Curriculum to educate students on important global energy challenges
DETROIT, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, General Motors and Weekly
Reader are releasing a new classroom curriculum, "The Energy Highway -
Solutions Ahead," that teachers can use to help students understand the
energy challenges facing society today, as well as some of the existing and
future alternatives that may help alleviate these issues.
"Global energy demands are increasing rapidly and GM is committed to
offering solutions. We're developing vehicles that can be powered by many
different energy sources to help displace petroleum and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions," said Elizabeth A. Lowery, GM vice president, Environment,
Energy and Safety Policy. "Young people today have an opportunity to be
part of the movement that seeks solutions to some of these energy issues,
and our hope is that this new classroom curriculum will help plant the
seeds of knowledge that will encourage them to be a part of that."
A recent Weekly Reader survey of 6 to 18-year-olds showed that students
are receiving most of their information about the environment at school
from teachers and textbooks, followed by television, their parents and the
Internet. Given the interest in the classroom around environment and energy
issues, GM and Weekly Reader partnered to create this new curriculum that
helps teachers guide students through discussions and activities that focus
on various issues surrounding the energy we use every day, including
increasing global demand and environmental and economic impacts.
"It's nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper today without reading an
article on the environment or alternative energy," said Terry Bromberg,
president, Weekly Reader Custom Publishing. "We are able to teach students
about these relevant topics with current statistics and information that
are years from making it into science textbooks. It's great to provide such
needed resources to the educational community."
The new curriculum is being mailed to teachers around the U.S. and is
also available for download at http://www.gm.com/education. The curriculum is
aimed at grades five through eight and is available in English and Spanish.
Curricular objectives include:
-- Help students consider the current issues surrounding energy today,
including increasing global energy demand and environmental and
economic impacts
-- Explore ways to help reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions by using diverse and renewable energy resources
-- Explore ways to conserve energy and become more energy efficient
-- Demonstrate the benefits of using renewable energy resources to produce
electricity and hydrogen as energy carriers that offer the greatest
diversity and lowest environmental impact
GM and Weekly Reader have partnered in the past on other classroom
curriculum focused on various environment and energy topics including fuel
cells, hydrogen, and E85 ethanol. Their middle school science curriculum
package on E85 ethanol - "Live Green, Go Yellow: the power of corn" - won a
2007 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational
Publishers. This curriculum, along with other classroom materials, games
and activities for students can be found at http://www.gm.com/education.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has
been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM
today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global
headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33
countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold
globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM
Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's
OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and
information services. More information on GM can be found at http://www.gm.com.
Weekly Reader Custom Publishing is the recognized leader in developing
unique educational programs sponsored by corporations, nonprofit
associations and government agencies.
Weekly Reader Publishing Group, founded in 1902, is a leader in
educational publishing. Weekly Reader(R) publishes 15 magazines and a
variety of other supplemental products that reinforce curriculum, help
teachers meet standards, and engage students. Every one of the magazines
has won awards for excellence in educational journalism. Weekly Reader
Publishing Group is part of the Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
SOURCE Weekly Reader Publishing Group
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.rd.com
http://www.gm.com http://www.gm.com/education
CONTACT:
Kelly Cusinato of GM Communications,
+1-313-665-8126, or cell, +1-313-402-4871; or Susan Russ of
Reader's Digest, +1-914-244-5488, or Susan_russ@rd.com
|
