You Be The Judge

We had enough and we took our case straight to the top!  All the way to the top, all the way to the Neal Supreme Court.  Okay maybe it wasn't quite so drastic, but to my fantastic 4th graders we had some serious legal issues to debate and debate we did!  Laura Candler from Corkboard Connections has a fun project titled Green Court Claims.  Here is a summary of how we put this fun project to the test.

To begin we discussed what we were all familiar with, recycling, although very few claimed they did it.  The most common material that students recycled were soda cans.  This led to the discussion of how there are many companies that are "going green", claiming that their products are environmentally safe.  This intrigued them, and they set out on a classroom mission to find products with some type of claim.  After a few short minutes they were finding all kinds of things claiming to be of recycled materials or environmentally safe.  It was amazing how many items they found in a short amount of time. 

Fact:  Did you know that on a small box of 24 count Crayola Crayons you will find three claims?  They even have a trademarked initiative called Crayola Eco-Evolution!

After our classroom scavenger hunt they were sent on their first mission.  They were to go home and look for items in their own house that claimed to be "green".  They came back with a wide variety of claims including tissues, cleaning products, plastic bags, and even dog food!

Students worked in teams of four.  Each team came to a consensus on what product they would research and bring to the court, also known as their fellow classmates.  After a bit of deliberation, team members came to an agreement and they were off on their next mission.  They were going to try to prove their side.

Here are three of the most interesting products that were chosen:

Coke- not due to packaging but due to the amount of water that is used in making the drink.  This actually blew my own mind!

Bottled water- due to plastic of course but also they found out that some brands of water, exported from other countries, actually have their own people getting sick as a result of a limited supply of clean water.

TerraCycle Notebooks- these notebooks are made from recycled candy wrappers.  It was the first time I had seen one, but I do have to admit they were fairly cool!

After all facts were gathered, students were ready to present their case.  This part was the most fun and they LOVED it!  All silliness and 4^th grade behaviors were set aside, they were lawyers and jurors ready to take a stand!  Students were asking some serious real-life questions.  Some of the students were getting down right defensive.  Things were getting personal, in a good way.  It was fun to see them take it serious and think about real consequences of their actions.

When all was said and done my students voted that all but one product was harmful for the environment in one way or another no matter what the company claimed.

This was a fun project and I can vouch for the fact that it has most definitely raised awareness with not only my students but with me!  I now feel extremely guilty drinking a bottle of water or a can of soda, especially with 22 sets of eyes on me!!

To learn more about this project and to download your free lesson and activities, make sure to visit Laura Candler's Corkboard Connections.

And there were more.... Earth Day Freebies!

Denise at Sunny Days in Second Grade is holding an Earth Day Freebie Linky.  Not only are there some amazing freebies to grab, but her post about her school's theme, Get Into a Green Routine, is absolutely inspiring!! 

To read more about her school's theme and to grab some fantastic freebies, head to Sunny Days in Second Grade!

The Great Kapok Tree~Celebrating Earth Day

Earth Day is quickly approaching.  Even though we want our students to be conscientious of recycling, reducing, and reusing on a daily basis this gives us a time to celebrate and educate the younger generation.  

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry has been one of my favorites for years.  The vibrant illustrations and the story that is told is a memorable one.  In order to celebrate Earth Day, I wanted to incorporate one of my favorites with the importance of the 3 Rs.  

Here it is and it's a Freebie for you!  Students will:

•Conduct an open sort with animals of the Rainforest

•Compare and contrast the Canopy with the Understory

•Compare and contrast the Rainforest with a regular forest

•Choose projects to complete based on their preference and learning style with a Choice Menu

•Create their own plant

•Identify where specific animals live within the layers of the rainforest

•Collaborate with classmates on ways to recycle, reuse, and reduce

•Choose projects to complete on ways to recycle, reuse, and reduce based on their preference and learning style with a Think-Tac-Toe

You can download it for free HERE at my TpT store.

Go Green with Number Draw

With Number Draw, students can practice a variety of concepts without the paper/pencil!  Concepts may include sums, differences, products, odd and even numbers, and also prime and composite numbers.

Variations

• Students use only use one hand, where the largest product would be 25.
• Students use both hands, where the largest product would be 100.
• Find the sum.
• Find the difference.
• Is the sum, difference, or product even or odd?
• Is the sum, difference, or product prime or composite?

Another Go Green Strategy

Do you have a set of flashcards laying around?  Maybe a set of play money or mini Judy clocks?  How about a set of reading response cards?  Ask 'n' Switch is a great strategy to use with these items.  Simply whip out a set, and you instantly have an activity for reviewing or closure of a lesson. 

We always have scratch paper available from our recycle box.  Have students make their own card to quiz each other.  For example, in Social Studies we study Missouri History.  After studying the regions of our state, I had my students write one fact from any region they chose.  On the backside, they wrote the region associated with the fact.  We created an instant set of Ask 'n' Switch cards, learning was differentiated, and a fun interactive activity was put into motion.

I love this strategy!  It is definitely one of my favorites!  What other ways could you use this in your classroom?

Go Green with Cooperative Learning!

I am beginning a Go Green series.  By going green I will share ways to use cooperative learning in the classroom by cutting back on copies that you make and/or eliminating paper altogether.  There are so many ways to go green, and I can’t wait to share!

Multiples have been on my mind lately.  This is something that my students should know, but it so important that I want to reinforce.  Today I had a few extra minutes, so we did Four Corners.  Before I told them what we were doing, I wrote four numbers on the board (3,5,6, and 10).  Then, they were to pick a number and write it on a sticky note.  I then appointed each number a corner of the room in which they were to locate to.  Once they were in their corner, they found a partner and said the first ten multiples of their number in a popcorn fashion. 

This was a last minute idea with no preparation needed, and my students reviewed their multiples!  Easy, effective, and energizing!