Social Studies: GR 7 – 10 The Anthropocene

Course Description

This course is based upon a scheme of work developed by The Anthropocene Project and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS). GlobalGeek has created the PowerPoint presentations, activity documents, and assignments, to run alongside each of the lesson outlines created by the RCGS to make it easier to teach the lessons, and more user friendly for both teachers and learners.

Course Description from The Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Many students are unfamiliar with the idea that common, everyday activities place a demand on nature. From buying convenience foods at restaurants, to throwing plastic packaging in the trash, to purchasing fast fashion clothing.

To raise awareness, The Anthropocene Project and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) have partnered to create a resource which explores the complex and irreversible impact humans are having on the planet in the time of the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is the proposed current geological epoch in which humans are the primary cause of permanent planetary change. An epoch is a division of time that is a subdivision of the geologic time scale used by all Earth scientists. The use of the term “Anthropocene”, which has yet to be formally adopted into the official geologic time scale, is supported by an international collective of scientists who believe that the Holocene, our current geological epoch, characterized by stable climates and minimal human impacts, has ended. Instead, they suggest a new epoch, the Anthropocene, has emerged in its place due to unprecedented human land use, resource consumption and waste production.

More information about this program can be accessed here: https://anthropocene.canadiangeographic.ca/

Course Strands with links

The Content

The course runs for a total of 20 hours. The lessons outlined below are all structured for 60 minutes of instruction time, unless otherwise stated.

The 20 hours does not include additional time that may be allocated for assignments, tests and field work, at the teacher’s discretion.

The first and second lesson are free! Then individual lessons are priced at $5 or the whole course at $45

$45.00Add to cart

Course Outline

Introduction to the Anthropocene (free)

  1. Bioacculumulation (free)
  2. Not all Plastic Waste is Recyclable (free)
  3. The Life Cycle of Plastics
  4. The History of Plastic
  5. Plastics in the Waste Stream
  6. Plastics and Society
  7. Importing and Exporting Plastics
  8. Golden Spikes
  9. Technofossils
  10. Terraforming
  11. Anthroturbation
  12. Water World
  13. Water Quality Investigation Part 1
  14. Water Quality Investigation Part 2
  15. Climate Change Part 1
  16. Climate Change Part 2
  17. Extinction
  18. Urbanisation Part 1
  19. Urbanisation Part 2
  20. Anthropocene Documentary (free)

Assignments

  • Assignment 1.1 Life Cycle of a Plastic Story
  • Assignment 1.2 Water Quality Investigation
  • Assignment 1.3 Environmental Activism