IN 3rd GRADE, ENVIRONMENTAL LESSONS ENGAGE FOLGER STUDENTS TO BE MORE ACTIVELY AWARE OF THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY LIVE AND CHALLENGE THEM TO BECOME PROBLEM SOLVERS. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IS WELL UNDERWAY!
compost
3rd graders get to get down and dirty with a focus on composting! This lesson is rather extensive in terms of the time taken to observe and witness the full lifecycle of this process, as students observe the compost they create. There are living and nonliving components in compost, which is why the students began with a baseline activity identifying objects as living or nonliving.
The compost unit lends itself to extensive hands-on learning, starting with a sorting activity. The students had a baggie of objects that they had to sort into living and nonliving categories. They created a circle map where they identified characteristics of living things. They learned what items are compostable and what are not and then they were tasked with collecting from the cafeteria and adding to the composter in the Outdoor Classroom. They learned the value of time and effort, observing the decay and change of the materials as time elapses, weather impacts, and their own force in mixing the materials. It's also a test of the senses, as students noted changes and described in their science and writing, the changes they experienced through sight, smell and touch. Months later, on Green Apple Day of the following year, the fruits of their labor came to fruition as their compost pile was added to the OC to help grow and maintain our gardens. |
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SchoolYard report card
Folger's proximity to the Magothy River places it well within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and as such, the actions at school and home have an impact on this vital eco-system. 3rd graders gain a strong understanding of this by conducting the Schoolyard Report Card created by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This extensive activity challenges students to study their own school grounds to better understand the connection to the Bay, as well as the impact of each student's actions. The analysis leads to interesting Socratic seminars about what we should continue to do and what changes could be made to better serve our natural environment. The culmination of this unit includes making recommendations to the administration, School Improvement Team and OC2 for potential programs and activities to be implemented at Folger in an effort to save the Bay!
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STEM: Plant Prjoect
Farms and gardens are constantly threatened by three things: insects, animals and disease. In this science unit, 3rd graders become environmental engineers as they work to solve this very real problem. Following a group lesson to introduce the issue that plagues farmers and homeowners alike, which includes some time outside to observe evidence of any such issues in the school gardens, students are assigned to design teams that further research the issue and begin to develop ideas toward a solution. Proposals are presented to the class to determine the two best approaches and then the teams get redeployed to actually construct the designs based upon a collection of items from homes, including recyclables and materials that would have otherwise been trash-bound.
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