Grade 4/5's are becoming experts when it comes to water pollution!! After watching the documentary "A Plastic Ocean" on Netflix over the summer, I was alarmed by what I learned and was inspired to create this unit to educate students on the issue. It just so happened that during the same time we were presented with the opportunity to be apart of the Salmon Mural (read blog post below) which tied in perfectly by giving students a local perspective on pollution in the Thompson River. Over the course of the school year, Miss Johnson and myself have been exploring the topics of plastic pollution with the students. We viewed clips from the documentary, read articles, looked at what other countries are contributing to the issue and examining the pros and cons to controversial topics such as whether it is a good idea to ban plastic bags and drinking straws. After the Christmas break we began to get to work on the final task of our unit, which was creating a mural to share what we've learned and promote change in our school and community. Students worked on their mural piece during Fine Arts time, filling it with their own plastic garbage and a variety of sea life. Each student choose a fact or statement around water pollution that they felt was important to share with people who viewed the mural. Below are some close ups on the details within each panel. We displayed the mural in the front windows of the school during the Learning Exhibition. This way the pieces could be viewed from both side of the window while also emphasizing the amount of plastics trapped within each panel. Unfortunately, the mural was hard to capture in photographs due to the lighting but I must say they were beautiful to see in person. Students were able to great guests and share their learning with everyone who came in door! Education is a powerful tool and I believe these kids are going to do their part to change the world. Please visit https://www.plasticoceans.org/ to learn more! Here are some clearer photos, taken of the mural against a wall:
1 Comment
Colleen
2/19/2018 04:21:00 pm
This was a stunning example of a high quality inter-disciplinary unit in which students explored a challenging issue and shared their learning through multiple media. I agree that the students will be advocates for our environment, now and in the future.
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