a criterion-referenced test, and a class record sheet for tabulation of student need areas. In addition, the All Levels Guide supplement to the Conservation for Children program is a collection of activity ideas with instructions for arts and crafts, growing plants, music, reference lists of filmstrips and videos with conservation themes; contact information for conservation organizations, agencies, and other programs; low-cost (many free) materials to send away for; and extensive student and teacher bibliographies. A Crafty Ideas: Classroom Projects Using Recycled Materials supplement is also available. Materials are designed for schools which may lack the time, equipment, or funds to implement other conservation programs. Conservation for Children lessons require no additional equipment or changes in teacher methodology and a minimum of preparation time.

Costs Grade Level guides and the All Levels guide are available at $13.95 each. The Crafty Ideas supplement is $6.50. A complete set of materials (one of each title) is $90. All materials are distributed by Sopris West, Inc. In-service costs include consultant fee, travel, meals, and lodging.

Services Awareness materials are available at no cost. In-service training is minimal. Information as to how to use the materials, development of the concepts, basic skills-conservation topic correlation sheets, and criterion-referenced tests can be accomplished at regularly scheduled staff meetings or in-service days. Depending on the level of implementation and individual interests, between 2 and 4 hours of training are recommended.

Contact

Marilyn Bodourian, Program Director, 13580 Thoroughbred Loop, Grass Valley, CA 95945. (916) 273-4197.

Developmental Funding: ESEA Title IV-C.
JDRP No. 83-12 (3/4/83)
Recertified (12/1/94)

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[Capacitor-Aided System for Teaching and Learning Electricity (CASTLE)]

[Developmental Approaches in Science and Health (DASH)]