For Teachers Section

Grades K-5

Unit 2, Lesson 1

– Table of Contents – Unit 2 – Lesson 1 –

Becoming Aware—How to Drive Clean across Texas

Purpose

  • > Understand how cars contribute to air pollution.
  • > Explain, in very simple terms, the five Drive Clean Across Texas (DCAT) messages:

    • > Maintain your vehicle.
    • > Drive less.
    • > Buy a "cleaner" vehicle.
    • > Drive the speed limit.
    • > Don’t idle.

Time Requirements

Five 30-minute class periods

Subject Areas

English, Language Arts, and Reading; Science; Health Education

Texans must reduce the amount of vehicle emissions in the air in order to meet federal clean air requirements and to preserve the health of its citizens. Although they do not drive, our children’s environmental values can have an impact on changing the travel behavior over the long term. The "Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book" is designed to build awareness of the DCAT messages and educate kids through fun and interactive activities and characters.

Activity 1: Slowing It Down: Speed and Pollution

Grades K-5

Objective:
Students will discuss how speed and driving are connected to air pollution and work a word find puzzle to reinforce knowledge of basic air quality vocabulary.

Background:
Drive the speed limit. It is important to drive within the speed limit. At high speeds you'll burn more fuel for each mile you drive, thus creating more harmful pollutants in the air. It is safer to drive the speed limit too.

  • > Accelerate and decelerate slowly and smoothly.
  • > Anticipate stops and coast to a stop gradually.
  • > Drive the speed limit.

TEKS:

English, Language Arts, and Reading

  • Grade K: 1C, 2A, 4B, 8B, 9B, 10A
  • Grade 1: 1C, 2A, 3C, 4B, 11B, 12F, 13A, 15B
  • Grade 2: 1C, 2A, 3C, 8B
  • Grade 3: 1C, 2A, 3C, 8A
  • Grade 4: 1A, 9A, 11A
  • Grade 5: 1A, 6C, 7A

Science

  • Grade 3: 8C

Health Education

  • Grade K: 4B
  • Grade 1: 1A, 4B, 8B
  • Grade 2: 1E, 3B, 5A-C
  • Grade 3: 6A-C
  • Grade 4: 2A, 6A-B
  • Grade 5: 8B, 8D

Time:
15-30 minutes

Materials:

  • > "Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book"
  • > Markers or crayons
  • > Pencil

Directions:

  1. Explain that driving at high speeds causes the car to burn more fuel for each mile you drive, thus creating more harmful pollutants in the air. It is safer to drive the speed limit too. Talk about speedometers on cars and speed limit signs, and how the students can encourage their parents and relatives to slow down if they are going too fast. Talk about the meaning of the words listed in the Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book's word find puzzle on page 9.

  2. Place the students in groups of three and give them 10 minutes to find as many of the words as they can.

  3. Put the page on the overhead projector and solve it as a class with students volunteering to come up to the overhead to circle a word they have found.

  4. Allow the students time to color the pages.

Extension:
Go to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality web site for a more challenging word find related to air quality.

Resources:
Classroom Materials PDF document - For best results, view PDF files with the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Activity 2: Getting a Regular Maintenance Check-Up

Grades K-5

Objective:
Students will work a maze, discuss the importance of keeping the car running well and having it checked regularly by a mechanic, and gain a better understanding of how cars can pollute.

Background:
One poorly maintained engine can produce 28 times as much pollution as one in good repair. Maintain your vehicle. Proper and timely maintenance of your car will conserve energy and reduce emissions.

  • > Maintain your vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
  • > Keep your car engine well maintained to lower exhaust emissions.
  • > Keep your tires properly inflated.
  • > Regularly change filters and service air conditioning.
  • > Seal your gas cap tightly, refuel during late afternoon or evening, and don't top off the tank.
  • > Have your car regularly inspected and emissions tested.

See the Texas Department of Public Safety's "Air Check Texas" web site for more information on mandatory emissions tests.

TEKS:

English, Language Arts, and Reading

  • Grade K: 1C, 4A-B, 5G, 8A-C
  • Grade 1: 1C, 4A-B, 11A-B
  • Grade 2: 1C, 4A, 8A-D
  • Grade 3: 1C, 4A, 8A-D
  • Grade 4: 1C, 9A-E, 10A
  • Grade 5: 9A-E, 10A

Science

  • Grade 3: 8C

Health Education

  • Grade K: 4B
  • Grade 1: 1A, 4B, 8B
  • Grade 2: 1E, 3B, 5A-C
  • Grade 3: 6A-C
  • Grade 4: 2A, 6A-B
  • Grade 5: 8B, 8D

Time:
15-30 minutes

Materials:

  • > "Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book"
  • > Markers or crayons
  • > Pencil

Directions:

  1. Review the details of the "maintain your vehicle" message in a grade-appropriate question and answer discussion. Ask students if they know how to tell when their family car might be "sick" or in need of a check-up. What happens when our cars are not well? What types of things do we need to do to make sure our cars stay healthy so that they drive safely and do not pollute?
  2. Allow the students time to complete and color the maze page (11) in the "Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book."

