Park your students at their desks and get them buckled in to learn some basic driving education. Teaching them the concepts of eco-friendly driving should get them prompting their parents to be Earth-safe drivers, and maybe, just maybe, they'll remember these issues when they drive someday.

The Great Car Comparison

Gas mileage is a term used to describe how many miles a car can go on a single gallon of gas. Car manufacturers are trying to make cars that get better gas mileage, and people are looking for ways to increase gas mileage. Have each student find out from their parents what the make, model, and year of their car is. Using www.fueleconomy.gov, enter each car's information to find out gas mileage, greenhouse gas emissions, energy impact score, and air pollution ratings. Each child should draw a picture of their family's car and write the year, make, and model at the top. Designate a corner, and perhaps an icon, for each of the numbers you find from www.fueleconomy.gov. Have the children rank the cars. Which one will get the farthest on one gallon of gas? Which one releases the fewest greenhouse gases and air pollution? Which one has the smallest energy impact? Is it always the same car?

Travel Through Time

People have not always had cars, trains, and planes. In the United States, people first rode horses or walked long distances. How has transportation developed since then? Can you make a timeline showing the progress of travel? When were bicycles invented? When was the car invented? How about the motorcycle? Look up trains, planes, submarines, and any other type of transportation your students are interested in. Assign one method of transportation to each student. Ask them to write a report and to present their information to the class. Their report should include information about the type of fuel used and the environmental efficiency of the method of transportation. Place a timeline on the bulletin board and give each student a bar-shaped piece of paper to write the name of the transportation form and the approximate date it was invented. As each student gives a report, ask them to help you pin the bar on the timeline.