About The Green Design Lab Curriculum
Full Green Design Lab Curriculum: The Green Design Lab™ (GDL) curriculum explores urban environmental sustainability and climate change through hands-on and interactive activities. The full GDL curriculum, with units for Elementary, Middle and High School, is emphasizes student investigations, engineering, problem-solving, design, and innovation. Each curriculum unit comes complete with student readers and teacher instructional guides for leading the activities. The K-5 and 6-8 curriculum is comprised of five units – Energy, Water, Materials, Air, and Food, each containing 10-15 lessons. Students explore solar power, power plants, watersheds, indoor air quality, and healthy living.
CleanTech, Solar One’s high school curriculum funded by the National Science Foundation, engages students in sustainable design, emerging clean technologies and sustainability-related policy and economic issues at the local, national and global level. Students learn about topics like electric grid transmission, renewable energy, battery storage, demand management, water technologies, biomimicry, stormwater management, and hydroponics, to name a few.
2020 Curriculum Updates for Remote Learning: Solar One’s Green Design Lab works with schools and community-based organizations to promote student design and innovation in applying STEM skills to solve environmental challenges. Traditionally we would accomplish this through our hands-on curriculum and in-person programming.
Given the new changes in response to Covid-19, Solar One has transitioned our teaching model and curriculum to be compatible with remote learning. Beyond developing new digital resources, in response to the wave of social and racial justice movements across the country we are reminded of the inextricable link between climate justice and racial justice. Solar One has developed new digital content with the intention of creating a culturally responsive program that centers Black, Indigenous, and People of Color voices in environmentalism. This content is available for free for any NYC Educator or NYC DOE teacher.
Solar One Remote Learning Resources for Out-of-Schooltime Educators
Solar One is offering six different digital curriculum modules available through Google suite. The modules are: Environmental Justice, Energy Conservation, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Food & Water Systems, Climate Resiliency & Action, and Service Learning. Please follow the link for access.
Please Visit our OST Provider Curriculum Page for more info
Solar One Remote Learning Resources for Teachers & Schools
In an effort to support schools during this challenging time, Solar One is offering free distance learning lessons for NY and NJ public schools. The distance learning lessons center around energy efficiency, electricity generation, and renewable energy. Content is broken out by ES, MS and HS levels.
Solar One is also planning to launch Professional Learning webinars during 2020-2021 school year which will provide CTLE credits for NYS teachers and will be offered as a full day training on a weekend, or several after school trainings. During the workshops, Solar One will train teachers on solar and energy focused distance learning lessons.
Please visit our STEM Curriculum Page for more info
