Resources

 

Cool School Challenge Materials:

The following tools are available for challenge coaches to implement the Cool School Challenge at their school. If your school decides to participate in the challenge, please be sure to let us know!

• Classroom Toolkit - Provides a comprehensive overview of the program, including classroom audit guidelines and worksheets.
• Classroom Carbon Calculator - This Excel worksheet is an optional accompaniment to the Classroom Survey section of the Toolkit, designed to streamline the mathematical computations. Students simply input data collected in the audit, and the results are automatically calculated.
• School Tally Sheet - Add up your school's results with this Excel tally sheet.
• Classroom Participation Poster - Hang this poster outside all of the participating classrooms in your school.
• Student Presentation - Students can customize this PowerPoint template and use it to introduce and educate about the Challenge at their school.
• Challenge Coach Presentation - Teachers and Challenge "coaches" can customize this PowerPoint template to pitch the Challenge to fellow faculty, school boards, etc.
• Classroom Activities
  We've developed classroom activities for grades 7-12 to accompany the Challenge. Lessons focus on the connections between energy use, transportation, solid waste behaviors and global climate change.
  • Home Energy Audit - Students learn to audit their home's energy use.
  • Green Up Your Power! Students explore the benefits of purchasing renewable energy.
  • Waste Watchers - Classroom Solid Waste and Recycling Audit Students will learn about the connections between waste and climate change, and how using less and recycling more can help protect the climate.
  • Car Economics Activity. Students learn about the economic and environmental implications of vehicle fuel economy.
  • Class Transportation Survey Activity. In this activity students will learn about the climate impact of their transportation choices, and those of their peers.
• Our Videos

 

Links we like:

These resources offer additional facts, information and educational materials.

• Facing the Future - FREE 2-week climate change curriculum.
• Classroom Earth- Online resource designed to help high school teachers include environmental content into their daily lesson plans.
• The Climate Project - Connect with a volunteer trained to present Al Gore's slide show, An Inconvenient Truth
• Climate Solutions - Resources for teaching
• King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks - Environmental Resources for Teachers and Students
• King County Green Schools Program Helps schools improve or expand their conservation efforts.
• National Environmental Education Foundation Climate Change Curricula
• National Wildlife Federation Climate Classroom - For Teens
• North American Association for Environmental Education - Air & Climate activities
• Smog City - Interactive air pollution simulator
• Washington State Department of Ecology Climate Education Information
• State of Washingon Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction - Sustainable Design Project - statewide interdiscplinary project designing sustainable solutions to real world challenges for K-12 students
• U.S. EPA Climate Change - What you can do at school
• U.S. EPA High School Environmental Center
• U.S. EPA Resources for Educators
• U.S. EPA Teaching Center
• WorldMapper - great cartographs on country carbon footprints
• Gapminder - CO2 emissions vs. Income
• Favorite Videos