Third Graders Teach Fellow Students

"How to be Green"

 

Slaybaugh Elementary teachers incorporate environmental education each year into their curriculum.  Students learn the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling, and often use Earth Day and Arbor Day to highlight this unit.  Throughout the year, our students become environmental stewards, collecting recycling, pulling down classroom shades at the end of each day, turning off lights and computers when leaving the classroom.  They've reused milk cartons, toilet and paper towel rolls for classroom storage containers, bird feeders, and holiday crafts.  Students have also showcased their creativity by decorating the hallways and the school entrance with "junk art," - art made of recycled materials. 

 

 

Our class has been in charge of the annual ACUA "Recycle Bowl" for the last three years.  Students worked in teams to collect the elementary school's recycling for one month.  Each day, students collected and weighed the amount of trash (in pounds).  The data was recorded and sent in to our local utilities authority.  Last year, our school placed 17th out of 30 schools that participated locally.

 

This past spring, our students continued their research and learning on "Sustainability."  Students identified how pollutants affect our earth, including the land, water, plants, animals, and marine life.  In turn, our third graders implemented a "Go Green Assembly on Sustainability," providing both direct instruction and guided learning to over 885 kindergarden, first, second, and third grade students, and their teachers.  The objective of this lesson was to first introduce "sustainability," and then to persuade students to use better practices to become sustainable in our own community, all important factors to help preserve our planet.  Student-led learning stations included "An Introduction to Composting;" "Understanding Earth's Resources;" "Energy Conservation Bingo;" "Recycling Game;" "Oil Spill Presentation and Discussion;" "Air Quality and the Ozone;" "Aquaponics;" "The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle;" and "Plastic Pollution."  

 

We'll continue this initiative in becoming a more sustainable school and community.  

Our students will be Environmental Stewards here at Slaybaugh.

 

Check out the following link for a sample of our work...

 

  Sustainability Pics for App.docx