Running Head: SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Sustainability Education in Elementary Schools:
Sustainability for Young Learners Courses
Sydney D. V. Lund
Arizona State University – School of Sustainability
April 12, 2020

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Table of Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
Sustainability within Public Schools............................................................................................ 4
Sustainability for Young Learners Courses.................................................................................. 6
Idea Conception ...................................................................................................................... 6
Supporting Research ............................................................................................................... 7
Target Audience ...................................................................................................................... 8
Building the Project .................................................................................................................... 8
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis ...................................... 10
Project Schedule – Work Breakout Schedule ............................................................................. 11
Key Takeaways ......................................................................................................................... 14
Six Key Concepts to Create Successful Environmental Literacy Programs ............................ 14
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 17
References ................................................................................................................................ 18
Appendix A - Standards and Sustainability Topics per Grade Level .......................................... 21
Appendix B - Work Breakout Schedule – Sustainability for Young Learners Courses ............... 26
Appendix C - Third Grade Unit Plain – Ocean Plastics, The Problem and the Soultion.............. 27
Appendix D - Second Grade Unit Plan – Our Melting Oceans, Soild and Liquid Water............. 58

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Abstract
Children are our future businesspeople, policy makers, and educators. As such, during their
careers and throughout their life, they will be the leaders making tough decisions on how to
respond to extreme heat phenomenon, rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, and the
increased presence of greenhouse gases, which could thrust our Earth into irreversible change if
emissions are not reduced drastically over the next few decades.
When evaluating the required Next Generation Science Standards for elementary school,
these standards do not include environmental literacy or sustainability themes in either second,
third, or fourth grades, with little mention via one standard in first, fifth, and sixth grades.
Overall, the Next Generation Science Standards do not adequately prepare students for the
sustainability problems of the future nor do the standards help connect students to the natural
environment by not connecting the standards to real world climate issues. Not educating students
about sustainability topics in elementary school passes the responsibility off to higher grades
with optional science classes, where this sustainability education could be missed altogether. The
Sustainability for Young Learners Courses were created to equip elementary school teachers
with sustainability knowledge and resources to effectivity teach sustainability to their students.
The Sustainability for Young Learners Courses infuse sustainability and environmental
literacy into second through fifth grade science classes via the creation of detailed unit plans.
Each course incorporates important sustainability themes into the required Next Generation
Science Standards, to encourage teachers to adopt these unit plans without taking away limited
class time to teach about sustainability. Rather than ending in doom and gloom, students finish
each unit becoming the heroes of the story by creating their own solutions to combat climate
change that they can implement into their own lives, communities, homes, and classroom.
Sustainability and climate related issues are already sweeping our Earth and the problem
is likely going to accelerate as today’s current elementary school students start their professional
careers. Equipping young students with environmental literacy and sustainability knowledge can
allow students to be ready to face real-world climate related issues in the future as well as today
as these students serve as leaders within their communities and schools. By realizing the gap in
the United States education system, the Sustainability for Young Learners courses is helping to
create a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable society through education and knowledge.

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Introduction
Sustainability is a three-legged stool, containing three pillars needed for success. The
three sustainability pillars are environment, social, and economic (UN General Assembly, 2015).
The environmental pillar represents an understanding that in order for the human species to
sustain ourselves, we must protect our environmental resources and natural spaces for future use
and enjoyment. This pillar is similar to the “leave no trace” trail moto, where humans strive to
leave as small of a trace as possible on our natural environment, in order for future generations to
utilize, enjoy, and prosper alongside the natural environment. The second pillar represents the
social side of sustainability, which firstly ensures that all basic human needs are met and
secondly provides equitable, fair, and safe opportunities for people of all backgrounds and
cultures. The third pillar of sustainability is the economic side of sustainability. This warrants
that all individuals will be economically able to meet their daily needs while businesses and
governments are able to continuously operate within the other two pillars.
Sustainability leadership melds traditional leadership ideologies with the three pillars of
sustainability to create leaders that are equipped with the skills needed to make decisions today
with future-thinking in mind (Gallagher, 2012). As with any leader, sustainability leaders do not
need a title to create change, and they can appear at any part of the organization or community.
Sustainability leaders are individuals that understand the three pillars of sustainability and take
science-based climate science into consideration when making decisions, actions, and progress
towards creating a more equitable, healthy, and sustainable future.
Sustainability within Public Schools
Sustainability leadership is a relatively new field, only emerging as university majors
over the past two decades. However, some companies have been following sustainability goals
and values for over two decades, including arguably one of the best for-profit business in the
sustainability game, Patagonia and others taking the field by storm including Unilever and
Interface (Coulter & Lee, 2013). Despite the surge of businesses releasing sustainability reports
and universities winning sustainability awards, the sustainability movement has not made its way
into the K-12 public schools throughout the United States. Most students in the United States are
required to be taught a multitude of standards for each subject, including the Common Core
standards for Math and English Language Arts, which includes History, along with the Next
Generation Science Standards for science (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019) (Next

