EPA EnviroAtlas Educational Curriculum
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science in ACTION
INNOVATIVE RESEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Left: High school students participate in the hands-on activity from the "Connecting
Ecosystems and Human Health " lesson plan package. Right: Students play outdoor
BINGO from the "Introduction to Ecosystem Sendees'' lesson plan package.
About EnviroAtlas
EPA's EnviroAtlas is a free,
interactive, web-based tool that
empowers anyone with internet
access to be a highly informed local
decision-maker. Providing over 400
map layers and supported by over
700 scientific journal articles,
EnviroAtlas equips users with the
data and information to answer
many of their environmental
questions.
EnviroAtlas Education Materials
EPA has designed a free suite of
EnviroAtlas educational lesson
plans and resources for
kindergarten through undergraduate
(K-16) classrooms that leverage the
EnviroAtlas tool. The lessons allow
students to engage in hands-on
learning, using data visualization to
build their analytical, geospatial, and
decision-making skills.
Concepts addressed in the lessons
include ecosystem services,
watershed geography and
management, the water cycle, air
quality, urban planning, biodiversity,
and connections between the
environment and human health.
The educational materials make
use of two primary tools in
EnviroAtlas: the Interactive Map,
and the Eco-Health Relationship
Browser. Learn more about
EnviroAtlas and access these
tools at: www.epa.gov/enviroatlas.
Alignment to State Science
Standards
All EnviroAtlas educational
materials are aligned with Next
Generation Science Standards and
individual state science standards.
All aligned standards can be found
in the back of the teacher handout
accompanying each lesson in the
"Resources" section.
Lesson Plans and Resources
Lesson 1: Exploring Your
Watershed (Grades K-6)
This interactive lesson-plan module
encourages students to explore
their local watershed through a
hands-on lab, an outdoor
exploratory session with maps, and
an EnviroAtlas web-mapping
session that can be completed with
or without internet. This lesson plan
is also available in Spanish.
Available online at:
www. eoa.Qov/enviroaHas/exolorinQ-
vour-watershed
Lesson 2: Introduction to
Ecosystem Services (Grades 4-6)
This suite of six mini-lessons
introduces the concept of ecosystem
services through a blended learning
format to get kids outside; engage
students with an interactive, online,
cutting-edge technology tool from
EPA; and have students participate
in hands-on activities in their
classrooms. These lessons can
supplement ecosystems units across
grade levels. Available online at:
www.eoa.gov/enviroatlas/introductio
n-ecosvstem-services
1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development

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Lesson 3: Connecting
Ecosystems and Human Health
(Grades 4-12+)
This engaging lesson plan module
introduces students to the
connections between ecosystems
and human health by using an
interactive web-based tool and a
hands-on activity. The module
incorporates an outdoor lesson, a
hands-on lesson, and EPA's Eco-
Health Relationship Browser - an
online tool that uses existing
scientific literature to visualize
connections between human health
and the environment.
Available online at:
www. eoa. gov/enviroatlas/connectin
g-ecosvstems-and-human-health
Lesson 4: Building a Greenway:
A Case Study (Grades 9-12+)
This interdisciplinary learning
module promotes student
discovery using available maps
and data, engaging students to be
collaborative decision-makers.
This case study is intended for
secondary education,
undergraduate, and community
education/engagement programs.
Available online at:
www, eoa. gov/enviroatlas/buildina-
greenwav-case-studv
Access the educational
materials
To download EnviroAtlas
educational materials visit:
www.epa.qov/enviroatlas/enviroatl
as-educational-materials.
Contact Information
For questions about the
educational materials or
EnviroAtlas, contact the
EnviroAtlas Team at:
enviroatlas@epa.qov.
July 2019
Grade Level
Lesson Title
Topics Covered
Lesson Adaptations/Versions
K-6
Exploring Your
Watershed
watershed geography,
water cycle, water quality,
pollution, maps
•	English & Spanish
•	ESL (English as a second language)
•	K-3: coloring page, word search, comic strip
•	Student-led (with instructions)
•	Teacher-led (no student instructions, has
teacher script)
•	With/without internet
4-6
Introduction to
Ecosystem
Services
ecosystem services, air
quality, water quality,
human health
• All lessons scale-up in complexity (Lesson #1
is the easiest, Lesson #6 involves complex
analogies)
4-12+
Connecting
Ecosystems and
Human Health
human health,
ecosystems, ecosystem
services, evidence-based
discussion
•	Elementary-level notecards
•	Upper-level notecards: double-sided and
single-sided
•	With/without internet
9-12+
Building a
Greenway: A
Case Study
mapping, city-planning,
decision-making,
ecosystem services,
green space, debate
•	With/without internet
•	Different roles for students
MATERIALS OVERVIEW
The educational modules are time-flexible, adaptable, and incorporate an outdoor component to help connect students
with their local environment. All modules also contain teacher instructions, handouts, assessments, and answer keys.
2
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development

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