Student Contributor -L Vega
Before taking action, students will engage in a conversation about the importance of having a trash free earth while also discussing the Trash Free Earth Organization. The class will brainstorm together a large list of things they often see lying around on the ground that does not belong. Students will then work together as a class to walk along the perimeter of their school and pick up any garbage they see lying around. After completing this task, in groups, students will get to create a sign that encourages others to pick up their trash, and then hang them above all garbage cans in the school building.
To begin this project, students will be engaging in a whole class conversation about the importance of having a trash free earth. Students will share their thoughts on what it means to have a trash free earth and we will be reviewing the website where it talks about the Trash Free Earth Organization. As a whole class, students will brainstorm together a large list of things they often see lying around on the ground that do not belong, while I write down all their ideas down on a large poster. Students will then work together as a class and walk along the perimeter of the school, picking up any garbage they see lying around. After completing this task, in four groups, students will get to create a sign using pictures and quotes, encouraging others to pick up their trash. Once students have created their signs, they will have the opportunity to hang them above all of the garbage cans in the school building. This project was a service to the community because it gave those who clean up the garbage around the school less work, and it just improved the environment in general by removing unneeded garbage. After completing this project, students were excited to tell their friends that they got to walk around the school picking up trash, and other students were asking their own teachers if they could do the same. I also witnessed several students looking at the new signs above the garbage cans and taking a few minutes to stop and actually read what they said.
The project went pretty well. The students enjoyed making the signs and getting to show their creative side by using their imagination. Advice for others doing the project would be to let students create their own individual sign because having groups of four decorate one little sheet of paper made the time go by fast and they didn’t spend as much time as I hoped because the sign filled up fast. Students were very engaged during the conversation about what things they saw on the ground that did not belong, meaning they notice that our earth is not as clean as it should be. One modification for this project would be to ensure that there were additional adults to help monitor students as they walk around the perimeter of the school picking up trash.