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Generation Science Standards, 2019). Additionally, each state also has standards released by that
state’s Department of Education, which can include additional subjects and standards. For
example, Colorado has standards in Science, Music, Physical Education, Computer Science, and
Reading, Writing and Communication that schools within Colorado must teach to their students
in addition to the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards (Colorado Department
of Education, 2019). With schools required to teach so many different standards, teachers do not
have class time to teach subjects or topics outside of those described within the required
standards.
Schools are designed to educate and prepare students for the future. But schools are
failing to educate students for a life in a world with more extreme heat phenomenon, rising sea
levels, changing weather patterns, and the increased presence of greenhouse gases, which could
thrust our earth into irreversible change if emissions are not reduced drastically over the next few
decades (NASA, 2019). The required elementary Next Generation Science Standards only
educate about sustainability themes in kindergarten, fifth, and sixth grade, with just one
sustainability or environmental literacy related standard in fifth grade (Next Generation Science
Standards, 2019). Environmental literacy is when students are literate in environmental topics,
including, having “knowledge about the environment, attitudes toward the environment, and
environmental behavior” (Tal & Peled, 2017). Failing to educate students in elementary school
about sustainability or environmental literacy causes three problems. First it puts this education
onto parents’ shoulders, some of whom might not care about the issue or whom might deny it
altogether. Secondly, the standards do not adequately prepare students for the future nor does it
help connect students to the natural environment by not connecting the standards to real world
issues (Chambers, 2007). By connecting the standards to real world issues, such as sustainability
topics, students are more engaged and, “find the content more interesting” (Stratton, Hagevik,
Feldman & Bloom, 2015). Lastly, not educating students about sustainability topics in
elementary school passes the responsibility of education off to higher grades with optional
science classes. Without allowing students to grow their environmental literacy within each
grade, students are not able to reinforce their understanding of environmental literacy, which
reduces long term knowledge obtainment (Villasmil, 2018).
Sustainability education is not just lacking in the United States; countries such as
Australia, Canada, and Israel only have optional sustainability standards that are not very present

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throughout classrooms across the country (Tal & Peled, 2017) (Fernandes, 2012). The UNESCO
Education Sector also states that, “while many nations around the world have embraced the need
for education to build capacity to achieve sustainability, only limited progress has been made on
any level” (UNESCO Education Sector, 2005). Additionally, “a lack of vision or awareness of
the role education could play in achieving sustainability has impeded progress” in both
developing and developed countries throughout the world (UNESCO Education Sector, 2005).
With the lack of sustainability education and resources for teachers in the United States,
many organizations and school districts are creating environmental literacy programs. Various
environmental literacy programs include district run environmental literacy websites, which
often feature a resources page where teachers can download resources around environmental and
sustainability themes. The San Mateo County Office of Education has an Environmental Literacy
Program, which offers various environmental literacy trainings along with pre-made
environmental literacy lesson plans for district teachers (San Mateo County Office of Education:
Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative, 2019). Additionally, certain cities are also
seeing the importance of environmental education and are creating their own sustainability
educational programs that focus specifically on the city’s sustainability goals. The Town of
Gilbert, Arizona has a School Outreach and Education program where city staff go into Gilbert
Elementary schools to teach about sustainability themes related to their city (Lund, 2019c).
Sustainability for Young Learners Courses
Idea Conception
The idea for the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses was sparked by curiosity of
when and how students are learning about sustainability. Growing up, my family participated in
many environmentally friendly practices such as recycling, composting, and reusing resources.
However, my first formal introduction into sustainability and environmental literacy took place
during my first term of college, where I opted into a year-long environmentally themed English
class called “Green House” through Southern Oregon University. Realizing that the first time I
had learned about sustainability in the classroom was during my undergraduate studies left me
curious if science standards in K-12 had changed to incorporate real-world climate related issues.
After conducting research and learning that second, third, and fourth grade Next Generation
Science Standards did not mention any sustainability themes, and only one standard mentioned
sustainability in fifth grade, the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses were developed (Next

