Cool Views

Students learn the meaning of preservation and conservation and identify themselves and others as preservationists or conservationists in relation to specific environmental issues. They use Venn diagrams to clarify the similarities and differences in viewpoints. With the teacher as a facilitator, students determine the difference between conservation and preservation. Then the teacher is to read an article about two famous environmentalists, John Muir and Gifford Pinchot. They both had different views on the environment but often worked together on environmental projects. Next the students will determine similarity and differences between the environmentalist.

Weblink address (URL): 
Cool Views

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

After this activity, students should be able to:

  • Understand the definitions of preservation and conservation.
  • Identify themselves and others as conservationists or preservationists.
  • Compare and contrast different views of people.
  • Use Venn diagrams to organize their thoughts on what is different and alike between issues, viewpoints or other things.

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Extension suggestions: 
  • Invite students to attend a school board meeting or other civic meeting. Ask them to identify the members as either conservationists or preservationists.
  • Have students contact local government officials and survey them about their positions (conservationist or preservationist) regarding different environmental issues.
  • Visit the following website for some interesting articles about different environmental perspectives and philosophies: http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Philosophy/philosophy.html. Also included is a personal philosophy quiz.
Interdisciplinary opportunities: 

Engineering Connection
To design solutions for environmental projects or challenges, community teams are often comprised of environmental engineers, conservationists and preservationists. Their challenge is to listen to all viewpoints of an issue (problem, concern, etc.), weigh the pros and cons, consider trade-offs, investigate solutions (or determine no-action is the best scenario) and devise a strategy to implement a decision. Decisions to develop and use technologies must balance environmental and economic concerns. Because of their multidisciplinary knowledge, engineers often play key roles in community decisions that impact the environment.

Helpful Hints

Materials List:

  • printout of the attached Muir and Pinchot: Respecting Each Other's Differences article
  • overhead transparency of the attached Venn Diagram Template

References

Contributors: 
Virginia Cooter
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation