Our World and Trash
3/31/2019
This week we explored how trash and garbage affect our community. We read the poem "The Litter Monster" and talked where litter comes from. The Explorers had lots of examples to share of times and places they had seen litter. During morning meeting we used a fan to simulate the wind and saw how far and messy even a small pile of litter can become. After reading "The Adventures of Gary and Harry," where a sea turtle accidently eats a plastic bag, the students were concerned for the natural environment and the safety of the animals we share it with. They used their writing skills to make signs helping people remember to put trash in trash cans. We also studied where trash goes after garbage trucks pick it up: landfills! Using non-fiction books and pictures of the Anchorage Landfill, we made a model of a landfill in our sand bin. We did a "Sink or Float" experiment with some of the junk from our collection to see would happen if different types of trash ended up in the ocean. The students learned that different materials have different properties and we got the opportunity to sort our collection by something other than a visual characteristic. This transitioned us to conversations about recycling and which materials can and cannot be recycled. We did many sorting activities based on what materials trash was made of. We had a visit from some of our 8th grade students whose responsibility it is to collect the recycling for all of PNA. These students had the privilege to take a class trip to Costa Rica last year where they worked with leatherback sea turtles and helped with population restoration. They talked with us about recycling and how it positively impacts all ecosystems, not just ours here in Alaska. That afternoon we were able to help the 8th graders with the school recycling and got to see the big dumpster where it all goes. We are looking forward to this next week when we get to go to the recycling center and see what happens to the contents of that dumpster!
Investigating Trash
3/26/2019
This week we started our study of recycling with taking a look at what we throw away, what sorts of actions create trash, and what trash looks like. As part of our introductory week we had a lot of discussions, explored our topic through art, and observed garbage in our school environment. We talked about what type of things we throw away and started paying attention to the trash we make during the school day. Our Explorers talked about the difference between trash at school and trash at home. we even had a garbage Show and Tell. We have started our "junk collection" at school with trash that is clean and that we can use for our investigation. We also talked about how we need to use gloves to explore trash that is not clean. When our Explores were telling what they knew about trash and what they wanted to learn we realized that while we knew that trash should go into the the trash can, we didn't all know what happened to trash after it went into a bin. One of the ways we investigated trash this week was through a process art project where we used items from our junk collection to stamp shapes. This activity allowed us to explore the shapes, textures, dimensions, and weights of different trash items. We explored how the top of a pouch lid made a different shape than the bottom, and how the lid to an old marker made a circle when stamped but created a band when rolled. Some things got squishy in the paint while others maintained their ridgedness.
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Anna RamseyArchives
April 2021
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