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Generation Science Standards, 2019). By connecting the required science standards to
sustainability themes, this project allows students to learn about the importance of sustainability
and how humans are negatively impacting our world, without taking away class time from
learning about the required standards. Students also learn and discover ways in which they can
change their behaviors to be more environmentally conscious.
Supporting Research
Colorado State University professors Camacho and Legare argue that teachers should be
responsible for helping to provide student with the skills needed to “live sustainable lifestyles,
help students develop knowledge, values, skills, and a worldview that may lead to sustainable
patterns for living” (Camacho & Legare, 2018). The researchers found that partnerships between
a school district and outside entities can allow the school district to create goals and outcomes for
this sustainability education. Camacho and Legare also researched a similar project within the
Town of Gilbert, Arizona who had partnered with the city’s public-school district (Town of
Gilbert, Arizona, 2019). The Town of Gilbert’s Outreach Coordinator goes into classrooms, “to
provide environmental education programs for K–6 students, such as a ‘What is your ecological
footprint’ assignment and a pollution index exercise” (Camacho & Legare, 2018). Additionally,
Bestelmeyer et al. research noted that students became more environmentally aware when the
environmental education reading within their textbooks were reinforced through in-class projects
(Bestelmeyer, et al., 2015). Research by Chambers, who studied elementary school ecological
literacy materials utilization, found that classroom experiences and texts, “have the power to
shape knowledge construction, student identity and an environmental consciousness” (Chambers,
2017). Therefore, each of the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses includes a hands-on
activity or an experiment designed to reinforce the lesson’s learning outcomes.
Another research project took place in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2005 at schools that
had already committed to environmental education. The study interviewed students within 15
UK schools over the course of three years, who had attended schools that were committed to
teaching and integrating sustainability into their classrooms and curriculum (Gayford, 2009).
Gayford found that over the three-year study period, “there were improvements both in pupils’
knowledge of issues related to sustainability and their relevant abilities and competencies”
(Gayford, 2009). Additionally, the study found that innovative teaching approaches which

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involved the students were much more well received than lecture style classes (Gayford, 2009).
Each unit of the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses includes class discussions, videos,
articles, photos, a final project, and a hands-on experiment that engage the students more than
simply conducting a lecture style class.
Target Audience
An emphasis on elementary school students was decided upon for two main reasons. The
first is that through Gayford’s study in the UK, the study found that “pupils in the primary
schools have generally shown more enthusiasm for all aspects of learning for sustainability than
most pupils in the secondary schools” (Gayford, 2009). Additionally, an energy study conducted
by Craig and Allen found that younger people tend to value sustainability and environmentally
friendly practices at a greater level than their parents do (Craig & Allen, 2014). In a different
study about elementary curriculum learning around energy consumption, Craig and Allen found
that educating students about energy consumption during school lead to, “a decrease in energy
consumption of more than 15% in student homes and more than 30% at the local school” (Craig
& Allen, 2015). This study also showed that students were able to take the environmental
literacy knowledge that they learned inside the classroom and have discussions about this
knowledge with their parents at home (Craig & Allen, 2015). Considering this, it was decided to
focus the efforts for these classes on second through fifth grades. First grade was omitted from
the project due to the student’s cognitive level.
Building the Project
There are many resources available that provide teachers with a short lesson plan on
various sustainability topics. However, due to the magnitude of standards that teachers are
required to teach, there is little time to include other materials outside of the required standards.
Therefore, each of the units needed to incorporate sustainability themes into the required Next
Generation Science Standards. Going into the project, there were certain topics that were
identified that would be taught per grade level. However, after reviewing the required standards
per grade level, the original topics needed to be modified to meet the required standards. Each
grade’s unit plan has main standards, secondary standards, and sustainability topics clearly
outlined to show how the standards connect to the sustainability topic presented (See Appendix

