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Suggested Classroom Activities

1. Hold class discussions on an air pollution issue, for example ask students:

• How do you feel about air pollution?
• What words can you think of to describe it?
• What words can you think of that describe how you feel about air pollution?
• Who do you think owns the air? Does anyone? Why does it matter?
• Why do you think much of what we do on a daily basis impacts on air quality and the rest of the environment so much?
• What can we do to change this?
• Make a poster or web page to display in the class/school corridor or on the schools computers for each of these questions.

2. If there is an air monitoring station close to your school, visit it with the class. It may be a good introduction to further activities. For this activity you could visit the site and walk around the outside of the air monitoring station or contact  EPA office  closest to your local area for a tour.

3. Hold a class debate on an air pollution issue, for example:

• Should polluters be penalised?
• Should motor vehicles be banned?
• Should I care about the air environment?
• Should I put up with other people who pollute the air?
• Is prevention better than a cure?

4. Use the Transport Survey spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel file, 28 KB) to conduct a student survey to discern how many students:

• Walk to school;
• Ride a bike to school;
• Catch public transport to school; or
• Are driven to school.

Once this data is collected:

• Discuss what impact the different forms of transport may have on the air environment and how negative impacts can be minimised;
• Report findings in the school news letter;
• Give students a copy to pin up at home.

5. Contact AirWatch to arrange Air monitoring in your school.

6. Celebrity Heads:

Celebrity heads is a fun way to learn about air pollution.

Select three or four students to sit up the front and become the celebrity heads. For this activity write a word/draw a picture to indicate what each child up the front is representing. This is then stuck on the black board above the child’s head. Students ask questions to help determine what they are. When asking a question that is correct, students are granted another question. When students ask a question that is incorrect it becomes the next students turn to ask a question.

For example a student who is a CAR might ask...

Do I have wheels ? Yes

Do I pollute the air? Yes

Am I a bike? No

This proceeds until each student guesses what they are. Rotate students as Celebrity Head rounds are finished.

There are many words that can be used in this game. Some key words you might like to use are…

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The contents of this page were last edited, Monday, 17 July 2006

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