Earth Day!
Earth Day is a great day for learning about our environment and helping the Earth. Ms. Eberhardt's and Ms. Ayer's classes took a trip to Ironia Elementary School to teach 3rd graders about Earth Day. Unfortunately, Wilhemina the Wiki Shirt was unable to come, but instead I came, Wilhemina's cousin Wally!
In the morning we went to Ironia Elementary School. The first thing we did was morning circles. In one class the kids sat in a circle and played Follow the Leader. After that, the 3rd graders went to their specials. Meanwhile, our awesome 10th graders decorated the rooms to relate to their topics of discussion as well as games and activities. When the little kids returned, all of the fun began!
In every classroom there were two groups because the topics that they were going to talk about were related. Each group had twenty minutes to do their presentation and then the next group would go. The 3rd graders rotated into three different classrooms so they had six activities.
In one of the classrooms the topic of discussion was oceans! The first group taught the kids about levels in the ocean and what types of animals live where. They related the levels of the ocean and animals to Spongebob Squarepants. For example, crabs such as the cartoon character Mr. Krabs live in the benthic zone of oceans. The kids then decorated and colored their own fish!
The second group in this classroom taught about open pollution and oil spills. To demonstrate how hard it is to clean oceans after such disturbances, one student was chosen to try to separate water and oil using a spoon or paper towel. The kids soon learned that it was really hard to do without removing clean water. Then, water bottles with blue water were handed out to the kids. The 3rd graders then put in beads to represent fish. Oil was then poured into the bottles. The kids shook them like a “storm” was happening and they saw how the oil goes everywhere and makes everything dirty. Paper was then put into the water bottles for the same effect.
Another classroom focused on recycling for their activities. One of the groups first went through True & False questions about recycling which included whether a sneaker can be recycled and how many water bottles are recycled per week. After that, the kids played a game where they divided into two teams and had to pick which items can be recycled and which can’t be! The second group made bird feeders out of water bottles! The kids decorated the water bottles with flower and bird stickers and then bird seeds were put into the newly made bird feeders!
Along with oceans and recycling, other classrooms focused on the jungle and different animals as their topics. They created masks for all of the rainforest animals. Another group talked about the problems of the earth such as lakes disappearing and animals becoming extinct. That class then made Earth Day wish bracelets! Deforestation was another concept that the 3rd graders learned about.
Matt, Jess, and Julia also interviewed some students and teachers to gain more information and awareness about what were the best activities of the day and what the students enjoyed learning about and doing most.
One of the groups made musical instruments for their activity. A 3rd grader named Sydney said, “They are cool. Now I can wake my sister up in the morning!” One young boy named Will said that he had a lot of fun learning about the environment, and the day made him want to help the environment even more. When asked about Earth Day overall, a 3rd grader named Joey said, “I had a lot of fun!”
The 10th grade biology students then enjoyed a nice pizza lunch with the 3rd graders! After that, everyone went to the gym and sang to High School Musical songs (and others) with the words switched to incorporate biology.
Anyways, Earth Day was a lot of fun and the 3rd graders as well as 10th grade students learned a lot. It was a great day with fun activities. I am so happy I was able to go on this trip and enjoy this great day with all of the biology students! Hopefully I will be able to come back soon for another fun trip!
XOXO, Wally
In the morning we went to Ironia Elementary School. The first thing we did was morning circles. In one class the kids sat in a circle and played Follow the Leader. After that, the 3rd graders went to their specials. Meanwhile, our awesome 10th graders decorated the rooms to relate to their topics of discussion as well as games and activities. When the little kids returned, all of the fun began!
In every classroom there were two groups because the topics that they were going to talk about were related. Each group had twenty minutes to do their presentation and then the next group would go. The 3rd graders rotated into three different classrooms so they had six activities.
In one of the classrooms the topic of discussion was oceans! The first group taught the kids about levels in the ocean and what types of animals live where. They related the levels of the ocean and animals to Spongebob Squarepants. For example, crabs such as the cartoon character Mr. Krabs live in the benthic zone of oceans. The kids then decorated and colored their own fish!
The second group in this classroom taught about open pollution and oil spills. To demonstrate how hard it is to clean oceans after such disturbances, one student was chosen to try to separate water and oil using a spoon or paper towel. The kids soon learned that it was really hard to do without removing clean water. Then, water bottles with blue water were handed out to the kids. The 3rd graders then put in beads to represent fish. Oil was then poured into the bottles. The kids shook them like a “storm” was happening and they saw how the oil goes everywhere and makes everything dirty. Paper was then put into the water bottles for the same effect.
Another classroom focused on recycling for their activities. One of the groups first went through True & False questions about recycling which included whether a sneaker can be recycled and how many water bottles are recycled per week. After that, the kids played a game where they divided into two teams and had to pick which items can be recycled and which can’t be! The second group made bird feeders out of water bottles! The kids decorated the water bottles with flower and bird stickers and then bird seeds were put into the newly made bird feeders!
Along with oceans and recycling, other classrooms focused on the jungle and different animals as their topics. They created masks for all of the rainforest animals. Another group talked about the problems of the earth such as lakes disappearing and animals becoming extinct. That class then made Earth Day wish bracelets! Deforestation was another concept that the 3rd graders learned about.
Matt, Jess, and Julia also interviewed some students and teachers to gain more information and awareness about what were the best activities of the day and what the students enjoyed learning about and doing most.
One of the groups made musical instruments for their activity. A 3rd grader named Sydney said, “They are cool. Now I can wake my sister up in the morning!” One young boy named Will said that he had a lot of fun learning about the environment, and the day made him want to help the environment even more. When asked about Earth Day overall, a 3rd grader named Joey said, “I had a lot of fun!”
The 10th grade biology students then enjoyed a nice pizza lunch with the 3rd graders! After that, everyone went to the gym and sang to High School Musical songs (and others) with the words switched to incorporate biology.
Anyways, Earth Day was a lot of fun and the 3rd graders as well as 10th grade students learned a lot. It was a great day with fun activities. I am so happy I was able to go on this trip and enjoy this great day with all of the biology students! Hopefully I will be able to come back soon for another fun trip!
XOXO, Wally
posted by Julia B at
12:57 PM
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