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A). Additionally, all three pillars of sustainability, including environmental, social, and
economic, were covered in each of the unit plans to ensure that a holistic viewpoint of
sustainability was presented in each unit plan (UNESCO Education Sector, 2005).
The project conception and initial project proposal was intended to be primarily utilized
by the Sustainability Department at Denver Public Schools (DPS) and by DPS teachers. The
project would meet the goals of DPS and help teach their students about the most pressing
sustainability topics that DPS identified. During the initial creation of the unit plans, it was
identified that these unit plans would also be applicable to elementary teachers across the United
States. This is because either the Next Generation Science Standards or the framework for K-12
Science Education is taught within 44 states and represents “71% of U.S. students” (National
Science Teaching Association, 2019). A focus still remained on having the units meet the
sustainability goals of DPS, by including themes on composting and energy reduction solutions.
However, a broader audience was kept in mind when planning the activities and students’
worksheets to ensure that teachers across the county could seamlessly integrate these lesson
plans into their classrooms. With the focus turning to the national stage, the Teachers Pay
Teachers website was identified as the best way to get these lesson plans into the hands of
teachers across the United States. The Teachers Pay Teachers website offers lesson plans and
activities for every subject and grade level, some of which are free and others which cost money.
In 2018, over five million teachers visited and used the site (Teachers Pay Teachers, 2019). The
site has over three million resources that have been downloaded over a billion times (Teachers
Pay Teachers, 2019). With the wide reach of teachers searching for lesson plans on this website,
it was decided that posting each of the unit plans and PowerPoints for free onto the Teachers Pay
Teachers website would greatly increase the reach of the program.
After the lesson plans were completed, it was decided to conduct a pilot project, where
each of the unit plans would be taught in a DPS classroom by the content creator. The goal was
to teach each of the unit plans, which comprises of five different lessons, at least once in second
through fifth grades. However, due to the timeframe of the project and the logistics needed to
teach five, 45-minute classes per grade, it was decided that there would not be a pilot period for
this project, in order to complete the project within the desired timeframe.

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Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis
A SWOT Analysis has been conducted to show the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats of the project from the initial project idea to project completion.
Strength - A strength of this project is that all of the sustainability themed unit plans
directly teaches either one or two of the Next Generation Science Standards. Therefore, teaching
these unit plans does not take class time away from teaching the required standards, which could
increase the adoption and utilization rate of these unit plans compared to if the unit plans did not
teach the standards. Another strength is that each of the unit plans includes detailed descriptions
of each lesson, a fully created PowerPoint, a student worksheet for each lesson, and an
interactive activity or experiment which includes photos of each step of the experiment.
Therefore, the lesson plans do not require any additional prep time from the teacher aside from
having the materials ready for the lesson and printing out the student handouts. The last strength
of this project is that all of the unit plans includes writing activities, with some of the units plans
having literacy standards as connection standards. Bringing in writing components into science
classes allows students to have a stronger sense of the topic and to utilize their writing skills
outside of the typical Language Arts setting (Rogers & Abell, 2013).
Weakness - One of the weaknesses of the project is that the content creator does not have
a teaching credential. Therefore, teachers might not trust or utilize the teaching materials since
the content creator is not a certified teacher. To make up for this weakness, the lesson plans have
all been reviewed by three teachers that currently teach in elementary schools in the United
States. Another weakness of the project is that the teachers searching for sustainability and
environmental literacy unit plans might already be teachers that either incorporate some
sustainability practices into their lives or who might informally teach about sustainability themes
in their classrooms. Teachers who do not see climate change or sustainability as important likely
will not search for or utilize sustainability unit plans.
Opportunity - An opportunity for the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses is to
connect, network, and create partnerships with other Environmental Literacy programs, such as
those run by non-profits, cities, or Environmental Literacy Offices housed within a school
district. Most of these organization’s websites features a teacher resource page, where teachers
can browse through curated environmental literacy resources. There has been communication
between two organizations that would be interested in seeing the completed unit lesson plans and

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would consider putting these unit lesson plans on their website. The opportunity would be to
reach out to more environmental literacy organizations for their consideration of adding the unit
plans onto their website. Another opportunity would be to create an informational printout or a
sustainability board game that would be sent home with the students following the lesson plans.
The informational printout would be a graphics heavy printout that would inform parents about
the sustainability themes taught within the class. A sustainability board game could include
sustainability themed tasks that students would complete at home with their parents. Once
completed, the student could take it back to their teacher for a homework pass or other small
classroom prize.
Threat – The threat to the project turned out to be the timeline regarding teaching these
unit plans within DPS schools. Considering logistics and time needed to teach these unit plans
within DPS classrooms in conjunction with the project timeline and outbreak of COVID-19, it
was decided not to teach these unit plans within a DPS classroom. Therefore, the threat to this
project is that the lesson plans have not yet been tested to see how students respond to the
activities and to understand if the flow of the classes are well received by teachers and students
alike.
Project Schedule – Work Breakout Schedule
The timeline for completing the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses project took
place over the course of nine months, from the initial project idea until the completion of the
project closeout documents. There were four phases of the project, which have been displayed
within the Work Breakout Schedule (See Appendix B). This section of the paper provides an
overview of the project schedule and an accompanied Work Breakout Schedule (See Appendix
B). The Work Breakout Schedule is provided in order to aid other sustainability leaders through
the creation of a similar project (See Appendix B).
Phase one of the project is titled Partnerships (See Appendix B). This phase has two
parts, which includes setting up the partnerships and gathering the necessary goals and expected
outcomes from the partners. Setting up the partnerships is the first part of the project, which was
completed within the first month. Online research was conducted in order to find several viable
partners to reach out to see which organization would like to partner on this project. During this
preliminary research, the organization’s mission, sustainability goals, and context to the local
community were considered. At the beginning of the project, the Sustainability Department for

