Green Schools National Network
Virtual Learning Resources for Sustainability-Minded EducatorsGreen Schools National Network remains steadfast in its commitment to provide K-12 schools and districts with the resources and support they need to educate for sustainability during this time of virtual learning. On this page, we have assembled a selection of age-appropriate lessons from our PD Collaborative Partners and others that are well-suited for virtual learning. We vetted these lessons against a set of criteria we developed that looks at aspects such as deeper learning, 21st century skill building, authenticity, and sustained inquiry using a real-world context.
Resources for Grades K – 5
What Can We Do with All This Stuff?
In this lesson, students consider the idea of “zero waste” and their part in making this a reality. Students go on a waste hunt to survey and document items that are thrown away. Then, using the...
Speaking Out
In this lesson, students learn about taking civic action for a cause they care about, identify an environmental issue they want to address, and develop a campaign that they can implement to create...
Project Hero Pollinator Quest
In this project-based learning experience, students learn about the vital role that pollinators play in our food chains and ecosystems, identify pollinators that live in their region and the threats...
How Can We Take Care of Our Commons?
In this lesson, students learn what a Commons is, how to take care of a Commons, and the importance of everyone doing their part to keep their Commons healthy and beautiful. They apply this learning...
Field Research: Land Ecosystems
In this field research lesson, students learn what an ecosystem is, collect and record information on local plants and animals in a Land Journal, compare the natural versus built landscape in their...
Field Research: Food Systems
In this field research lesson, students learn about our food system, conduct a survey to determine what types of edible plants grow in their neighborhood, trace food origins and calculate food...
Resources for Grades 6 – 12
Marine Ecology, Human Impacts, & Conservation
In this curricular unit (nine lesson plans), students learn about marine ecology, human impacts on the ocean, and ocean conservation to develop a better understanding of the health and importance of...
Peak Water: Mount Everest and Global Water Supply
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn about sources of fresh water and watersheds and develop an understanding of water scarcity and the impact of human activity on water...
Menacing Microbes
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn how communities prevent and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases. After analyzing a historical case study, students select a...
Interrupted Migrations
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn how human activity impacts animal migration, why and where animals migrate, and what actions can be taken to support migrating animals....
Engaging in the Fight Against Extinction
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students research human and environmental drivers of mass extinction and learn how the loss of one species impacts other species and biomes. After...
Climate Change Challenge
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students examine causes and impacts of climate change on Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, as well as mitigation and adaptation strategies. After...
Apps
TreeSnap
TreeSnap lets you contribute to the study of tree health and resiliency by tagging trees around your home, in your neighborhood, and out in the wild. It’s as simple as snapping a photo of a tree and...
Water Quality Mobile App
Use the Water Quality mobile app to record, share, and interpret water-quality monitoring data. You can also use the app to learn more about chemical (e.g. dissolved oxygen, E. coli, pH, nitrate,...
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is one of the world’s most popular nature apps. Use the app to record observations, learn about nature by talking with others in the iNaturalist community, and connect with scientists...
National Wildlife Federation Nature Guide Apps
The National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Nature Guide apps are “field guides for the 21st century.” Each guide is jam packed with features including expert-curated content, high-quality professional...
GLOBE Observer
The GLOBE Observer app lets citizen science volunteers contribute data to the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, an international science and education...
Merlin Bird ID
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app is a virtual field guide with over 6,000 bird species found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Upload a photo of a bird,...
Member Resources
GSNN Members have access to additional curated resouces
The Latest from the GreenNotes Blog
Addressing Air Quality: Student-Led Investigations Explore Solutions for Mold and Pollution at School and in the Community
By. Valerie Ziegler The Green Academy Every year, the senior class of the Green Academy at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco is asked, “What environmental problem in your community would you like to address?” When the program began in 2012, the first few...
Using Existing Buildings as Teaching Tools: Investigating Indoor Environmental Quality at Adams 12 Five Star Schools
By. Shannon Oliver Walking the halls of North Mor Elementary School in Northglenn, Colorado, the design advisory group makes note of various building components for bond planning: movable partition walls (some of which don’t move well), operable windows that no longer...
Green Commuting Challenge
By. Duke Davidson Reprinted with permission from Green Teacher #112, Winter 2017. Learn more about Green Teacher’s nonprofit magazine and books at www.greenteacher.com.
Clean, Green Yellow School Bus Machines: A District’s Quest to Adopt a Propane-Fueled Fleet
By. Nathan Graf San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), located in San Antonio, Texas, operates around 145 daily school bus routes that serve almost 50,000 students. The diesel exhaust emitted by school buses that travel these routes each day is problematic...
From Our Executive Director: Equity and Justice Lead to Sustainability
To our community, Recent events have forced us to face that racism, police brutality, and systemic inequities continue to prevail. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others are symptoms of the unsustainable nature of our...
Biodiesel Fuels Real-World Learning at Rockwood Summit High School
By. Darrin Peters It was early in the spring semester of 2009. I was teaching a unit on hydrocarbons in my Organic Chemistry class at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton, Missouri. During a class discussion about hydrocarbons as a fuel source for vehicles, I...