Out of the Penalty Box: Protecting the Environment through Policies
Over the next 25 to 45 years, scientists think the Nation’s population will double. As the population increases, cities, suburbs, and towns use more and more land. In order to keep some open space, the government makes environmental policies that everyone must follow. The scientists in this study wanted to answer two questions. The first question is: What are the characteristics of the policies that have been used to manage urban growth and protect open space? The second question is: Which of these types of policies has been most effective?
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In pairs or in groups, you will identify five policies that exist in your school and analyze who they affect, how they are implemented, what their impacts are, and how...FACTivity – Out of the Penalty Box
In pairs or in groups, you will identify five policies that exist in your school and analyze who they affect, how they are implemented, what their impacts are, and how...
Glossary
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David Bengston
My favorite science experience was learning about urban growth and urban policies in South Korea. I learned about them when I was a visiting scientist at Seoul National University during...View Profile -
Kristen Nelson
My favorite science experience was working with Mayan farmers and scientists to solve problems in Chiapas, Mexico. We worked on many different projects. In one community, we worked on projects...View Profile
About Investi-gator
The Investi-gator is another member of the Natural Inquirer family. The Natural Inquirer, for middle school students, and the Investi-gator, for upper elementary students, present science the way scientists most often share their research with each other. That process is the written scientific paper. Each Investi-gator article presents research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. All the research in the Investi-gator is concerned with nature or with society’s relationship to nature.
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Meet the Scientist
An introduction to the scientist or scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
A short introduction to something about the scientific process that is related to the research being presented.
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Thinking About the Environment
A short introduction to something about the natural environment that is related to the research being presented.
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Introduction
The part of the written scientific paper that introduces the scientific problem or question the scientists wants to solve or answer.
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Method
The part of the written scientific paper that describes how the scientists collected and analyzed their data or information.
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Findings
The part of the written scientific paper that describes what the scientists discovered.
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Discussion
The part of the written scientific paper that summarizes the research and offers any new insights.
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Reflection Section
These are questions placed after the Introduction, Methods, Findings, and Discussion sections. The purpose of the questions is to help students think about what they have read.
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Glossary
Possible new terms you will find in the article. Glossary words are printed in bold in the article.
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FACTivity
This is an activity that you can do in your classroom.
Lessons
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Introduce the scientific process, as expressed in scientific writing, to your students. This lesson plan will walk you through how to do a guided reading of an Investi-gator article (or...Lesson Plan – Main Ideas
Introduce the scientific process, as expressed in scientific writing, to your students. This lesson plan will walk you through how to do a guided reading of an Investi-gator article (or...
Education Files
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use PLT Activities #55 “Planning the Ideal Community,” #56 “We Can Work It Out,” and #58 “There Ought to Be a Law” as additional resources.