Environmentalism In the Classroom: Lowell Celebrates Earth Day

Students all around campus today recognized Earth Day in a variety of ways.

Pre-Primary children wrote thank-you notes to the earth after teachers read them the book Thank You Earth by April Pulley Sayre. They also stretched their creativity and transformed trash into recycled art pieces.

 

Imitating worms weaving underground tunnels, Kindergartners stretched long and curled inward as Primary School Librarian Christine McDaniels read Wonderful Worms, by Linda Glaser and Loretta Krupinski, a book highlighting the benefits of worms. Third graders wrote nature-inspired poetry. They tried different poem formats like acrostic, haiku, diamante, and triante. Some 3^rd graders even used recess time to make signs in support of saving animals.

 

Eighth graders learned about Kalmia Creek’s role as part of the Rock Creek watershed. Connecting chemistry lessons from earlier in the year, the 8^th graders took water samples to evaluate if the water had improved since their first collection a few weeks ago. They recorded different data points like temperature and pH and calculated the parts per million of dissolved oxygen, phosphate, and nitrate from their samples for comparison. Middle School students are also taking part in environmentally focused activities in their Delta groups each morning this week. So far, students have explored how Earth Day began and compared the most popular issues of public concern during its inception to those that exist today. Students investigated how individual climate-positive behaviors influence collective action and the impact of a behavior contagion. The activities culminate tomorrow when students will create Venn diagrams answering questions like What brings you joy? What are you good at? What is the work that needs to be done? Students will be encouraged to use their talents, skills, and newfound knowledge to educate others about the overlapping themes.  

 

Advocacy can take many different forms, from educating oneself to educating others. By honoring the students’ developmental stages, these Earth Day activities reflect each student's individuality and empower them to use what they have to affect positive change in their communities.