Resource Library

Students will evaluate two types of nature writing and explain the benefits of both by examining Burroughs’ and Muir’s essays from "Alaska: The Harriman Expedition, 1899." Students will also assess their hometown from the perspectives of an outsider and a naturalist.

Annie Dillard’s memoir about growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s offers a great opportunity for connecting English and the environment. Students will use the memoir to explore literary science writing how it differs from other writing.

This curriculum helps you teach English to students while introducing basic concepts about the environment and individual environmental responsibility. Each lesson plan has a language as well as an environmental objective. It also provides background on the environmental objective, a list of materials needed, a glossary of terms used in that lesson and a worksheet.

This resource offers numerous materials for teaching environmental topics to students learning English. Activities cover a variety of topics including recycling, climate change and air pollution. Materials range from beginner to advanced.

Classroom Earth's "In the News" archive offers articles on a wide variety of topics.

This New York Times article explores how the surge in electricity-consuming gadgets, including cellphones, iPods and personal computers, has led to greater energy consumption. The article also discusses the role of the government, industry and trade organizations on energy usage.

This New York Times article explores the emerging alternative energy industry and how it relies on another resource, water, to function. The article can be used to discuss the societal aspects of alternative energy and resource limitations, such as conflicting interests between the public and industry and economic implications.

Garlic mustard is one of the most problematic invasive species in North America. This report from Agricultural Research discusses the history of garlic mustard, the problems it can cause to ecosystems and the potential for weevils to be effective biocontrol agents. This report can be used as a reading and comprehension exercise to prepare students for discerning complicated scientific media and literature.

The "e²"-television series from PBS focused on three main topics: transportation, energy and design. Resources for teachers include video from the episodes with pre- and post-viewing discussion questions. There are also extension activities to help students explore each topic more deeply by conducting their own research and applying their knowledge to real-world situations.

Earth Gauge has a collection of short (under a minute) videos to augment a variety of environmental lessons. Some of the videos have no audio, allowing a teacher to use them to explain concepts their way, but suggested scripts are also provided.