Looking for more ways to get your students interested in helping the environment this summer? Give these in-class activities a try!

KEEP YOUR COOL
What better time than summer to think about the energy refrigerators use to keep things cool? This experiment is sure to cause chills (and thrills) in the classroom.

WHAT YOU NEED:
• Two full, closed soda cans
• Bowl
• Water
• Common clay flowerpot
• Water spray gun

WHAT YOU DO:
1) Stand one can in the bowl, and cover the can with the flowerpot.
2) Spray the entire outside of the flowerpot with water.
3) Keep the can under the flowerpot and the uncovered can next to each other in a sunny spot for about an hour.
4) During that time, re-spray the flowerpot as it dries so that it stays wet.
5) Open both cans and pour each can into a separate glass.
6) The can that was under the flowerpot is cooler than the can that was exposed.

Explain to students that what happened is similar to when they get out of the swimming pool. Drops of water evaporate off their wet skin, drawing heat from their bodies. This is one of the reason kids can get chilled if they don't dry off quickly. In the same way, as water evaporates from the flowerpot, it draws heat from inside the pot–taking heat away from the can inside and keeping it cool.

SUMMER GUIDES
Click over to the student website and check out the excerpts of the winning entries from Toyota's Agent for Change contest. Print out a few of the excerpts and discuss them with students. Ask: What makes an effective how-to guide? Ask: Why do you think these students were selected as winners by the judges? Even if your students already created a how-to pamphlet to enter the contest, have them create another one especially designed for the summer months. To do this: Ask them to fold a piece of paper in half. The front will be the cover of the pamphlet and they can use the inside and back to describe how they will help out the environment during the summer. Possible subjects include water conservation and air conditioning usage. Encourage them to share their pamphlets with family and friends over the vacation period.

PICK A PROJECT
Hold a discussion with your students about environmental issues in your community. Identify at least 10 issues–such as graffiti on a park wall or trash on a nature trail–that can be changed by the actions of your students. Write this list on the board. Ask students to break up into groups of three or four kids. Have them select one of the issues on the board. Each group should work together to develop a "summer game plan." This plan will be a realistic step-by-step approach that could reasonably solve the group's chosen issue. If you hear from your students over the summer, click on IN THE BAG on this site and fill us in on their progress. We might post what you send us online.

CALENDAR KIDS
Many kids claim they get bored during the summer and can't think of new things to do. You can help solve this dilemma and the environment by clicking on the Can-Do Calendar icon in the student area of this website. Print out calendars and the list of possible ways to spend the day. Give students time to create their own unique calendars, which they can customize to reflect their interests and passion about helping the environment.