Environmental Education Resource Guides

A&WMA has eleven print volumes of environmental education lessons/activities called the Environmental Resource Guides (ERGs). There are four Air Quality ERGs and four Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention ERGs in English. They are divided by class level using common U.S. classifications: grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. In addition, the Air Quality grade 6-8 and Nonpoint Source grade 6-8 ERGs have been translated into Spanish, and the Air Quality grade 6-8 ERG has been translated into French. The oldest lessons found in the Air Quality ERG for grades 6-8 are being revised and updated.

Each ERG includes approximately 15 lessons with clearly stated educational objectives, background information, hands-on activities, and extension activities that can be integrated into general science, language arts, math, social studies, and other subjects. The ERG series is designed to develop critical thinking skills including observation, comparison, analysis, and problem solving. Each of the lesson plans found in the ERGs have been written and field-tested by classroom teachers. In addition, the content has been extensively reviewed for technical accuracy by A&WMA members and other leading experts.

In 2005, through a grant from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc., the Education Council was able to convert four print volumes of the ERGs to CD-ROM format. The resulting product, entitled the Environmental Resource Guides (EERG), contains all materials and lessons for grades K-2 and 3-5 from both the Air Quality and Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention curriculum series, as well as background information on these topics.

This curriculum is the core of A&WMA's award-winning Teacher-Training Program and environmental education efforts. The Air Quality series provides teachers with lesson plans that can be used to introduce students to air pollution topics, including acid rain, ozone, indoor air pollutants, the greenhouse effect, criteria pollutants, auto exhaust emissions, alternative fuels, mass transportation, and pollution prevention devices and approaches. The Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention series focuses on water pollution caused by runoff. The series uses a "four-by-four" approach to address the four main sources and types of water pollution. Sources include agriculture, mining, forestry, and urban pollution. Sediments, toxics, nutrients, and pesticides are the four main types of pollutants that are explored in the series.

Click here to download 4 free lessons.