New Environmentally-Based Educational Activities Available On Line
ESRL's Global Systems Division is pleased to announce that The POET Program – Protect Our Environmental Treasures – a series of 15 environmentally-based student activities, is now available on line. These clever and resourceful lesson plans not only incorporate trend-setting scientific research conducted at ESRL, they reflect the educational trend to integrate various disciplines when teaching particular subjects. For example, history, exploration, technology and research, and the arts and communication are all part of this package of activities targeting middle and high school science teachers. The exercises were designed to allow students to practice the processes of science – learning basic concepts and principles, posing a question to be investigated, collecting data, graphing, analyzing, and predicting – all in an interdisciplinary setting.
Teachers will appreciate that POET was designed to be self-contained with little extra effort beyond gathering materials. The lessons are versatile enough to adapt to different teaching styles and can be used in either small-group, large-group, or individual instruction.
The POET Program Educational Activities are the brainchild of Beverly Meier, a long-time middle school science teacher in Colorado's Boulder Valley School District. Started as part of NOAA's 200th Anniversary celebration, POET is an expansion of ESRL's education and outreach efforts. Scientific content and editing was provided and reviewed by a wide variety of ESRL's division and director's office scientists. The design, layout, graphics, additional editing, and preparing the POET activities for the Web were accomplished by ESRL's Global Systems Division.
The POET activities conform to the Essential Principles of Climate Sciences, based on the National Science Education Content Standards, and they map directly to NOAA's mission goal to enhance environmental literacy and improve understanding, value, and use of weather and water information services. This product is also meant to inspire students to investigate science career paths.
Contact information
Name: Ann M Reiser
Tel: 303-497-6634
Ann.M.Reiser@noaa.gov