Advanced preparation: Create an editable Google docu- ment and share it with your students. It should include the daily objectives, a data table in which each student will type in the class), the Project Idea Worksheet and Assessment Rubric. Samples of the Project Idea Worksheet and Assess- ment Rubric can be found at the end of this article. This will be posted on Google classroom on day one of the lesson.
Day 1: Watch the YouTube videos iMatter2 and I will be a Hummingbird 3, then visit the Daily Acts4 site and view the five action ideas icons. These sites, along with the students notes and textbook, are used as a brainstorm session of top- ics covered in class that had an impact on students in any way. The students will write topics on the board that they see a need to change. After the students have written topic ideas, hand out
Project Idea Worksheet (at end of article). Students are to begin filling in sections and researching project ideas that they have an interest in. For homework, students will choose an action and fill
in their pledge idea and what they will be measuring on the Google document. For example, I gave an example to the stu- dents that they could choose reducing disposable water bottles as their action provided they measure something different as a result. Different measurements could include: volume of waste not going to a landfill, volume of petroleum not being used, volume of not being released into the atmosphere from bottle production factories, the volume of water saved from the production of plastic bottles or volume of recycling saved as recycling is the last step to reducing solid waste. While multiple students may choose the same action, there are many different quantities to measure as a result from that action.
Day 2: Show examples of three-dimensional posters for ideas and inspiration. Students will have the entire class time to continue individual research from their project idea worksheet topics. For homework, students are to type information to be
printed out for their poster. This information is to include: the economic factor, social factor, environmental factor and graph of measured change. Referring to the example posters, remind students that this should be large and colorful. They are trying to get other student’s attention to promote more sustainable change. They may print out their information at home or at school making sure to print on recycled paper. Lastly, they are to gather their three-dimensional materi- als needed for construction of their poster; no purchasing of new products for the posters.
Day 3: Students have this class period to create their three- dimensional informational poster. Glue guns, glue sticks, construction paper and markers were provided in classroom. Once all the posters were complete, they were brought to the cafeteria and posted for our Earth Week display.
Days 4-9: The next unit of the curriculum was covered in Environmental Science. At the end of each day, students were asked about their pledge commitments and how it is/is not progressing. We discussed the challenges and successes.
Day 10: After the next unit was complete and before the Page 20
next unit of the curriculum began, there was a follow-up and celebration day. On a half piece of recycled paper, each student wrote down how they have or have not completed their pledge and why these are their results. They DO NOT include their name on the half piece of paper with their response. The half pieces of recycled paper with responses were collected and randomly redistributed. Each student read the pledge result distributed to them. All results were read without knowing which student wrote which result. Positive results were written on the board. The positive
pledge results were calculated for the total class showing that together the students made a difference in the world in ten days. The students celebrated the positive environmental changes with a class period dedicated to eating sustainably, locally produced food (chosen from food unit field trip to Earth Fare grocery), zero waste activities including a photo scavenger hunt on school campus (included at the end of this article) and a day of no homework.
Photo Scavenger Hunt Instructions: With your lab partner, photograph the follow-
ing items on the school campus. The group with the most objects photographed in 20 minutes will win. Note: you may NOT go into a classroom that is occupied.
Compost sign Recycle sign Sun tube No idling sign Bike rack Reusable lunch bag Reusable water bottle Permeable pavers Local native plant White roof CFL light bulb
Compostable cup/ napkin/utensil
A classroom with the overhead lights off
An object made from recycled materials
Hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle in parking lot
Reusable lunch containers/ Tupperware
School work printed on recycled/reused paper
Bus stop Low E-glass Water barrel
Heidi Paul currently teaches at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, Ohio, and developed this lesson plan as part of her graduate work with Project Dragonfly at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She would like to thank her department for candidly reviewing this article and her students for imple- menting their pledges.
See
https://greenteacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ Worksheet.pdf for Heidi’s Project Idea Worksheet and her evaluation Rubric for these activities.
References
1. Wheeler, G., Clapper-Bergsman, K., Thumlert, C. & Kelly, B. (2010). Sustainable Design Project Teacher Manual, State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved from:
www.k12.wa.us/EnvironmentSustainability/DesignProjects/default.aspx
2. Loorz, A. (2009, February 23). imatter. Kids vs. Global Warming. Video retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ffgR1BxaE
3. Maathai, W. (2009) I will be a hummingbird. Greenbelt Movement. Video retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw
4. Daily Acts (2016). Retrieved from
http://dailyacts.org/action-ideas/ GREEN TEACHER 113
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