Quickfacts: Lessons that involve hands-on activities are sometimes the best way to educate young children about sophisticated ideas. This project involves teaching children about the harms of storm water run-off and enlightens the students about the importance of litter prevention while sending a loud message to the entire school.
Laying the Groundwork
The second graders that I have the privilege to work with at my daughter’s school are more knowledgeable about storm water run-off and pollution prevention than most grown-ups with whom I come in contact. With the cooperation of a willing teacher, the following project can be replicated in any classroom and the results are sure to impress.
First, our class created a large wall mural depicting an underwater scene. The wall-sized picture included colorful fish, swimming sea turtles, and just about any sea creature their second-grade brains could conjure. The class admired their handiwork and all agreed it was a lovely work of art reflecting the beauty of nature. But, just as they were congratulating themselves on their underwater seascape, we added the twist.
We read the children the story All The Way to the Ocean by Joel Harper. The story follows two little boys as they learn about the tragic harm that litter creates as it makes its way to the ocean via storm drains. After reading the story we followed-up with some real photos of marine animals suffering at the hands of human litter. One photo in particular that drove home the message showed the inside of a dead sea bird. The stomach contents clearly indicated that the bird had ingested numerous pieces of plastic as well as a cigarette lighter. Many of these photos can be found on the internet.
Empower Kids to Make a Change
After reading the story and looking at the photos, our students were ready for action. We took the children around the school campus and picked-up all the litter we could find, concentrating on the very small pieces which have proven to be so harmful to birds and marine life.
Back at the classroom we glued the collected trash all over the once pristine ocean mural. The result was truly eye-opening for the students. Plastic soda rings were placed on the turtle’s neck. Empty plastic baggies found their way on the heads of the fish. What was once picturesque had transformed into an underwater wasteland. The mural was then brought to the media center and hung for all to see as they entered the school property. A sign that accompanied the mural pointed to the fact that all of the litter on the mural had been collected on campus in one afternoon. Days after hanging the mural, parents, fellow students and teachers could still be found staring at the mural in disgust.
Impact Happens
To be sure, the students in our class had learned a valuable lesson about where their litter could end-up if not disposed properly and the harms associated with it. But the media center eyesore drew a few unexpected results as well. A photo and small article about the mural popped-up in our local newspaper, congratulating the students and their teacher for their efforts. And, probably the best result was that the mural inspired other classes to take on the problem of litter at our school. Several classes formed “litter patrols” and even raised funds to supply the school with a set of trash grabbers that will be shared by all students desiring to keep their campus clean.
The following resources were helpful in creating a lesson plan about litter prevention:
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_wildlife/ALL/2208// — Photos of birds with ingested plastics and trash
All the Way to the Ocean by Joel Harper — visit the website for more pollution facts at http://www.allthewaytotheocean.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch — Wikipedia’s informative entry on the North Pacific Gyre and the harms of the pollution swirling about.
Tags: children, green lesson, hands-on project, litter prevention, storm water run-off
