Student Contributor -K. Flatow
I did the Crayola ColorCycle with 3rd graders at my placement site. My 3rd graders were in competition with the neighboring 3rd grade classroom to face off in collecting the most markers. The students are to be collecting markers for roughly 8-10 weeks (length of time my vary). At the end of each week the classes are to add up the markers to track the growth to then share with the other class. At the end of the project the markers are added up and announce a winning 3rd grade class.
The students were to collectively as a class gather as many markers as they could while competing with the neighboring 3rd grade classroom. Each of the classrooms has their own marker drop box for continued collection. The winning class will receive popsicles or other treat for most markers collected. The students are learning the value of recycling and how small collective changes can make a change. The makers are tools the students use all the time and the familiarity of the product helped build the connection that other items can be contributed to the reduce, reuse, recycle.
My students really enjoyed the activity. It was really nice to have the other 3rd grade teacher willing to participate in this activity. Every Friday we collected the weekly totals to share with the students. When the project started we created a thermometer to continuously fill, as we got closer to goal of 100 markers. The students are learning the value of recycling and how small collective changes can make a difference. The students really benefited from seeing the their contribution of markers rise over the extended period of time. In terms of modification or advice I would adjust the goal depending on the length of time of collection.
