Creating An Eco-Friendly Classroom
- 3. Deep Ecology Movement George Sessions and Arne Naess (1984) Basic principles: • Human interference with or destruction of the natural world poses a threat not only to humans but to all organisms constituting the natural order • Advocates for wilderness preservation, simple living, and green movements • The world does not exist as a free resource to be freely exploited by humans • Materials do not guarantee happiness beyond a very moderate level, and over-consumption is endangering the biosphere • Humans interference with the world is excessive and damaging and we must implement the necessary changes
- 5. What is a Sustainable Classroom • Materials that are eco-friendly • Introducing sustainability to students • Make it personal • Reducing, reusing, and recycling • Having students bring these ideas and practices home • Impossible to create a fully paperless classroom, but there are things you can do
- 6. Recycling in the Classroom • Community-based approach to environmental issues • While school-wide is ideal, not completely practical • Create a classroom policy • Set up recycling bins, sort it, track it • Compete with another classroom to see who can reduce their waste output the most - kids love competition
- 7. Recycle Ranger and Green Teams! • Student jobs make cleaning up the classroom easier. Put students in “green teams” and use the last 5 minutes of class to power down computers, close the blinds, check faucets, and sort recycling. • Recycle Rangers would serve the same purpose, only making it one student’s special job
- 8. Upcycled Art and Classroom Organization Using recycled materials to organize supplies Veggie/Coffee cans for pencil/marker/pen/brush holders Milk Crates and old plastic drawers for shelves Old cupcake/muffin trays for smaller supplies organization Milk jugs cut open could also be used for pencil/marker/brush/pen holders
- 9. Upcycled Art and Classroom Organization Bringing in things from home to create bulletin boards Newspaper for background Using scrap colored paper for letters/pictures Hanging planters Plants help freshen the air Can use plastic bottles to create hanging planters
- 11. Green Tracking • Get students involved with projects that help them to see how sustainable they are in their everyday lives. • Have a classroom graph of how many recycled bottles, cans, or boxes the class accumulates – have students be in charge of graphing at the end of everyday • Try to reduce waste and consumption over the year!
- 13. Lessons for Sustainability in the Elementary Classroom Science Water pollution Compost bottles English / Language Arts The Lorax Writing contest with National Wildlife Foundation Math Calculate carbon foot print for fictional character Green graph of recycled materials
- 14. Standards (You can teach sustainability and hit your standards!) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. 3-LS4-4 Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and types of plants and animals that live there may change 3.MD.B.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
- 15. Lessons for Sustainability in the K-12 Art Class • Making recycled paper • Use paper scraps and glue to make your own recycled paper for the classroom. • Recycled egg carton flowers • Use egg cartons to create beautiful recycled flowers for the classroom. Eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing! • Bottle Cap Mural • As a school, students can recycle bottle caps throughout the year • Art teacher, alongside with students, can then design a mural, and work on creating a mural with the bottle caps with each class
- 16. Lessons for Sustainability in the K-12 Art Class • Using Cardboard • Corrugated Cardboard collages • Paper towel/ toilet paper tube art • Cans and Milk Jug • Wind chimes • Crushed Can art- faces, animals, etc • Milk Jug masks
- 18. Art Standards VA:Cr1.2.3a: Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process. VA:Cr2.3.2a: Repurpose objects to make something new. VA:Re.7.1.2a: Perceive and describe aesthetic characteristics of one’s natural world and constructed environments. VA:Cn10.1.2a: Create works of art about events in home, school, or community life.
- 19. Sustainability: So what? • Long-lasting, eco-conscious decision-making skills: A child is more likely to develop healthier habits and make eco-friendlier choices as an adult when exposed to the benefits and meaning behind leading a greener lifestyle at an early age. • Money saved: an eco-friendly classroom helps reduce overall expenditure. • Students see themselves as part of the environment • Increases community support
- 21. How to get involved? http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/index.php Teachers can get certified in sustainability Educate yourself so you can educate your students Green Classroom Pledge
- 23. Questions 1. How could you see these classroom practices leading to the consciousness of a sustainable world? 2. How could these small steps contribute to the bigger picture of sustainability?