PAESTA Classroom

Designed for the sharing of short classroom exercises and explorations, this database allows for teachers to search for materials and resources that you, the PAESTA membership, have tested in the classroom. The database contains short descriptions and examples of activities members have conducted with students, such as inquiry-based assignments to reinforce specific content, or as an extension exercise to increase the graphic literacy of students.

The database will be of the most use if you, the PAESTA membership, contribute the classroom-tested resources you have developed! Please consider writing up your innovative approach to teaching a specific topic for inclusion in this database. Descriptions should include the objectives of the exercise and why this approach was used.

Please be sure the materials you submit do not infringe on copyright or intellectual property rights – links and/or citations to original sources are required. Submitted examples will be reviewed before being placed online.


You can select one or more subject areas and/or grade levels.

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by Laura Guertin on December 4, 2017.

The following is a collection of five-minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (link is external) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Laura Guertin on October 30, 2017.

The following is a collection of three-minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Laura Guertin on October 22, 2017.

The following is a collection of one minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Laura Guertin on August 27, 2013.

There are many variations of this exercise to have students generate the plot to the left, but I follow the Carbon Dioxide Exercise from the SERC website, where "Students work in groups, plotting carbon dioxide concentrations over time on overheads and estimating the rate of change over five years.

by Meredith Bembenic on March 17, 2013.

Purpose of The Coal and Energy Unit

Coal is a part of our daily lives, but how often do we think about its importance? Coal generates over half our electricity and provides Pennsylvanians with thousands of jobs at mines, power plants, and in the transportation industry.

We hope that the students will gain an understanding of: