Warm Up Activites

Warm up activity: Personalized EcoTag Interview

Ecotags are simply index cards on which students can write down their answers-recycled paper of course. If available, use hand held computers instead of paper.

A. Each student receives a blank Ecotag to be completed as directed by the teacher.

B. Students have five minutes to fill in their Ecotags with the information listed below. (The teacher can choose information appropriate to the class or the lesson).

Your Name
Favorite animal
Something you did to help the environment
Something you would like to do the help the environment
Favorite outdoor activity
Favorite place to visit
A place you would like to visit
Favorite plant
Name one conservation related career
Three things about the environment that you would like to change

C. Student #1 uses the completed Ecotag to introduce himself or herself to Student #2 while Student #3 does the same with Student #4. Reverse the procedure, #2 to #1 and #4 to #3. Allow one minute for each introduction. Time it carefully. Use more time if available.

D. Student #1 introduces Student #2 to the whole team using the partner's Ecotag. Student #2 introduces Student #1 to the whole team. Student #3 introduces Student #4 and Student #4 introduces Student #3. Again, provide one minute for each introduction.

Warm up activity: Environmental Commonalities

A. The teacher assigns roles to each team member (e.g., writer, reporter, facilitator and time keeper).

B. Team members have five minutes to discuss things that they feel strongly about related to the environment, such as recycling, pollution, endangered species, etc.

C. Teams brainstorm their commonalities and choose the five most interesting ones. The writer lists the team's five commonalities on a sheet of paper, a word document or mind mapping software. Students can also use handheld computers to document their work.

D. Teams share the things they have in common with other teams or with the whole class.

E. The teacher or students may post commonalities on bulletin boards, smart board, poster paper or chalkboard with each team's name so that others may read them later.

Warm up activity: EcoPrompt

A. Students form two pairs within each team. Students can select how they want to document, i.e. electronically or on paper.

B. Each pair receives a picture of an environmental scene or of an animal provided by the teacher. Pictures are available on Google images for example. Teachers can take digital photographs of scenes from the town where students live.

C. Each pair discusses the pictures without letting the other pairs see it. Teacher will determine the time needed.

D. Students share their pictures with another pair. This larger group of 4 students will discuss and note the differences between their pictures and what they mean to them.

E. Teams can share with the whole class.

Warm up activity: Conservation Crossword Partners

This activity is designed as an enrichment activity for reinforcing conservation vocabulary. Teachers may use commercially produced puzzles or make their own based on previously introduced vocabulary.

A. Students form pairs within their team of four.

B. One pair gets a crossword puzzle with the words going down filled in; the other pair gets a puzzle with the words going across filled in. Partners review the words in their puzzle and make sure they understand them.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/

C. Each pair gives clues, never the actual word, to the other pair to help them fill in the missing words. Students fill in the words as they are identified.

Warm up activity: Draw a Conservation Picture

A. Students form pairs within their teams.

B. One pair gets a picture of an environmental scene and the other pair gets a blank sheet of paper.

C. The pair with the picture must describe what it sees while the other pair draws the picture based on the first pair's oral description. The pair with the picture cannot watch or correct the drawing of the pair without the picture.

D. When the drawing is complete, the two pairs compare it to the actual picture, discussing similarities and differences.

E. Pictures may be posted on the bulletin board or in any form you select as a class.

Warm up activity: Eco Problem Solving

A. Students brainstorm environmental issues or concerns that they are aware of in their town or feel strongly about. This might be done as a mind mapping activity or in a list format. In a mind mapping activity, the central idea takes the form of a web with lines representing related ideas emanating from it and from each other.

B. Each team compares its list of activities with other teams' lists or with the entire class. The class narrows down the list to the top two main issues that they feel are most critical to address.

C. The teacher announces that each team has a $10,000 budget to solve the problem. Team members must decide what they will do together to solve the problem within the budget.

D. Team activities can be posted on bulletin boards or in other formats.

Other scenarios can be used for additional problem-solving activities. For example: Provide the best solution for alternative transportation in your town. What would be the best way to provide clean energy for your school? What can you do at home or in school to help reduce negative impacts on the environment?

Warm up Activity: Conservation is the same in all languages

Students form two pairs within their team of four.
The story must be written in a foreign language.
Each pair thinks of a topic for a story. It could be in the form of an editorial or an environmental press release that could be submitted to their school or local newspaper.
Each pair then tells the other pair's story in order to check for full comprehension, readability and grammar.
The story should contain up to 500 words and be of high interest.
Each pair writes, discusses the content and reads their story to the class.
The teacher decides how much time is needed for the activity.

Warm up activity: Teambuilding

Ecoline: The class stands in a straight line side by side facing the front of the room at arm's distance apart.
The first person tells the next student in line something they know about conservation. Example: Did you know that scientists estimate leatherback turtles have just ten years to live? The next person paraphrases what the last person told them to the next person, adding their own ideas. The last person who receives the message tells the entire class what they heard and provides a solution or interprets what was heard. This activity shows how a message about the environment can be interpreted from one person to another.

Warm up activity: Conservation Corners

The class is divided into four groups, and are in each corner of the room.
The teacher asks an essential question about conservation.
Students talk it over in groups and share their ideas within the group. The teacher designates a timeframe for students to respond. Each group presents the class with their answer. The best answer is rewarded based on a point system determined by the teacher.