Indiana Science HS-ENV6-1

ScienceGrades 9–12Environmental Science

The Standard

Conduct an investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental policies and/or organizations (Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Species Survival Plan, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Department of Energy, and the World Health Organization).

Indiana Academic Standards for Science (2023) · Environmental Policy

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do: Students choose an environmental policy and a measurable outcome, such as sulfur dioxide levels. They compare data from before and after the policy took effect, then judge what the evidence shows.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student plots pollution levels over time, marks when the policy took effect, and cites specific changes. They also name another possible cause of the trend, such as a change in fuel use.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume a drop in pollution after a law passed proves the law caused it. They may also treat pollution released by factories and pollution measured in the air as the same thing.
How to Assess It: Give students an EPA sulfur dioxide trend graph. Ask: “Compare 1980, 1990, and 2020. What suggests the 1990 law update helped, and what else might explain the change?”

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

Give groups EPA sulfur dioxide year cards; have them build a floor timeline and mark the 1990 Clean Air Act update.
Ask: “Could a change in fuel use explain part of the sulfur dioxide drop? Defend your answer using the graph.”
Play evidence sort: teams label cards as strong evidence, weak evidence, or possible alternate causes for a reported pollution drop.
Read today's AirNow air quality reading for your area; explain why one day's reading cannot show whether a policy worked over decades.

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