Resources:
Classroom Materials PDF document - For best results, view PDF files with the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Activity 3: How Else Can We Get There?

Grades K-5

Objective:
Students will discuss specific things they can encourage their family to do that will reduce the amount of driving they do and thus help reduce emissions.

Background:
Drive less. Reducing the number of vehicles on the road, especially during peak periods (rush hour), means less traffic and less exhaust.

  • > Become a telecommuter or start a telecommuting program.
  • > Carpool, vanpool, or use park-and-ride.
  • > Ride public transit systems; take advantage of employer transit pass programs.
  • > Combine errands into only one trip.
  • > Take a bicycle or walk when at all possible; it is good for your health.
  • > Work an alternative/flex-time work schedule so you don't have to drive in congestion.

TEKS:

English, Language Arts, and Reading

  • Grade K: 1C, 4A-B, 8A-B
  • Grade 1: 1C, 4A-B, 11A-B
  • Grade 2: 1C, 4A, 8A-D
  • Grade 3: 1C, 4A-B, 8A-C
  • Grade 4: 1A, 9A-C
  • Grade 5: 1A, 9A-C, 13A

Science

  • Grade K: 1A, 2B, 4B
  • Grade 1: 1A, 2B, 4A-B
  • Grade 2: 1A, 2B, 2D-E, 4A
  • Grade 3: 1A, 2B-C, 4A
  • Grade 4: 1A, 2B, 4A
  • Grade 5: 1A, 2B, 4A

Health Education

  • Grade K: 4B
  • Grade 1: 1A, 4B, 8B
  • Grade 2: 1E, 3B, 5A-C
  • Grade 3: 6A-C
  • Grade 4: 2A, 6A-B
  • Grade 5: 8B, 8D

Time:
15-30 minutes

Materials:

  • > Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book
  • > How Can We Help Clean Up the Air?
  • > Markers or crayons
  • > Pencil

Directions:

  1. Review the causes of air pollution. Point out that one cause—driving gasoline- and diesel-powered motor vehicles—is something that our families do every day.

  2. Ask how many students ride in their own family car to school everyday. Keep a tally on the board. Ask if anyone walks or bikes? Carpools? School bus? Ask if anyone has ever ridden a city bus? Why don’t we walk more often?

  3. Have the students complete the activity and coloring on pages 12-13 of the DCAT Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book.

  4. Using the How Can We Help Clean Up the Air? handout/overhead, discuss things the students can do to encourage their families and their community to drive less.

Extensions:

  • > Place the students into groups of three or four. Assign each group an alternative transportation choice: walking, biking, carpooling, transit. Have each group create a poster designed to communicate the benefits of choosing their assigned method. You can also have each group write a skit or TV commercial and act it out in front of the class.

  • > Have a discussion about transportation in other countries. Is the car the primary transportation for most people in Europe? Asia? South America? Why or why not? Assign groups to research the question on the Internet and report back to the class.

  • > Take a field trip to the main city transit center and ride the bus to a park or eating establishment. Talk about the experience the next day in class. What would it be like to go everywhere on the bus or train? Where in the United States is public transit the main way to go? Discuss New York City and why most people do not drive there. What would be the benefits of not owning a car?

Resources:
Classroom Materials PDF document - For best results, view PDF files with the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Activity 4: Park It and Walk

Grades K-5

Objective:
Students will learn what it means for a vehicle to "idle" and discuss why and how to avoid it.

Background:
Don’t idle. Idling wastes gas, damages pollution control equipment on your vehicle, and produces carbon monoxide—an invisible, odorless, poisonous gas. In fact, turning off the car and starting it again uses less gas and produces less carbon monoxide than idling for half a minute or more.

  • > Park and go inside rather than using the drive-through.
  • > If you have to use the drive-through, shut off your engine while waiting.
  • > Anticipate delays and take an alternative route to avoid stop-and-go or stand-still traffic, or travel earlier or later when congestion is less.
  • > After starting the engine, do not warm it up; modern engines do not need it.

TEKS:

English, Language Arts, and Reading

  • Grade K: 1C-D, 3C, 4A-B, 8A-B, 10C-D, 12B
  • Grade 1: 1C-D, 3C, 4A-B, 10B, 11A-B, 12E, 15B-C
  • Grade 2: 1C-D, 4A-B, 8A-D, 12E
  • Grade 3: 1C-D, 3C, 4A-B, 8A-C
  • Grade 4: 9A-B, 13D-E, 23A-B
  • Grade 5: 9A-C, 13D-E, 13G

Science

  • Grade K: 2D, 3A, 5C
  • Grade 1: 2D, 3A, 5B
  • Grade 2: 2E, 3A
  • Grade 3: 2E, 3A
  • Grade 4: 2E, 3A
  • Grade 5: 2E

Health Education

  • Grade K: 4B
  • Grade 1: 1A, 4B, 8B
  • Grade 2: 1E, 3B, 5A-C
  • Grade 3: 6A-C
  • Grade 4: 2A, 6A-B
  • Grade 5: 8B, 8D

Time:
15-30 minutes

Materials:

  • > "Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book"
  • > Markers or crayons
  • > Pencil

Directions:

  1. Ask if anyone knows what it means to be "idle" (not occupied, not busy, not moving). Explain what it means when an engine is idling.

