Wyoming in Their Hands

Overview

Jenny Edwards, a high school science teacher, created this unit to engage students in exploring environmental issues through place-relevant data and stakeholder perspectives. Students use WY-Adapt social science data to investigate how Wyoming residents think about water and environmental issues, analyze differing viewpoints, and identify community challenges they care about. Students then develop solutions and communicate their ideas through persuasive writing and outreach products, such as letters to state representatives and social media campaigns.

Jenny's overview of this environmental issues unit is linked HERE. Scroll down to the Resources & Links section of this page to check out her specific materials.

Goals

• Support students in analyzing and interpreting complex social science data
• Encourage students to consider multiple stakeholder perspectives
• Engage students in identifying and investigating local environmental issues
• Develop student skills in designing evidence-based solutions for real-world problems
• Strengthen communication skills through persuasive writing and advocacy activities

Implementation & Outcomes

• Students explored the The Wyoming Survey on Climate, Water, and People, which allowed them to manipulate variables and explore patterns across different demographic and stakeholder groups
• Students investigated environmental challenges relevant to their own communities through either teacher-selected or student-selected topics
• Students developed evidence-based solutions and communicated their ideas through persuasive letters to state representatives or social media awareness campaigns
• Future plans include collaboration with English Language Arts (ELA) educators to strengthen persuasive writing opportunities and continued development of student resource examples

Resources & Links

• The Wyoming Survey on Climate, Water, and People
• Values, Perspectives, and Tensions Worksheet
• Issues, Solutions, & Stakeholders Graphic Organizer
• Letter Format and Graphic Organizer 
• Letter Example 1
• Letter Example 2
• Environmental Issue Advocacy Final Project

Contact for More Information

For more details about this program or to learn how to incorporate similar activities in your school, please reach out to the TRKE program coordinators at smtcpd@uwyo.edu.