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the City and County of Denver, Denver Waste Management, and the Sustainability Department
at Denver Public Schools were identified as possible organizations to partner with. After
identifying possible organizations to partner with, it was identified how the organization’s goals
could be achieved through partnership. All three partners were contacted regarding possible
interest in partnership. After communications with the partners, it was determined that DPS’s
Sustainability Department was most interested in partnering on this project.
Once DPS’s Sustainability Department agreed to partner on this project, a meeting was
set up with the project lead and the representative from DPS. Prior to the meeting, the intention
for the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses was to create one, 45-minute lesson plan for
first through fourth grades which covered a certain sustainability topic. After meeting with DPS,
it was decided that the project would create a week-long unit that incorporated a specific
sustainability theme into the already required Next Generation Science Standards (Lund, 2019a).
This meeting took place at the beginning of the second month of the project. After the meeting,
the goals of the project were identified, and a rough project schedule was laid out.
Phase two of the project included creating the project deliverables and receiving feedback
on the deliverables from teachers and project partners. This part of the project took roughly three
to four months. The deliverables for this project included creating the unit plans, PowerPoint,
and the student worksheets for second, third, fourth, and fifth grades. Since elementary school
teachers are not trained in sustainability topics during their teaching certificate, the use of articles
and on-topic videos made for kids were heavily utilized throughout each of the lessons per unit
(Stratton, Hagevik, Feldman, & Bloom, 2015). Including these detailed videos explaining
complex issues such as composting and sea level rise that were age appropriate, takes away the
stress and extra prep time required for the teacher to understand these topics at a level where they
feel comfortable explaining to their students. A PowerPoint presentation was created for each
unit plan. Each PowerPoint included the unit’s vocabulary words with photos for each word,
links to the unit’s videos for easy access, and created a visual layout that allows teachers to easily
follow along with each activity and lesson within the unit plan.
Once the videos and articles were identified, all the information needed to be compiled
together. First, a brief layout was created for each grade level, which included a brief description
of the activities per lesson along with videos and other materials. These draft unit plans were
completed during the third month of the project and were sent to the DPS Sustainability

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Department for review and feedback. DPS recommended that the units include more detailed
description of each activity, while teachers who looked over the drafts recommended that
students needed to complete a worksheet or deliverable for each lesson. Utilizing the feedback,
month four and five of the project were dedicated to adding in more detailed explanations and
time recommendations into each lesson and included a student deliverable per class. For
example, in the third-grade unit plan within Lesson #2 tilted, “How Global Warming is Heating
up our Earth”, featured a 35-minute ice cube experiment (See Appendix C). After receiving
feedback from DPS, this activity was broken down into three subparts, each with time intervals
to keep the lesson organized and to help the teacher keep time. After completing each grade
level’s unit plan, the unit plans were sent to an elementary school teacher who reviewed the unit
plans. Once all of the grade’s unit plans were completed, all of the unit plans were sent to DPS’s
Sustainability Department for a final review, which brought the project into the beginning of the
sixth month.
Phase three of the project includes deliverable modifications and sharing of the unit
plans, which took place during the sixth, seventh, and eight months of the project. This included
taking the previous unit plans that were created in Word and redesigning all of the four-unit
plans to have a professional look and layout via the design website Canva. Additionally, the
lesson plans were sent to 40 environmental literacy organizations, including district ran
Environmental Literacy programs, such as the San Mateo County Office of Education along with
other environmental education organizations, such as the North American Association for
Environmental Education. Each of the unit plans were also posted free of charge onto the
Teachers Pay Teachers website in order to spread the reach of the program to a wider audience.
Lastly, the content creator created a website in which to host these unit plans permanently.
The last phase of the project is phase four, which is the project evaluation phase. This
part of the project took place during the ninth and final month of the project. During this phase,
feedback was collected from teachers and partners, in order to gauge the effectiveness of the
Sustainability for Young Learners Courses. Feedback was collected off of the Teachers Pay
Teachers website, after teachers downloaded and taught the unit plans. Once the feedback was
collected, the project was evaluated, and a project closeout document were created.

