REAL Help for Teachers
The Get Real blog--all the latest news, videos to share with your class, and more.
My school visits page.
Color handouts you can download and print out:
Clean Clothes? What to Ask (how to make sure what you buy does not come from a sweatshop)
Green Warriors vs. Greenwashers--What to Ask (how to tell if a product is really "green")
Get Real lesson plans, courtesy of Carol Schulley of the Kutztown Area School District, Kutztown, PA.
The Story of Water
Paper or Plastic
(Check back later for more from Carol!)
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Buy, Use, Toss? A Closer Look at the Things We Buy. A ten-lesson interdisciplinary unit for grades 9-12, correlated with national science and social studies standards. Students will learn about the five major steps of the materials economy: Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. They will also be asked to analyze the sustainability of these steps, determining how consumption can benefit people, economies, and environments. Free to download from Facing the Future.
The Center for Environmental Education Curriculum Library. An online clearinghouse for environmental curricula. Choose subject area (language arts, social studies, science, math or arts), grade level, and scope (from 45 minutes to a month or more), and you'll be directed to appropriate lesson plans and curricula available online.
Cool It! The card game that teaches kids about the choices we have when it comes to climate change. $7.95 from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Free teacher's guide also available for download.
The Edible Schoolyard. Garden, kitchen, and classroom lessons from the famous program started by Chef Alice Waters at Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School in Berkeley, California.
Equal Exchange's Fair Trade Curriculum & Educational Resources. Grades 4-9. Download for free, or order a printed color version for the price of shipping ($7.50). A lesson is also available in Spanish.
Farm to School - Curricular Resources. Links to national and state-specific curricular resources to help students make the connection between agricultural issues and what they eat, including school lunches.
Food, Inc. Discussion Guide. Developed by the Center for Ecoliteracy, this high school teacher discussion guide to the movie Food, Inc. is available in English and Spanish, and includes student handouts. Free to download.
Global Exchange Fair Trade curriculum. Two free downloads: Global Exchange's Fair Trade Chocolate Book and Setting a Higher Bar: Global Exchange's Fair Trade Cocoa Unit for Kids.
Global Issues and Sustainability Curriculum. More free downloads from Facing the Future. Curriculum units, textbooks, and teachers' guides by subject area and grade level.
Good Stuff? A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy. Free download from the Worldwatch Institute. Quick, easy-to-read one-page information sheets on the impact of CDs and DVDs, bicycles, fast food, clothing, and other products of interest to teens. Excellent for in-class student research and sharing.
The Nourish Middle School Curriculum Guide. Companion to the film Nourish: Food + Community. Contains a viewing guide, six learning activities, action projects, student handouts, suggested resources, and a glossary. Spanish language student handouts can be downloaded separately. Free.
The Otesha Book. A behind-the-scenes look at how our daily actions change the world. The book for teens comes with a teacher insert; both can be downloaded free, or ordered bound from the Canada-based Otesha Project ($20 for the book, $10 for the teacher insert).
Smart Consumers: An Educator's Guide to Exploring Consumer Issues and the Environment. An interdisciplinary guide that helps middle school students learn more about how their consumer choices affect the environment and how they can make a difference by buying differently. Includes an Educator's Guide with background information; fourteen hands-on and creative activities; an annotated list of resources for more information; and more. $10 from the Center for a New American Dream.
Sustainability Curricula Directory. A free download from the Green Schools Initiative with links to programs to teach students about topics such as toxins in our environment and how we can use resources more sustainably. Also has information about schoolyard garden programs.
Get your students talking, thinking, researching, and learning about how their purchases affect the planet, other people, and themselves. Get Real: What Kind of World Are You Buying? is packed with resources for students and teachers.
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