  2. Explain that when a car engine is idling, it is creating more air pollution (carbon monoxide) and burning gasoline. Talk about situations where we normally let our car idle. Ask what we could do to avoid letting our cars idle. Refer to page 14 in the activity book.

  3. Allow the students to color page 14.

Resources:
Classroom Materials PDF document - For best results, view PDF files with the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Activity 5: Clean Cars

Grades 1-5

Objective:
Learn what a low emissions vehicle is and discuss recent and future technological advances of the automobile with regard to engines and alternative energy sources (e.g., hybrid gasoline/electric engines now available in some Honda and Toyota cars, compressed natural gas now used in some trucks and buses, hydrogen being experimented with for sample vehicles).

Background:
Buy a "cleaner" vehicle. Ask your dealer for emissions information. Consider the emissions rates of the vehicle you buy, and select a vehicle engine combination that is a low emitter. Teachers may wish to obtain from a new car dealer a copy of the emissions stickers now placed on all new cars. Consider the following incentives and benefits of buying a clean vehicle.

  • > You can make the air healthier for yourself and others by purchasing low emissions vehicles.
  • > The federal government provides tax credits and deductions for alternative fuel vehicles.
  • > The Texas Railroad Commission's Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division will pay $1,500 to private individuals or fleets for the purchase of a certified propane original equipment manufacturer (OEM) vehicle or after-market conversion.
  • > The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is offering incentives to purchase low-emitting vehicles.

TEKS:

English, Language Arts, and Reading

  • Grade 1: 1C, 4A-B, 11A-B, 15C
  • Grade 2: 1C, 4A, 8A-B, 12H
  • Grade 3: 1C, 4A, 8A-C
  • Grade 4: 9A-C
  • Grade 5: 9A-C

Science

  • Grade 1: 1A, 2B-C, 7B
  • Grade 2: 1A, 2B, 2D-E, 4A, 7A-B, 9B
  • Grade 3: 1A, 2B, 7A, 8C-D
  • Grade 4: 1A, 2A-B, 4A, 6A, 7A
  • Grade 5: 1A, 2A-B, 4A, 6B, 8A, 11A

Health Education

  • Grade 1: 1A, 4B, 8B
  • Grade 2: 1E, 3B, 5A-C
  • Grade 3: 6A-C
  • Grade 4: 2A, 6A-B
  • Grade 5: 8B, 8D

Time:
15-30 minutes

Materials:

  • > Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book
  • > Fuels of the Future!
  • > Markers or crayons
  • > Pencil

Directions:

  1. Review the concepts discussed in the first three activities (the five DCAT messages). As a class or individually, work the crossword puzzle on page 15 of the Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book.

  2. Ask the class what they think a "clean" vehicle is. Point out that there is more than one way for cars to be clean. We are not always talking about keeping our cars washed and shiny. Discuss how gasoline can burn clean or dirty and refer to "smoking" vehicles. Ask students how they feel when they inhale bad fumes or smoke from a car next to theirs or when one passes them on the street.

  3. Talk about the difference between big cars, trucks, and SUVs and little cars—how one uses more gas than the other to get the same distance. Have a discussion that compares big and little cars. Point out that although a "clean" little car is best, a "clean" big car is still better than a "dirty" little car.

  4. Discuss the Fuels of the Future! overhead/handout at a grade-appropriate level.

  5. Allow the students time to color the last page in the Air Quality Coloring and Activity Book.

Extensions:

  • > Transportation Technology Demonstration: One way to reduce pollution is through saving trips. Another way is to use cleaner transportation technologies. Ask the class if anyone has ever heard of an electric car. What about alternative fuels other than gasoline or diesel? You may be able to arrange for a local car dealership to bring a "clean" car to the school and talk to the class about the differences and benefits of owning one of these vehicles.

  • > Check out "Future Wheels for a Sustainable America" on the NESEA web site.

Resources:
Classroom Materials PDF document - For best results, view PDF files with the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Web Site

Source:

ACTIVITY 1

  • > Drive Clean Across Texas, Drive the speed limit, http://www.drivecleanacrosstexas.org/about/your_part.stm#slow_down
ACTIVITY 2
  • > Drive Clean Across Texas, Maintain your vehicle, http://www.drivecleanacrosstexas.org/about/your_part.stm#maintain
ACTIVITY 3
  • > Drive Clean Across Texas, Drive less, http://www.drivecleanacrosstexas.org/about/your_part.stm#drive_less
ACTIVITY 4
  • > Drive Clean Across Texas, Don't idle, http://www.drivecleanacrosstexas.org/about/your_part.stm#idle
ACTIVITY 5
  • > Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, http://www.nesea.org/