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Key Takeaways
Six Key Concepts to Create Successful Environmental Literacy Programs
Environmental literacy programs for kids can range from after school garden classes, to
stand-alone classes offered by a city, to in-class learning opportunities such as the Sustainability
for Young Learners Courses. Whether a program is designed for one local school, or focuses on
one topic to many sustainability topics, there are six key concepts that can help create a
successful environmental literacy program.
One – Include place-based learning into each unit. Create a program that is regionally
specific, yet nationally scalable. Programs that are specific to a location allows students to
participate in location-based, or place-based learning, which is learning designed to incorporate
students’ surroundings and regional issues into the classroom (UNESCO Education Sector,
2005). By focusing on regional, location-based learning, students can become active young
citizens who are more engaged in the learning process (Chambers, 2007). By incorporating
location-based learning that focuses on the student’s local community, student’s feel more
compelled to implement solutions because the learnings were directly related back to the
student’s physical community and cultural context (UNESCO Education Sector, 2005).
However, by highlighting regional topics while keeping scalability in mind, sustainability
content designers can reach more students and classrooms to increase the program’s reach. For
example, the third-grade unit plan contains a worksheet titled “How rivers and streams connect
to the ocean”, which is an activity that can connect students from all over the United States to the
ocean plastic pollution problem (See Appendix 3). This is done by having students identify
where they live within the map provided and draw the route from their home to the ocean or
large lakes via the rivers outlined in the map. Students then write a short description regarding
how plastics thrown in a river near in the student’s community could end up in the ocean through
interconnected streams and rivers across the United States. This activity allows land locked
teachers the ability to show their students how ocean plastic problems relates to their community,
even if the students do not have direct access to the ocean.
Two – Incorporate the required standards and curriculum. When creating environmental
literacy programs, it is important to incorporate the required curriculum or standards into any
environmental literacy program. In the United Sates, teachers from 44 states must follow the
Next Generation Science Standards or the framework for K-12 Science Education (National

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Science Teaching Association, 2019). Due to the number of standards, teachers have little room
to teach any additional information. In an interview that Chambers conducted with elementary
school teachers, “It was expressed that if teachers could not immediately see the curricular links,
they would not use the resources” (Chambers, 2007). Research from Chambers shows that
environmental literacy programs which focused on teaching a certain sustainability topic and not
focusing on the required standards were not widely used by teachers. The Sustainability for
Young Learners Courses infuses sustainability themes into the existing required Next Generation
Science Standards via week-long, unit plans. Each unit plan covers one to two main science
standards, followed by a few connecting standards, which are either science or literacy standards
(See Appendix A).
Three - Utilize subject matter experts. The optimal team for creating an environmental
literacy program includes both sustainability professionals and teachers (Tal & Peled, 2017).
Bringing in teaching subject matter experts, such as teachers, principals or curriculum experts,
either as part of the project team or as a reviewer, can elevate a project (Tal & Peled, 2017). A
sustainability leader’s job in this program will be to incorporate sustainability themes into the
lesson plan in a grade appropriate manner that relies heavily on science-based findings. Teachers
and principals will assist in providing guidance and feedback regarding the lessons and programs
to make sure that they are viable for real world classrooms, student clubs, and after school events
(Lund 2019b) (Lund 2019d). Since most sustainability professionals are not teachers, having
teachers’ input will ensure that the lessons are grade appropriate, that the materials meet the
standards included, and that the timing of the lesson is realistic for the grade level.
Four - Never end with doom and gloom, make the students the heroes through solutions.
Facts about climate change can be overwhelming for many adults to face, and children are no
exception. By simply stating the facts about climate change without offering solutions, students
can leave feeling hopeless and frustrated, or not knowing how to utilize the knowledge that they
just obtained within their daily life. When facts are coupled with solutions that the student can
implement, the student can take the newly gained knowledge about climate change and use the
solutions to act on the problems that they are learning about (Elfin & Sheaffer, 2006). This can
also allow students to practice using solutions thinking and problem-solving techniques during
class and apply these solutions to their real life. Students are able to engage in small actions
themselves every day, such as composting or recycling at school, bringing a reusable water bottle

