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Educational Resources
Keep Mesquite Beautiful’s mission to educate and engage people to care for the environment doesn’t stop when students aren’t in school. So we’ve compiled this list of educational activities, lessons and games to share. Each topic is broken down into appropriate age levels.
Litter Prevention
All Ages
K-12: Don’t Mess with Texas Art Contest: Keep Texas Beautiful’s annual calendar art contest is underway with artwork due by April 24th. Details online at https://ktb.org/artcontest.
Report-A-Litterer App: Don’t Mess with Texas’s Report-a-Litterer app can be downloaded from your phone on apple or android. Students and adults can download this app and catch litterers in action.
For information about TX-DOT's Adopt-A-Highway program, visit their website at Tx-DOT Adopt-A-Highway Program
Elementary
Anti-litter topics in English and Spanish: https://www.helpstoplitterbugs.com/activities-for-kids
Middle School
Ocean gyres: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/mar18/nop14-ocean-garbage-patches.html
NatGeo’s Ocean gyres: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/our-oceans-a-plastic-soup/
High School
Don’t Mess with Texas Scholarship
The Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship recognizes the achievements of high school seniors who have taken a leadership role to prevent litter in their schools and/or communities. Any Texas high school senior currently attending public, private or home school, and planning to pursue a two- or four-year degree at an accredited college or university next year, is eligible to apply.
The 2020 Don’t mess with Texas® Scholarship is presented in partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful. One $5,000 Grand Prize scholarship, one $4,000 scholarship and one $3,000 scholarship will be awarded this June 18, 2020. Thank you to the 2020 scholarship sponsors: Buc-ee’s, iHeart Media and the Astros Foundation. To apply for the Don’t mess with Texas Scholarship, visit http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/education-overview/scholarships/.
Applications must be received by online submission by 5 p.m. (CST) May 29, 2020.
Keep America Beautiful littering articles and fact sheets on the bottom of this page: https://kab.org/goals/end-littering/
Topics Germane to Public Health
Teaching Kids about Germs: https://www.clorox.com/our-purpose/our-causes/classroom-resources/
Webquest about Infectious Diseases: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/teacher-resources/webquests/infectious-disease
Webquest for Extreme Events: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/teacher-resources/webquests/extreme-event-disaster-resilience
The Extreme Event Game: https://labx.org/extreme-event/
Virtual Field Trips for Middle and High School Students for Infectious Diseases: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/teacher-resources/virtual-field-trips
For Teachers
Our friends at the City of Plano have developed online learning modules for a variety of environmental education thanks in part to a grant funded from the NCTCOG including Freddy the Fish for elementary students at https://www.plano.gov/1472/Online-Learning-Modules
Online Education Resources from NEA: http://www.nea.org/tools/EnvironmentalEducationActivitiesAndResources.html
Online Webquests from Koshland Science Museum: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/teacher-resources/webquests
Ollie’s World Teacher Education Resources: https://www.olliesworld.com/news/news_new-ollie-eductor-resources.htm
National Institutes for Health Environmental Health Resources: https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/topics/environment-health/index.htm
Building an Air Particulate Sensor Kit with Students: https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-quality-and-energy-choice-stem-activities-educators
Earth911 Quizzes: https://earth911.com/category/quiz/
Project Learning Tree: https://www.plt.org/curriculum/environmental-education-activity-guide/
For teachers of pre-k students: National Institutes for Health: https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/little-kids/
Butterflies
Curricula for K-12: http://www.nea.org/tools/butterfiles-free-learning-resources.html
Keep Mesquite Beautiful’s Butterfly Habitat at Paschall Park is a certified Monarch waystation by MonarchWatch and is a certified butterfly habitat by Texas Discovery Gardens. You can find our more about these initiatives at the following websites:
Monarch Watch: MonarchWatch’s Website contains a variety of educational materials about the monarch life cycle, migration and conservation https://monarchwatch.org/
Texas Discovery Gardens: Texas Discovery Gardens’ website has resources for local classes and information about how to plant a butterfly garden at your own home or school. https://txdg.org/
Climate Change
Elementary and Middle School Students
Climate Change Activities: https://climatekids.nasa.gov/
Middle and High School Students
Online Climate Change Mitigation Simulator: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/sites/all/exhibits/mitigationsim/index.html
Resilient Jigsaw Puzzle: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/extreme-event/puzzle/
How Do Climate Models Work?: https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/explore-the-science/interactives/how-do-climate-models-work
Recycling
Elementary
ABCYA’s online recycling game: https://www.abcya.com/games/recycling_game
Recycle City: https://www3.epa.gov/recyclecity/
Middle School/Junior High
Ollie’s World: https://www.olliesworld.com/planet/usa/index.htm
High School
DFW’s Know What to Throw Quiz: http://www.timetorecycle.com/knowwhattothrow/#quiz
Wishcycling Quiz: https://earth911.com/quiz/earth911-quiz-39-wishful-recycling/
Recycling How-To Challenge: https://earth911.com/quiz/earth911-quiz-63-recycling-how-to-challenge/
Water Education Resources
Elementary/Middle School
Water Sense Game: https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/quiz/game_kids.html
Middle School
Go with the Flow: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ocean-currents/en/
High School
Where did all the Ice Go? https://earth911.com/quiz/earth911-quiz-41-where-did-ice-go/
Do you have resources you would like to add to our list? Contact us at kmb@cityofmesquite.com.