Objective 1: Instruction 1.1
Kindergarten
(Above) Students in Kindergarten participated in growing their own carrots to understand roots and also planted their own seeds.
In the winter of 2014, (all 60+) students in Kindergarten engaged in movement exercises and games to promote their understanding of ecosystems. Ecosystems were conceptualized through interactive play that tells how each part is an important link. Students were each given the prompt of being either a "bug," a "plant" or a "bird." Students who got "pushed out" by the bossy pollution (teacher) broke the chain and our ecosystem got smaller and less strong.
This unit was tied to a math lesson by referring to concentric circles.
This unit was tied to a math lesson by referring to concentric circles.
In the fall of 2014, kindergarten students learned about seasons in Science by building a tree. Students chose which season they enjoyed most an were asked to show the different colors of that season to identify change seen in the environment.
1st grade
In the fall 2013 & 2014 all (60+) 1st graders learned about textures in art while also learning about nature. Students make rubbings from trees, rocks, and finally from leaves.
Students' learning connects to math while finding the symmetrical lines discovered in leaves.
Students' learning connects to math while finding the symmetrical lines discovered in leaves.
In the fall of 2014, students in 1st and 2nd grade learned about the life-cycle of a tulip bulb. Students learned about the stages of growth as it pertains to science and what elements are needed to grow a healthy plant including rocks, or soil, water, air and sunlight.
Second grade students along with grade levels K-4 create books each year in Language Arts. The theme in 2013 was animals and learning about the different roles of animals. Students in each class wrote their own book prompted by animals they had questions about. Teachers led students in their own learning by allowing students to research their animal from different parts of the world. Each class chose animals from different regions of the world including the desert, the arctic and the rainforest.
In fall 2014 (all 60+) students in 1st grade engaged in a an earth cleaning robot. Each year in art students embark on some kind of earth cleaning robot project. To the left , a student used his learned knowledge of different types of pollution to create a robot that combats one. "My water cleans water pollution." Students' reactions were amazing! Each was able to tell in full detail how the mechanisms of their robot worked to clean some sort of pollution.
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2nd grade
In the fall of 2014 Students grew lima beans as part of a science unit. Students discovered the stages of a sprout by observing changes daily. These limas beans hung in the open centers that our school has made purposely to support a variety of learning styles. Conversations between students about how proud they were and what parts of the lima bean they knew, as they watched their lima beans grow filled this learning space.
3rd grade
In the spring 25 students in a 3rd grade homeroom planted seeds as part of a science and math study. Students learned about the importance of plants in a healthy habitat. Students at the time were also having "class counsels" to discuss leadership, being a positive citizen in the school, classroom and outside the school. Students were often asked to work together to promote a positive impact on their school culture. Students in this class learned to solve-problems and work together by activities that promote interpersonal skills such as teamwork.
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(Left) During our yearly science night, which has successfully taken place over the past 5 years, students engage in sharing projects that relate to science and nature. Projects are students-made and projects are based on the topics that interest the learner. Above, students in 3rd grade used recycled materials to create race cars, while also learning about motion in science as is pertains to the Common Core State Standards.
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4th grade
In the winter of 2015 students in grade 3rd & 4th graders (96 students total) worked with a MICA intern in the art room to produce super heroes who would protect an endangered species. Students used collected recycled materials from other parts of the school and scraps from other art projects to research an animal and produce a superhero, and a superhero tool to combat that endangered animals predator (non-violently).
To the right is a sonar machine that locates an animal in distress and a capture box that can heal a golden-crowned safika stuck in a trap. |
5th grade
In the fall 2014, students in 5th grade in collected data to use in math and science. Students created documents to chart questions they had about pollution on our school campus. Students then also collected the trash to identify types of trash that were common on the school grounds. Students worked in teams to dissect the data in math to create pie charts and bar graphs to share their learning.
Middle School (6th & 7th grade)
In the fall of 2014, (12) students in 6th grade worked in a Sustainability group for 3 hours during our Project Based Learning classes. Students choose topics in which they would engage in small group instruction. The group to the left were discussing the difference between a group and a team. Students' work connected to weight distribution and how to build a sound structure.
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In the fall of 2013 and 2014 (60+) students in 6th grade have gone to North Bay on one of our most revered green school trips. Students who return form the trip engage in outdoor clean-up, and in sharing their learning school-wide during out Wednesday community meetings. Students from the 6th grade often become our pioneers in telling about their knowledge of wildlife, pollution, and composting.
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(Above) Students collect trash on the beach at North Bay.
(Above) Sixth grade students in the spring of 2013 having a trash-pick-up day using their knowledge inspired by North Bay.
(Right) Students create graphs, charts and tables to represent data collected from school-wide surveys. Students surveyed various classrooms throughout the school and surveyed at home to figure out how much recycling was really going on. After these findings we began our school-wide recycling initiative. |
(Above) 6th and 7th grade students in science used graphs to understand the systemic pollution that causes harm to an ecosystem. Students the past two years have discovered numerous effects of pollution on the environment.
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