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to school, or walking to school. Allowing students to come up with their own solutions shows the
students that they can help to make a difference, because when more students are involved in
sustainability, they can create a more sustainable school and community (Colbert, 2018). In
addition to small solutions, allow the students to be the heroes of the story by having them
personally come up with solutions to the problems presented (Lund, 2019e). This will allow the
students to propose solutions that they think they can implement and will also engage the
students by making them the superhero of the story. By making the students feel a part of the
story and the lessons, the student will feel more engaged and ready to take action.
Five – Consider different learning styles. Every student learns differently, therefore what
engages and connects to some students might not engage or be completely understood by other
students (Jones, 1996). Students can have one of the seven, or a combination of learning styles,
including spatial, linguistic, auditory-musical, mathematical, intrapersonal, interpersonal and
kinesthetic (Jones, 1996). When designing environmental literacy content, it is imperative to
keep in mind these seven learning styles and create activities that will engage all types of
learners. Using hands-on activities, experiments, videos, photos, and text within the same lesson
or unit can help engage and activate all student’s minds throughout each lesson. Each of the units
within the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses includes writing and reading activities,
videos and PowerPoints with photos, and experiments to engage all types of learners. Key
concept number three, which is to utilize subject matter experts, can be utilized to receive
feedback from teachers on whether or not the program or unit plans includes a diverse array of
activities that will engage all of the seven intelligence and learning styles.
Six – Provide additional resources for the teachers. Teachers are subject matter experts
in their field; however, they might not be experts in sustainability or environmental topics.
Stratton and Feldman conducted a study on teachers’ knowledge of sustainability before and
after the teachers underwent a sustainability training. Before the training, the teachers described
their level of sustainability knowledge as “simply encompassing environmentally-friendly
practices such as recycling and composting, not fully considering its multidimensional nature
and its relevance to environment, economic, and sociocultural issues” (Stratton, Hagevik,
Feldman, & Bloom, 2015). If an environmental literacy program or lessons will be taught by
teachers, make sure to include a reference section for teachers to gain a more in-depth
understanding of the topic. The San Mateo County Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy

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Program created pre-made lesson plans that includes additional resources geared at the teacher,
whereas the resources in the lessons are geared at the student’s grade level (San Mateo County
Office of Education: Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative, 2019). Providing these
resources will allow teachers to gain more sustainability knowledge and will act as reference in
the event that teachers might doubt why certain themes are taught within the classroom. Each of
the unit plans within the Sustainability for Young Learners Courses includes a section titled
Teacher Resources, which is a curated resource list featuring videos and articles that are directly
related to the teachings of that particular unit plan (See the “Teacher Resources” section within
Appendix C and Appendix D).
Conclusion
With children being the next scientists, policy makers, businesspeople, and decision
makers of the future, it is imperative to educate students about science-based sustainability
themes from an early age within elementary school. Even though the Next Generation Science
Standards do not cover sustainability themes in second, third, and fourth grade does not mean
that sustainability cannot be taught within elementary school classrooms (Next Generation
Science Standards, 2019). By infusing important sustainability themes into the Next Generation
Science standards, teachers are able to meet the required science standards while providing their
students with real world climate knowledge and solutions that students can implement into their
daily lives at school, at home, and within their community.

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APA Format Style used

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Appendix A
Standards and Sustainability Topics per Grade Level
Figure A1
Second Grade Standards and Sustainability Topic
Main
Standards

2-ESS2-3: Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and
that it can be solid or liquid. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
K-2-ETS1-1: Engineering Design - Ask questions, make observations, and
gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple
problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved
object or tool. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Secondary

2-ESS2-1 Earth’s Systems - Connections to the Nature of Science,

Standards

Crosscutting Concepts: Science addresses questions about the natural and
material world. Scientists study the natural and material world. (Next
Generation Science Standards, 2019)
2-ESS2-1 Crosscutting Concepts - Connection to Engineering, Technology,
and Application of Science: Developing and using technology has impacts on
the natural world. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
Colorado Academic Standards: Second Grade, Standard 1: Physical Science.
Grade Level Expectations: Matter exists as different substances that have
observable different properties. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Sustainability Students will describe that there is both solid and liquid water in the ocean and
Topic

that ocean ice is melting faster due to climate change. Students will identify
and learn about different solutions to mitigate climate change. Students will
learn what composting is, why it is important, and how to compost.

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Figure A2
Third Grade Standards and Sustainability Topic
Main
Standards

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience - When the
environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics,
temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and
reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed
environment, and some die. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
3-LS4-4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Make a claim about the
merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the
types of plants and animals that live there may change. [Clarification
Statement: Examples of environmental changes could include changes in land
characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms.]
[Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to a single environmental
change. Assessment does not include the greenhouse effect or climate change.]
(Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Secondary

RI.3.1: Literacy Common Core State Standards Connection: Ask and answer

Standards

questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers. (3-LS4-1), (3-LS4-2), (3-LS4-3). (Next
Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Sustainability Our oceans are changing, and it is predicted that by 2050 there will be more
Topic

plastic in the ocean than fish. Students learn about the physical changes of
increased plastic pollution into the ocean and how that is affecting ocean life.
Student learn about and come up with several solutions to mitigate the
problem.

