Using NewsHour Extra Feature Stories

Overview: NewsHour Extra feature stories can help students identify and interpret key issues in current events. This activity anticipates one class period, but the follow-up essay might be assigned as homework, or in another period.

Warm Up: Use initiating questions to introduce the topic and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Have students read NewsHour Extra's feature story and answer the questions in the reading comprehension handout.

Discussion: Use discussion questions to encourage students to think about how the issues outlined in the story affect their lives and express and debate different opinions.

Follow-up: Students can write a 500-word editorial on the topic expressing their views and send it to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org] for possible publication.

Evaluation: Students are graded on their answers to reading comprehension questions and/or their editorial.

Story: Green Buildings Take Root in Cities, Schools 12/26/06
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec06/green_12-26.html

Initiating Questions:

1. What are some of the features of our school that use a lot of energy?

2. How does energy use affect the environment?

3. What are a few ways to conserve energy around the house?

Reading Comprehension Questions: (click here for printout)

1. What is a green building?

"Green" buildings are environmentally friendly and reduce energy waste.

2. What are some of the features green buildings can have?

Elements of green design include water-free urinals, solar panels and recycled building materials that reduce waste and conserve water and energy.

3. What is the U.S. Green Building Council and what does it do?

The organization that certifies buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), uses Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings to rank green buildings from platinum to bronze based on points.

4. Which city wants to require all developers to make green buildings?

Washington, D.C. council members passed a bill to make the district the first major city to require all developers to design certified energy-efficient buildings.

5. Why are so many school districts interested in green buildings?

Lindsay Baker, schools program coordinator for USGBC, said money is what initially attracts school districts' attention, because a large portion of a school's operating budget goes to electricity to heat and light classrooms. "In some cases that money is coming out of teacher salaries and text books," Baker said.

6. What are the financial benefits of a green building?

Certified green buildings usually save between 20 percent and 50 percent on energy costs, an important draw at a time when high energy costs are a concern across the country.

7. What is a green roof and how does it help the environment?

Chicago has a unique program offering grants to cover roofs with grass and plants. These "green roofs" reduce polluted storm water runoff and insulate the building.

8. How might a teacher use the features of a green school in the classroom?

At Clackamas High School in Oregon, Rod Shroufe teaches an environmental science class and uses the school as a teaching tool. The school built wetlands to act as a filtration device for water runoff, so in one activity the class studies the wetlands to measure the school's impact on the environment.

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. How could our school be modified to make it more energy-efficient?

2. What are some other ways cities can reduce waste or energy use?

3. Do you think the government should pass laws restricting individuals' energy use? Why or why not?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org]. Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.