Science · Grade 12

Earth and Environmental Science SEL activities

36 ready to use activities that teach Earth and Environmental Science content and build one Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skill, about 20 minutes each.

Matched to textbook chapters: Prentice Hall Earth Science.

Earth Systems and Cycles

• Scientist of This Place Self-awareness · Week 1Students map the land, water, and people that shape their lives and name the kind of environmental scientist they want to become.
• Spheres That Interact Social awareness · Week 2Analyzing data on feedbacks among Earth's spheres and seeing how one person's change ripples through a group.
• Rain Shadow Self-management · Week 3Modeling how mountains wring water from the air before it reaches the valley and noticing what drains or protects our emotional reserves.
• Rocks Tell Stories Relationship skills · Week 4Explaining how the valley and its mountains formed and sharing stories about places, real or imagined, respectfully.
• Cycling Matter Through Earth Responsible decision-making · Week 5Modeling the carbon cycle across all of Earth's spheres and deciding which personal actions most affect it.
• Field Teams Relationship skills · Week 6Teams plan a schoolyard soil and water investigation and agree on how to repair conflicts in the field.

Water in the Desert

• Where Our Water Comes From Self-awareness · Week 7Tracing valley water from the Colorado River and the aquifer to the tap and reflecting on what we take for granted.
• The Shrinking Salton Sea Social awareness · Week 8Simulating the Salton Sea water balance and listening to how shrinking shorelines affect nearby families and wildlife.
• Dust and Breath Responsible decision-making · Week 9Analyzing air quality data near the exposed lakebed and evaluating fair solutions for communities with high asthma rates.
• Groundwater Overdraft Self-management · Week 10Computing aquifer withdrawals and recharge and planning a personal habit that stays in balance like a budget.
• Saving Every Drop Relationship skills · Week 11Teams design a water saving solution for school landscaping and build on each other's ideas.
• Who Gets the Water Responsible decision-making · Week 12Arguing about water allocation among farms, cities, tribes, and the Salton Sea while managing strong feelings in debate.

Climate and Extreme Heat

• Reading Climate Clues Self-awareness · Week 13Analyzing ice core and tree ring evidence of past climates and noticing the feelings that arise when data points to change.
• Urban Heat Islands Social awareness · Week 14Measuring surface temperatures around campus and considering who lives and works in the hottest places.
• Working in the Heat Social awareness · Week 15Communicating the warning signs of heat illness for farmworkers and athletes and practicing noticing when someone needs help.
• Climate Models Responsible decision-making · Week 16Comparing climate model projections and weighing uncertainty without sliding into denial or despair.
• From Worry to Action Self-management · Week 17Explaining how human activity and Earth systems interact and practicing a worry to action routine for climate stress.
• Semester Reflection: Footprint and Handprint Self-awareness · Week 18Students reflect on how their thinking about the environment changed and set a spring goal for a positive handprint.

Land, Food, and Natural Resources

• Soil Is Alive Self-awareness · Week 19Investigating how water and organisms build soil and reflecting on what helps students put down roots in a new semester.
• Feeding the Nation from the Desert Social awareness · Week 20Arguing how water and climate made the valley a winter vegetable center and honoring the farmworkers who make it happen.
• Resource Costs and Benefits Responsible decision-making · Week 21Evaluating the costs and benefits of mining and energy strategies and making decisions with both head and heart.
• Lithium Valley Relationship skills · Week 22Gathering multiple perspectives on lithium extraction and communicating a position honestly to community stakeholders.
• Biodiversity on the Edge Self-management · Week 23Designing a solution to protect Coachella Valley fringe toed lizard habitat and sticking with a complex problem.
• Pollinators and Plates Relationship skills · Week 24Simulating ways to reduce threats to pollinators and dividing team roles so every member contributes.

Natural Hazards and Resilience

• Living on a Fault Self-awareness · Week 25Explaining how the San Andreas Fault shapes where people live and naming the feelings that natural hazards bring up.
• Flash Floods in the Desert Self-management · Week 26Investigating why dry desert soil sheds water and practicing calm, step by step decisions in emergencies.
• Wildfire at the Wildland Edge Responsible decision-making · Week 27Analyzing sample acres burned data modeled on the San Jacinto Mountains and deciding which prevention steps the evidence supports.
• Recovery and Resilience Relationship skills · Week 28Arguing how ecosystems recover after disturbance and how people rebuild trust and community after loss.
• Monitoring the Planet Social awareness · Week 29Interpreting satellite images of the valley and practicing close observation of people as well as places.
• Hazards and Fairness Social awareness · Week 30Arguing whether hazard risks fall equally on all communities and considering the perspectives of those most affected.

Sustainability and Civic Action

• Designing for Sustainability Responsible decision-making · Week 31Defining a local environmental problem with criteria and constraints and choosing one that matters personally.
• Prototype and Feedback Relationship skills · Week 32Breaking the problem into manageable parts and giving and receiving kind, specific feedback on proposed solutions.
• Speaking Up for the Environment Responsible decision-making · Week 33Writing an evidence based letter to a local agency and advocating honestly without exaggerating.
• Green Careers Self-management · Week 34Researching environmental careers in the valley and setting next steps toward a future path.
• Reflecting on Our Place Self-awareness · Week 35Students revisit their week one place map and explain how their understanding of themselves and the valley has changed.
• Gratitude for People and Place Relationship skills · Week 36Students write thank you notes to a person and to a place in the valley that supported their growth this year.

RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.