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Figure A3
Fourth Grade Standards and Sustainability Topic
Main
Standards

4-ESS3-1: Earth and Human Activity - Obtain and combine information to
describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their
uses affect the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of renewable
energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, and sunlight;
non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and fissile materials.
Examples of environmental effects could include loss of habitat due to dams,
loss of habitat due to surface mining, and air pollution from burning of fossil
fuels.] (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
SS3.A (4-ESS3-1): Disciplinary Core Ideas: Natural Resources - Energy and
fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects
the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time,
and others are not. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Secondary

4-ESS3-2: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions - Generate and

Standards

compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the
criteria and constraints of the design solution. (Next Generation Science
Standards, 2019)
Literacy Common Core Standards Connections: RI.4.1 Refer to details and
examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text. (4-ESS3-2). (Next Generation Science
Standards, 2019)

Sustainability Students will learn that energy can either come from a renewable or
Topic

nonrenewable source and learn about the effects of burning fossil fuels has on
our planet. Students learn about potential solutions to not burning and reducing
their use of fossil fuels.

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Figure A4
Fifth Grade Standards and Sustainability Topic
Main
Standards

5-ESS3-1: Human Impacts on Earth Systems: Human activities in agriculture,
industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation,
streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are
doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments. (Next
Generation Science Standards, 2019)
5-ESS3-1: Obtain and combine information about ways individual
communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and
environment. (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)

Secondary

RI.5.9 Literacy Connection – Integrate information from several texts on the

Standards

same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. (5ESS3-1). (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
W.5.8 Literacy Connection – Recall relevant information from experiences or
gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or
paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of
sources. (5-ESS3-1). (Next Generation Science Standards, 2019)
5-LS2-1 Science Connection – The food of almost any kind of animal can be
traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some
animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants.
Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both
plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.”
Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil.
Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs
are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different
types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly
introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem. (Next Generation
Science Standards, 2019)

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Sustainability Students will learn about various environmental problems and how these
Topic

problems are impacting our world. Students will focus on the problems related
to food waste and sending food to the landfill. Students will learn about
backyard and industrial composting as a solution.

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Appendix B
Figure B1: Work Breakout Schedule – Sustainability for Young Learners Courses

Program Creation:
Sustainability for Young
Learners Courses

Phase 2: Creation of the
project

Phase 1: Partnerships

Part 1 - Setting up
partnerships

Part 2 - Gather necessary
information from each
partner

Create the deliverables

Phase 3: Deliverable
modifications and sharing

Deliverable Feedback

Phase 4: Project Evaluation

Modify the deliverables
layout to have a professional
look

Send surveys to participating
teachers and partner
organizations

Research organizations to
partner with

Set up a meeting with the
desired partners

Conduct preliminary
research on similar projects
and programs

Receive feedback from
teachers regarding the
deliverables

Conduct research on which
organizations to send the
unit plans to

Collect feedback off of
Teachers Pay Teachers

See how collaboration could
help serve the organization's
sustainability goals

Identify potential teachers to
partner with

Second grade: Unit Plans,
PowerPoint, and Student
Worksheets

Modify the deliverables per
the recommendations

Create a personal website to
host the unit plans

Feedback collected from the
organizations who received
the unit plans

Reach out to potential
organizations to partner with

Third grade: Unit Plans,
PowerPoint, and Student
Worksheets

Receive feedback from the
project partners regarding
the deliverables

Post the unit plans onto the
content creator's personal
website

Complete project closeout
documents

Determine which
organizations would like to
partner

Fourth grade: Unit Plans,
PowerPoint, and Student
Worksheets

Modify the deliverables per
the recommendations

Send the finalized lesson
plans to the partners and
interested teachers

Fifth grade: Unit Plans,
PowerPoint, and Student
Worksheets

Deliverables re-sent out to
the partenrs

Upload the unit plans to
Teachers Pay Teachers

Partners approve the
deliverables

Send the unit plans to
organizations that promote
environmental literacy

Post the unit plans onto
LinkedIn

SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Appendix C
Third Grade Unit Plan - Ocean Plastics, The Problem and the Solution

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Appendix D
Second Grade Unit Plan - Our Melting Oceans, Solid and Liquid Water

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Activit 3.2: Student Worksheet
(15 minutes)

What Causes Climate Change and Ho

70

to Help

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