The Center for the Environment’s Campaign for Clean Air developed a special program within its No Idling Program toolkit to meet several competency goals set by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

The toolkit, which includes free lesson plans and learning activities for use by middle school teachers, is posted on the Campaign’s website – www.campaignforcleanair.org under the tab, “Turn It Off!” While designed specifically for the seventh grade, it can be used for the sixth and eighth grades and can be adapted for the upper elementary grades as well as high school.

The lessons can be used within the classroom setting or for extracurricular clubs, Green Teams or class projects. Some of the lessons can also be used in other learning environments, including faith-based schools, scout troops, libraries or parks & recreation sessions.

The activities include projects like comparing the CO2 emissions between a hybrid and a gasoline-powered car; using Google Earth to learn about the different sources of CO2 emissions; and a mock town meeting that invites students to assume the roles of community leaders in determining how a town reaches consensus on ways to improve its air quality to meet more stringent standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The toolkit also offers a complete program to measure and reduce parent vehicle idling times.