Students in prekindergarten all the way up to 8th grade have participated and will continue to participate in lessons that are targeted towards environmental issues.
The prekindergarten students learned all about different actions that are good and helpful for the planet and took a look at some that are harmful for the planet through a read aloud. They decide if cleaning up the environment is more effective when cleaning individually or as a team. At the end students created posters for the school to help keep the school environment clean.
Ms. Laycock's first grade class never thought they would have so much fun learning about wind turbines and clean energy. They also explored how plants make food.
The fifth grade learned about different animal adaptions and then different plant adaptions. Students were then able to compare and contrast different adaptations that plants and animals use to survive.
In 2014 a seventh grade class with Ms. Morales took a week to examine what litter was and what happened to it if it was left on the street. These lessons were specifically targeted to integrate students who are acquiring English as their second language.
In 2015 the kindergarten students were busy learning all about fruit and the seeds that are inside them. Students explored questions such as, "How is a fruit like a suitcase? Why is it important for seeds to travel?" Students quickly recognized that much of the food they eat comes from seeds. Students were then able to create a "flower" out of fruits and vegetables.
The second grade was lucky to be able to participate in BioEyes, which is a program to advance K-12 science education. 110 students were right in the middle of the action as they observed fish growing in their classroom.
The fourth grade explored how oil helps us in our daily lives and how humans can reduce their oil consumption. They also recognized how pollution affects Earth's environmental systems and surveyed how humans can change their behaviors to reduce negative impact on the natural environment.
6th "Protecting the Chesapeake Bay from Pollution"
Not only did the sixth graders conduct lessons about recycling and reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, they did a whole unit about it 2014. They grappled with questions such as "How can we address the recycling needs of our community?", "How can we spread the word about the school-wide to the younger grades?", "What happens to recycled materials?" A power point presentation was completed by students to explain the recycling system at our school and different types of programs (such as Terracycle).
Eighth graders synthesized their very own polymer as they explored and investigated how common plastics are made. Once students created their own polymers they discovered how many items in their lives are made of plastic. Students brainstormed ways to reduce the amount of plastic in their lives by making posters with groups.