Tehya’s Pollution Solution Lesson Plan

Loras Student: Genevieve Brockway and Brett Kirk

Placement: St. Columbkille
Lesson Number and Title: Tehya’s Pollution Solution
Grade: 5th
Materials:
Tehya’s pollution solution text and youtube videos
Powerpoint
Notecards
anchor chart paper
Ecosystems Picture Review worksheet (9 copies)

Standard:
NCSS: 3. PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS- Social studies programs should
include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments.

Learning Outcomes:
Students will discuss the role of environmental engineers and their role in cleaning up
pollution.
Students will learn about the ecosystem.
Students will learn about how one change in the ecosystem may be related to other changes.
Students will be introduced to the Engineering Design Process.

Anchor Websites:
Tehya's Pollution Solution Part 1
Tehya's Pollution Solution Part 2

I can:
I can understand what an environmental engineer does.
I can learn about the environment and ecosystem.

Lesson Overview:
Students will be introduced to the engineering design process through the reading of “Tehya’s
Pollution Solution.” Students will read the text and explore what the role of an environmental
engineer, the ecosystem, and the engineering design process.

Interest Launch:
First bring students together from both 5th grade sections. Divide students into 9 groups of 5
by counting off by 5’s and instruct them to sit with their group for the entire lesson.
- 5 groups/Mr. Kirk
- 4 groups/Ms. Brockway

1. What do you know about engineers and engineering?

a. The story “Tehya’s Pollution Solution” is about environmental engineering.
Display term “environmental engineer” on the board and circle the words
of “environmental” and “engineer”
i. What kind of work do you think an environmental engineer does?
ii. Do the terms underlined give you any clues as to what an environmental
engineer does?
iii. Write this t-chart on the board or use an anchor chart:

Environmental Engineer
Before Reading After Reading

● “Environmental” ●
definitions
● “Engineers” definitions
● Work they might do

iv. Have students or (one person from each group) write down their
responses on a note card for either the word “environment” or
“engineer” or “environmental engineer”
b. Give synopsis of the story and explain that she lives in Washington State
located in the Pacific Northwest
i. Display map on the projector and point out the location of
Washington State
 ii. Ask student to come to the projector and point out where we are located
(Iowa)
iii. Have you or your family ever visited Washington? What do you know
about the state?
c. Now, the main character in the story, Tehya, lives in Washington and is a
member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe- an American Indian Tribe.
i. What American Indian tribes have you heard of? Where are they
located?
ii. Do you know anything about these tribes?

Procedures:
Allow students from both classroom sections to come together in one classroom for the
procedure.
1. Pre-Reading Questions: Whole Group
a. Read the title, what do you think the story will be about? Does the cover or title
give any hints?
b. Have you ever spilled something before and had to clean it up? How did you
clean it up and what did you use?
c. A term you might hear in the book is pollution, what is pollution? What kinds
of pollution have you heard of? Give specific examples.
i. Possible Prompts to foster discussion:
1. Garbage in the water
2. Trash on the playground
d. Another term you might hear is ecosystem. Plants and animals make up our
ecosystem. What are some plants and animals that live in around you?
e. These are two terms to look out for when we read the book.
2. Activity:
a. Read the book Tehya’s Pollution Solution
i. Project the book into the whiteboard
b. During Reading Questions:
i. Pause on p. 8 to ask:
1. How do you think having her Grandma’s journal makes Tehya
feel closer to her Grandma?
2. How do you think Tehya and Sam feel when they notice the oil
in the river?
 ii. Pause on p. 18 to ask:
1. Why do you think that Sam and Tehya are less sure they can
help when they first see everyone down by the river?
2. How do Tehya and Sam help Thomas learn more about the
river?
iii. End of book Post Reading Questions:
1. What did you learn about engineering from Tehya’s Pollution
Solution?
2. Do you think this story really could have happened? Why or why
not?
3. If there was an oil spill, what do you think you could do to help?
iv. Display the Tehya Engineering Design Process using the projector
1. Discuss the steps and example of the steps in the book.

*Split students back into groups and into their original classroom*

Reflect and Close:

a. Reflection Activity:
i. Complete the Ecosystems Then and Now activity
1. Display the ecosystems comparison on the projector
2. Each student group will receive a copy of the “Ecosystems Picture
Review”
3. Complete the activity with their group
4. Go over differences between pictures and why the ecosystem has
changed
ii. Refer back to the T-chart made at the beginning of class
1. Guide students to think back to their definitions of environment or
engineer before reading the book. After reading the story, what do you
think an environmental engineer might do?
2. Allow student groups to write their definition of an environmental
engineer on a notecard
3. Allow student to tape their group definitions to the after reading side of
the T-chart
4. Go over definitions from pre-reading versus after reading
 iii. Review with students
1. What is an environmental engineer?
2. Why is it important for an environmental engineer to know about certain
ecosystems?
3. Let’s see if we can name the parts of the engineering design process.
1. Ask
2. Imagine
3. Plan
4. Create
5. Improve
Extension if needed:
Complete the vocabulary worksheet on the powerpoint (answer key below)