A fifth grade instructional unit aims at creating and implementing business solutions to environmental problems, and promotes social change so that the environment is not harmed. Students serve as consultants to a business, called "The Chocolate Company".

Authors: Dr. Doron Markus (SMCOE), Andra Yeghoian (SMCOE), Dr. Emily Thomforde (CDE), Dr. Liz Beans (SSFUSD), and Jennifer Rosse (SSFUSD)

An instructional unit that complements residential outdoor education programs. This unit provides students with the context to compare the systems and practices utilized within their school related to energy, water, waste, and land-use with those of the outdoor education program.

Authors: Dr. Doron Markus and Andra Yeghoian (SMCOE)

Agriscience prepares students for a wide range of careers in agriculture and animal science. Students learn about soil through hands-on investigations, simulations and data analysis, and from best practices from the agricultural industry to improve soil health in the local environment. Students also learn how to minimize the impact of climate change through carbon sequestration. 

Authors: Hannah Carney, Jared Milhous, and Kurt Murray (Cabrillo Unified School District)

The supply of clean water and the efficient use of energy and water are essential to human health and well-being. Students explore the connection between water heating and climate change, design insulation and conduction experiments, build their own solar water heater prototype, identify barriers and solutions to adopting solar water heating, and reflect on career opportunities in the energy, environment, and utilities industries. 

Author: Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI)

Clean water is essential to all life on earth. Students learn about the importance of clean water, efforts to maintain our watershed, how we test and treat water, and how climate change is impacting the global and regional freshwater supply. The module culminates in a debate on how to equitably allocate clean water to meet the needs of our region. 

Authors: Marine Science Institute, MidPeninsula Water District, Save the Bay, and Dr. Doron Markus and Sarah Watanabe (SMCOE)

Students learn the basics of computer programming using JavaScript, engage with social and environmental justice messages, and how graphics are used to create impactful messages. Students work through a series of design challenges that culminate in a final project where they design a campaign to address an important issue affecting their community.

Authors: Dr. Emily Thomforde and Bryan Flaig

The use of methane gas in our homes and communities is risky, yet the fossil fuel industry portrays it as safe and clean, and markets its continued use through social media. Students create a marketing campaign to counteract that industry's sponsored content and promote home electrification.

Authors: Sarah Watanabe and Dr. Doron Markus (SMCOE) and Derick Lee (Pilot City) in collaboration with Peninsula Clean Energy

Engineers envision the future and use the engineering-design process to help solve today's problems. Students learn this process, how people and places are affected by climate change, and use engineering-design protocols to solve problems and mitigate the human impact on the environment using micro:bits - a pocket sized computer.

Authors: Suba Marti (Redwood City School District), Nico Janik and Tina Collier (Ravenswood School District)

The fictitious island of Nomilu'u faces several crises related to the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding. Students learn about the work of coastal engineers and use the engineering-design process to solve one of these issues to save population of this island nation.

Authors: Sarah Watanabe and Dr. Doron Markus (SMCOE)

Finding alternatives to greenhouse gas emitting transportation is critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change. Students design a new community and its clean energy transportation infrastructure.  

Authors: Nico Janik and James Whiting

To reduce the impacts of plastic on the environment, we must replace fossil fuel-based plastics with biodegradable and sustainable materials during the product design and manufacturing processes. Students help solve the “plastic problem” by creating durable, biologically-sourced, sustainable materials to replace traditional plastics used in our homes and schools.

Authors: Dr. Chris Link (The New York Academy of Sciences) and Dr. Doron Markus (SMCOE) 

Food is an essential component of the human existence, and the dietary choices that we make impact the planet. Switching to a plant-based diet is one solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Students explore and compare the impacts of growing beef and plants, and create a "Climate Impact" score and graphic to help consumers make informed choices.  

Authors: Laura Kliman (Impossible Foods), Derick Lee (Pilot City) and Dr. Doron Markus and Sarah Watanabe (SMCOE)

Over millions of years of evolution, nature has found ways to solve problems that are similar to those found in the manufacturing and product design industry sectors. Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges. Student use an online design tool, Tinkercad, to solve a problem using the principles of biomimicry and design thinking.

Authors: Rosanna Ayers (The Biomimicy Institute) and Dr. Doron Markus (SMCOE)

The integration of green and resilient principles and practices in community planning and urban design enables designers and planners to address the complex challenges of rebuilding communities after climate-related disasters, and create sustainable, adaptive, and inclusive environments that have long-term benefits for individuals, communities, and the natural environment. 

Authors: Andra Yeghoian and STEM4Real