IntroductionThe EekoWorld Teacher Guide is designed to help you utilize the multimedia resources and lesson plans of EekoWorld in your classroom. EekoWorld provides children with a wide array of information and invites them to explore many different environmental perspectives. It is designed to help children learn about complex issues by providing concrete, hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities that inspire creativity and imagination.
Children learn best when they are actively involved in the process. They construct meaning as they engage in talking, listening, reading, writing, questioning, challenging and interpreting the information that surrounds them. As children develop, they grow in their ability to think critically about information. This requires analysis, synthesis, summarization, evaluation, comparison, and application of what one has learned. It requires learners to create connections between their own experiences and new learning, and a process of reflection on what has been learned. EekoWorld is a fluid and interconnected virtual environment that involves children, parents, teachers, community members, and the larger world.
EekoWorld Interactives
There will be two main Web site interactives in EekoWorld. The first allows children to create their own unique land, air or water dwelling EekoCreature that encounters a variety of environmental issues as it travels through varied ecosystems. The second, EekoHouse invites children to explore a home simulation that shows how decisions they make affect the environment and their EekoCreature.
Lesson Plans
EekoWorld features a wide variety of educational materials for classroom use. Our EekoWorld lesson plans are for students in grades K-4 and focus on language arts, science, social studies, mathematics and the arts. They are designed to use the resources of the EekoWorld Web site as a tool for learning both inside and outside of the classroom and focus on promoting creativity and critical thinking. EekoWorld's lesson plans and activities are fully integrated with the Web site content. The Web site's interactivity and multimedia capabilities will provide learning opportunities for a diverse range of learners and learning styles and support best practices in the classroom environment.
View the complete list of the lesson plans available
EekoWorld Web Site Content
The EekoWorld Web site contains five content sections: the environment, recycling and garbage, air and water, plants and animals, and the future. Each of these sections contains multimedia resources that allow students to read and listen to diverse information. Many of the lesson plans use the EekoWorld Web site content sections to introduce key environmental concepts to students. All information in the content areas is audio-enabled to support diverse reading levels and to foster reading comprehension and listening comprehension skills.
