It's Our Air - IOA Activity Groupings

Air pollution and air quality in North Carolina

In one week of block periods, you can introduce your students to the six criteria (or common) air pollutants, with a focus on ozone and particulate matter, which are air pollutants of particular concern in North Carolina. Students will create comic books, posters, ozone indicator strips, and particulate matter collectors in this set of hands-on activities.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Exploring air pollution, North Carolina air quality, and ways to improve air quality

This two-week grouping touches on all the major topics, with some opportunity for data analysis. This grouping incorporates the Community Air Quality Project (3-5), but turns it into an in-class writing assignment to save time.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Week 1

Week 2

Air pollution, North Carolina air quality, and ways to improve air quality

Three weeks of block periods allows you to cover most of the curriculum, giving your students an in-depth look at air quality and air pollution in North Carolina. Students will learn about ways human activities impact the atmosphere and how air pollution affects our health through a variety of hands-on and data-rich activities.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Exploring air pollution, North Carolina air quality, and air quality regulation

This one-week grouping quickly covers information about ozone, particulate matter and the other criteria pollutants, allowing time for activity 3-4 on the Clean Air Act, which students will need to know for the AP exam. Note: this grouping includes homework assignments.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Exploring air pollution, North Carolina air quality, and ways to improve air quality

This two-week grouping covers major topics related to air pollution, with a North Carolina focus, and includes opportunities for data analysis. Compared to the two week grouping for Earth Science, it focuses on topics that students will need to know for the AP exam, including the Clean Air Act. Note: this grouping includes a homework assignment.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Week 1

Week 2

Air pollution, North Carolina air quality, and ways to improve air quality

This grouping covers almost the entire curriculum, including opportunities for data analysis, modeling, and forecasting. It covers topics students will need to know for the AP exam, including the Clean Air Act. Note: this grouping includes a homework assignment.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

In this grouping, students learn the basics about air pollution and air quality, including sources of air pollution in the United States and North Carolina, how to read an Air Quality Index, seasonal patterns of ozone pollution and particulate matter, and ways to save energy—and prevent air pollution—through the choices we make at home.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Ground-level ozone is a significant air pollutant in North Carolina. Through a mix of hands-on, data-based, and creative activities, students will learn how ground-level ozone is formed and what kinds of health problems it can cause. They will make ozone indicators and hang them around campus. Along the way, they’ll learn about the six criteria (or common) air pollutants (Video 1-4), the layers of the atmosphere, and the difference between ground-level ozone pollution (bad) and stratospheric ozone (good). Note: this grouping includes a homework assignment.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

In addition to ground-level ozone pollution, particulate matter has been one of the two main pollutants of concern in North Carolina in recent years. This grouping introduces students to particulate matter, including its sources and health problems it can cause. Students will make particle collectors, set them out around campus, and examine them to see what they’ve found. They’ll also learn about how the Air Quality Index is used to communicate about air pollution.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Air pollution sources and air quality forecasting can vary from state to state. These activities and videos focus on air quality and air pollution in North Carolina, including sources of air pollution in the state and your local county, forecasting air quality in Charlotte, the different types of fuel used to generate electricity in the state, and North Carolina’s Clean Smokestacks legislation. Students will use this knowledge as they explore choices they can make in their own lives to reduce air pollution (Activities 3-2 and 3-3).

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

This grouping builds on the passion many students have for cars. Students will learn why vehicle exhaust is a major source of air pollution in North Carolina and what choices they can make to help reduce air pollution. They’ll learn about federal car emission standards as well as how to calculate the air pollution emissions created at the electric power plant when charging an all-electric car.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

This grouping makes it personal. Students will learn how their activities at home rely on energy and how that energy use contributes to air pollution. They’ll calculate air pollution emissions for various energy uses and learn about some of the choices they can make to reduce that air pollution.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

Meteorology forms the foundation for understanding many aspects of air pollution, air quality, and air quality forecasting. To deepen your students’ understanding of air quality, try having them keep a weather log for one week prior to teaching this grouping (See itsourair.org/weatherlog for information on how to do a weather log). Students can spend a few minutes of class each day recording data such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation, cloud cover, and the Air Quality Index (forecast and previous). Building on that knowledge, these activities will reinforce meteorology content while teaching about air quality. After reviewing the basic properties of air in Activity 1-1, students will analyze data and maps in Activities 2-1 and 2-3.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

These three activities emphasize fundamental concepts in chemistry, including molecular formulas; simple chemical equations; and the interactions among pressure, temperature, and volume.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

In this grouping, students will get a chance to try their hand at data analysis and modeling. They’ll use data to identify seasonal patterns of air pollution, create a simple predictive model for ozone, and (utilizing given maps and data) make an air-quality forecast for Charlotte NC. Data analysis and modeling are how scientists understand the world, so these activities are a marvelous opportunity for students to understand the scientific process at a deeper level. These skills are required for many careers related to the environment, meteorology, and science in general.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

These activities may appeal to students who have an artistic inclination or are visual learners. In Activity 1-4, students will create comic books. In part C of Driving Choices (Activity 3-3), they will come up with a slogan or logo and create a bumper sticker. Some of these activities could be vertically aligned with career/tech courses, such as graphic design, drafting, or art.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

This grouping is geared toward AP Environmental Science students to help them prepare for the policy content they’ll need to know for AP exam. It focuses on the Clean Air Act, EPA criteria pollutants and their sources, and federal car emission standards.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;

This grouping may appeal to English teachers or science teachers who want to emphasize reading and writing while exposing students to scientific topics. These activities allow students to learn through writing about air pollution, health problems caused by air pollution, and air quality legislation. They’ll also have a chance to read and evaluate some articles about science and one or more scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Students can practice the scientific literacy skill of making and interpreting graphs with these activities as well. Knowing how to read and write about scientific topics is an important skill for many careers.

Note: 1 day = 1 block period = approx. 90 minutes;