Hi Families! We have big ideas this week: We have linked the creation of our shelter/habitat/home activity with energy conservation in light of the Green Connections Bike Tour this Saturday in which Beye School* is a participant. The bike tour highlights various Oak Park/River Forest area homes and schools that have implemented green practices such as gardening, composting, using renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water and resource conservation. We also wanted to draw attention to the initiatives of grassroots organizers who are creating "actions" (of which the green bike tour is a part) to support 350.org's mission to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere to 350ppm by the year 2050.
So, how are we accomplishing this with our students? First, we read "The Earth Book" by Todd Parr, a very accessible, made for children picture book that shows how we can show respect for the earth based upon simple choices we make everyday, such as turning off the tap when we brush our teeth, keeping the refrigerator door closed, recycling, etc. Next, we watched a 90 second animation by 350.org that shows factors contributing to climate change and the consequences of not implementing change now (the earth overheats, yet with appropriate graphics for young children). We also presented a short clip from the 350.org website that shows people all over the world acknowledging the significance of the number "350" to help stop climate change (as in 350 ppm of carbon particles determined to be safer for all living things on the planet). Then, for the students' shelter/habitat/home activity, we asked them to consider ways in which their environments could acknowledge green principles such as including a garden and/or compost area, using solar panels and local materials to build with, and choosing energy efficient appliances. Students are working with mostly re-use items: cardboard boxes, containers, packing materials, note-cards, fabric scraps, sales tags, caps, etc. Nature items such as sticks, stones, leaves etc. have been collected by some students as well. Model Magic and Playdoh were used to create the animals or people that live in their environments. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera to share photos with you, however the shelter/habitat/homes are in process and students will complete them on Monday, so you will still have the opportunity to connect with their process and final product next week.
That was all on Monday! For Tuesday, we asked students to create posters that promote energy conservation. First we created a list on the whiteboard that addressed the important measures we can take to save energy. Then, we went to the computer lab and visited the website "loseyourexcuse.gov" and used the poster maker page to create some fun and educational posters. The poster program allowed students to choose from a variety of background shapes, background colors, texts, graphics and characters. The scale and colors of the characters, text and graphics could be changed, so students had lots of opportunity to individualize their work. We printed these posters in grayscale and then went back to the classroom to create large colorful energy conservation posters of the students' own design informed by the activity in the computer lab. I wish I had more photos to share here too: Some students were so eager to take their posters home, we couldn't refuse, and didn't have the opportunity to photograph all the finished work.
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| Jayda, Nicole Eric |
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| Brody |
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| Hayden |
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| Eric |
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| Norah |
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| Sydney |
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| Jayda |
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| Nicole |
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| Alexa |
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| Sydney and our list of ways to reduce energy consumption |
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| Sam (it look's as though his character is pledging to be a smart energy consumer!) |
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| Norah |
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| Emerson |
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| Leila |
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| Jayda |
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| Leila |
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| Joel |
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| Joel |
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| Joel's poster from the loseyourexcuse.gov website |
Please be sure to check out the post from the Garfield Park Conservatory Field Trip on Wednesday! It was such a rewarding experience for all involved. Students were eager to take part in all that the Conservatory had to offer. This engagement and connection to nature is extremely important, as students will realize nature's value and will work to protect it as they mature into adulthood.
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