Memo+Rewrite+-+Clean+Air+For+Kids+(UK)

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 * What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating?
 * Clean Air Kids of the UK developed the information sheet for kids. This is intended for kids between Kindergarten age all the way up to around fifth grade (ages 5 to 11).
 * What is the mission of the organization?
 * This is a series that looks at the planet’s air and the impact of mankind on the air. The mission seems to be to inform and educate on global sustainability problems such as Acid Rain, Air Quality, Global Warming, Ozone Holes and doing your bit to make the world better. It also has a section on making your own recycled paper and recycling in general.
 * What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization?
 * The philosophy appears to be to educate and prevent unnecessary deaths from long term exposure to air pollution. Also has a nice little PSA bit about not starting to smoke.
 * What does the curriculum module aim to teach? In other words: what are the learning outcomes supposed to be?
 * In the clean air module, they try to teach what pollution is as well as what risks it has. They talk about outdoor pollution, such as factories and cars, as well as indoor pollution, such as fresh paint and smoking. They talk about prevention of risks, such as proper ventilation and touch on legislation and history of clean air. The beginning of the module / info sheet gives the history of pollution in the air, citing that coal from the industrial revolution has had a significant impact on air quality. After the Great London Smog, 4000 people died in 1952. They continue on to talk about laws such as the Clean Air Acts that were established as a direct result of the Great London Smog.
 * The sheet continues on to talk about modern smog, the weather conditions that inhibit air to move (so the smog just sits) and where it comes from. They also go into the gases involved and have tons of pictures to demonstrate concepts within the sheet.
 * Do you think the curriculum is appropriately designed to produce the intended learning outcomes?
 * I believe the info sheet does a fantastic job teaching about air pollution in the context of younger children. The clip art adds to the presentation a lot, making it easier to understand for the audience. They go into just enough detail to make it worth reading, but not enough to make it overwhelming. They advocate limiting your exposure to various gases as well as trying to seek alternative fuels to make air more breathable for all.
 * Does this curriculum teach the kind of literacies the EcoEd Research Group advocates?
 * Yes, although not very in depth, it teaches children the basics of air pollution and being an informed citizen. It also tries to make children aware of risks that they would not normally think of.
 * What could be layered into this curriculum so that it address more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates?
 * o A follow up or an in depth look could be added to the site. The adult site is very hard to follow and is not very well laid out. A corresponding exercise could be added as well. I found one exercise on the website, which is to make your own paper. The instructions seem easy enough, although they use British terms like “liquidiser” which is a blender in American English.

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