Education and the Environment Initiative Curriculum

The California EEI Curriculum is a powerful, state board of education-approved instructional resource that helps educators teach to state standards in science^* and history–social science using the environment as context. Select units and unit materials are featured in Spanish. We partner with California’s Office of Education and the Environment at CalRecycle to increase access to the curriculum.

In a survey of over 16,000 teachers using the EEI Curriculum in their classrooms:

• 99% are sure the curriculum is helping them teach Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy
• 99% plan to continue using the curriculum in future years
• 99% would recommend the curriculum to other teachers
• 98% reported their students were engaged or very engaged by the curriculum
• 97% of teachers who work with English language learners report that the curriculum effectively served the needs of their students

By introducing topics of study including local geography and species populations, air, water, energy, and resource management, the EEI Curriculum is an engaging and effective tool for students to see the relevance of science and engineering to their lives.

^* Although the 40 science units were written for California’s science standards prior to the California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), they contain engaging resources (including visual aids, readings, activities, and maps) that are still relevant and, if thoughtfully integrated, can help support lessons and units of study focused on California’s NGSS.

To learn about our new Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program, click here. To be added to our mailing list to receive updates on the progress we’re making with this new program, and to learn about opportunities to get involved, click here.