What are the Benefits of Parks in a Community?: A Problem-Based Learning Experience

Clip Board. Data Sheet. Field Guide. Pencil Case.  We are off to the pond!!  6^th grade science students spent several days making observations and collecting data at the pond behind Westmont High School. Students were presented with a hypothetical problem that was created in partnership with the Westmont Park District, which provided opportunities for students to explore, collaborate, learn to make real-world decisions, and to interact with their community.  They were working to answer the questions: What are the benefits of parks in a community?  What factors indicate to you that this is a healthy ecosystem?  What factors indicate that this is an ecosystem that is not very healthy? Should this land area be left in its natural condition or should the Westmont Park District develop the land into a neighborhood park with a walking path?  This problem-based pond study is designed to be student-centered, where students work collaboratively to solve real world problems, draw their own conclusions, and then reflect on their experience.  In PBL, learning is driven by challenging, open-ended “problems” where teachers take on the role as “facilitators of learning”.  In partnership with the Superintendent of Parks & Planning for Westmont, Mr. Bob Fleck introduced this problem-based unit to the students and asked them to “solve a problem”.  Utilizing technology to organize their solutions, students created a PowerPoint presentation to communicate their data to the Westmont Park Board. So. . . . .what are the benefits of parks in a community?  Ask your student!!!

Social Media Stirs Creativity into Student Projects

Today’s science lesson is about matter and atoms....the building blocks of life.  How can I make that relevant and interesting to students?  How can I get them engaged in the topic and understand the concept?  Bring social media into the mix!  

How can you incorporate the objectives?  I was looking for a project that would reinforce the differences in the information contained on the periodic table, while comparing and contrasting the names of the elements, their atomic number, chemical symbol, and location.  With an essential question such as What do the many types of matter have in common? I then created targets that students could focus on.  I wanted students to identify characteristics of an element, understand that elements are made of only one type of matter, and realize how elements are arranged on the periodic table.  

Why use social media?  Adolescents can easily relate to this web-based media as they quickly discover that it is an interactive, interesting, and convenient way to communicate.  Tie that into a student project and you have success! The web site www.teachersdiscovery.com has tools that provide ways to implement such a project.  There I discovered a blank “farce” book poster that I used as a template for the element project.  By assigning students an element on the periodic table and providing a rubric as an assessment tool, they understood the outcomes and instantly were engaged in creating their own Element Farcebook Page.  

What is the outcome?  A final project could include general information relating to the element such as its symbol, atomic number, melting and boiling point, state of matter, year discovered and by whom, classification, and applications.  Other important components students could incorporate would be illustrations that are connected to the element, correct spelling and grammar, and a final product that is neat, clean, colorful, creative, and readable.  Using their imagination, students could add a personal touch to their project with an element website, element activities and friends, and an all about me section.

How can you enhance the project?  As an extension, develop opportunities for students to create their Farcebook Page using software programs such as Publisher, Word, Pages, PowerPoint, or have them utilize google docs to design a document or presentation with their information.  Other options also include creating a Farcebook Page about a famous author or historical figure as a project in Social Studies, Literacy, or Art class.  Your options are limitless when you collaborate with your colleagues!

Success!! Everyday students continue to surprise me with their knowledge, creativity, and attention to detail on their final product. With effective instruction, straightforward directions, good role modeling, and a clear and concise rubric, student work will shine!!

media  (n.)  the main means of mass communication (especially television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet)

Can Teachers Create Sustainable Environmental Education?

So.....according to Webster’s, the term sustainable is an adjective referring to a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.  What does that mean for you and your students?  By creating real-world, engaging activities in your classroom and your school, you can create sustainable environmental education for your students, faculty, and staff members.  Educating students and staff can have impacts that reach beyond the classroom and extend to the development of ones’ character, while establishing social and civil accountability and learning to be environmentally responsible.  Develop activities using synonyms like supportable and maintainable, while also incorporating ecological terms such as biomass and carbon footprint, which are seen in the media and on the Internet daily.  Implement new programs and share information not only in the classroom, but during daily announcements, at faculty meetings, PTA meetings, and at parent nights.  Try creating sustainable environmental education in your school and community by putting into practice some or all of these ideas today!!!

1.  Visit www.americarecyclesday.org and have your students “Take the Pledge” to recycle and keep America beautiful!

2.  Have students and staff take a pledge to recycle more at home and at work.  Go to your community’s web site for curbside recycling information and share that with your students, parents, and community in an email or on the school web site.

3.  The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) supports “caps on” plastic bottles when they are recycled at curbside through local municipalities or when dropped off at recycling centers.  Take a moment to visit www.plasticsrecylcling.org for more information.  Help create positive change in the recycling industry!

4.  Sign up for a recycling program such as Cartridges for Kids where students can recycle donated, old, inkjet cartridges, used cell phones, digital cameras, video games, DVDs, iPods, GPS systems, laptops, and video game systems.  Your school can collect money and save these items from the landfill!

5.  Start a school lunch recycling program.  Set up a compost bucket in the lunch room and have students collect fruits and vegetables such as apple cores and banana peels, then put them into a compost bin outside at your school.  Put students in charge of the compost bucket and bin.  Have them turn the dirt daily!

6.  Collect Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW), such as used batteries, and then take them to a permanent collection site in your community. Have students create a HHW bottle for old batteries by taking a used milk container and cutting off the top to create a wider opening for the batteries.  Decorate and collect!

7.  Create an after-school Environmental Club.  Have students make recycling posters to decorate classrooms with a list of items that can be collected in each classroom recycle bin.  Then have a school-wide recycle day each week to collect classroom recycling.

8.  Plan a NO WASTE LUNCH day at your school once a month or once a quarter.  Have students and faculty bring their lunch in reusable containers, then compost food scraps, and recycle paper bags, pop cans, and water bottles.  Create a contest for the grade level with the most No Waste Lunches!!!  Award them with pencils recycled from old paper money.

9.  Promote a CARBON FREE DAY in your school district.  Encourage students to walk to school with a friend or ride their bike.  Inform parents about carpooling to school as well!

10.  Encourage your students and staff to use both sides of the paper, turn off the lights to save energy, and bring a plant to school for their classroom for better air quality.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Acid Rain: Hazardous to Your Health

Acid rain is a global environmental problem and this week my students were investigating those effects.  I directed them to the web site  http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/ where they could research questions like: What causes acid rain? What are the effects of acid rain? How do we measure acid rain? and What is being done to reduce acid rain? This site also contains a link to the Acid Rain Kids Site with additional information, games, and activities. Learning about acids and bases has been "woven" throughout my curriculum this year as students studied the characteristics and physical properties of acids and bases, used pH paper to identify common household acids and bases, tested local pond water to determine its acidity and capability to support living organisms, and researched problems with acid rain as a direct result of burning fossil fuels.  Awareness and education will make my students good "Earth Citizens." What are you doing to reduce the effects of acid rain?

Using the Internet

Today, my students taught me a few things!  As they searched the Internet, they found some interesting web sites that helped them in their research on various topics related to Earth's Resources.  They found a student-friendly web site about the "dead zone" that forms in the Gulf of Mexico each summer as a result of ocean pollution. Try using http://www.smm.org/deadzone/ to have students investigate this fascinating concept related to ecology and our Earth!

Earth's Resources

"How can we use Earth's resources wisely?"..... Follow this Tic-Tac-Toe student choice project about Earth's resources.  Respond to blog posts, add questions, write responses.