BRIDGES OVER HOWARD COUNTY 21st Century Community Learning Centers Service Learning Curriculum Howard County Public School System Ellicott City, Maryland 21043 SES Bridges Service Learning Project: ‘Watching Our Waste!’ Primary Subject: Science & Math Grade Level: 3-5 Additional Subject Area Connections: Health Share with Staff-Service Learning Video: Maryland State Curriculum Indicators Met Content Title: http://www.servicelearning.org/lsa/bring_learning/fullv ideo.php List Indicators Here Unit Title: SES Bridges Service Learning Project: ‘Watching our Waste!’ Unit 3: What Can We Do? (Lessons 1-7 taught first half of Quarter 3) Students will continue to apply their knowledge of matter to determine factors that can influence the health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Students will investigate the positive and negative impact of human activity on the environment. a) Recognize and describe that consequences may occur when Earths natural resources are used. Positive consequences – recycling, native plantings, good farming practices Negative consequences – damage to habitats, air, water and land pollution TECHNOLOGY Create a video based on our outcomes. Type(s) of Service: Direct - Working face-to-face with the recipient of the service to meet his or her needs. Indirect - Working behind the scenes to channel resources to meet a community need. Examples are organizing blood drives and doing environmental service. Unit Description: Potential Service-Learning Action Experiences: *Students sing the “Recycle Rap” to get them motivated and raise their awareness about the importance of recycling. *Students design Bridges logos for recycling to post around the school to promote the importance of recycling & for student responsibility. *Students take surveys of how many of their families recycle at home (for their personal connection). *Students keep track of the recycled items in our schools. ‘Watching our Waste!’ Summer 2012 5th Grade Science: *Students record and keep track of the pollution reduction from Walking Wednesdays. *Students keep a weekly journal of their findings. *Students create a culminating video to capture findings. *Public Service Announcements: Skits for recycling. Best Practices of Service-Learning Maryland State Department of Education SES Bridges Service Learning Project: ‘Watching Our Waste!’ 1. Meet a recognized community need *Our world is forced to take a deeper look at preserving and protecting our environment. We need to continue to be a Green School at SES. Each Bridges session, we will address our school to promote being green through the previous "Light Switch Plates" we created in Bridges last Session. Our school is aware that we want to continue to be a Green School and this project will help promote that by continually reminding staff and students through our assemblies and videos how we can achieve that. 2. Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning Science--Electricity Math--Calculating the amount of electricity used versus the amount we saved. Technology--Create a video to describe the recycling program. Media--Research ways to save electricity and be green! Arts—Design a logo for our Bridges Recycling Program. 3. Reflect throughout the service-learning experience Journaling/Drawing/Reflecting 1x/week on topics in their own small, Recycled Journals including: 1) What can you do differently at home to recycle? 2) List 3-5 things that you realized you could recycle and create into something else. Draw it! 3) Interview a person via email or phone that works in a recycling plant or with . Create a collage of what you learned from them. 4) Write a Argumentative/Persuasion Letter to an Apartment Complex or Company that DOES NOT recycle. (ie. 101 Wells Apartments in Baltimore, MD) Don’t forget to include important facts!! 4. Develop student responsibility. (Students have opportunities to make decisions about the service-learning project.) Students will choose which part of the project they would feel most comfortable helping out with: the (1)artistic logos, the (2) calculations for the recycled items. (3) calculations for the Walking Wednesdays events; (4) Production of the “Recycle Rap; (5) How they would like to help in creating the (Culmination Waste Free Video)?. Take Waste Free Wednesdays to the next level including: How to compare the menus of a “waste free” lunch vs. a “wasteful lunch” (see resources). ‘Watching our Waste!’ Summer 2012 *Example of a Monthly Commitment to Recycling: October—Make your Halloween costume out of recycled materials or bring in clothes to donate so that we can use them for costumes if some children don’t celebrate Halloween. November—Bring in cans of food that your family will not use and we will donate them to families who can benefit them! Restaurants that use recycled materials to serve food; Stores that use bags from recycled materials. December—How can we save energy during these super cold months January--? Tips from a representative from BGE or Constellation Energy can come in and talk at our school! February—Recycling Paper—How many pounds of paper does Swansfield Recycle? How many trees is that? March—MSA (Don’t waste paper; Use the front and back of your scratch paper please). April—Plant something May/June—Culminating Activity/Video for the whole School; Play about Recycling **Recycling store—Students can bring in or make items and create their own store. 5. Establish community partnerships *Community partnerships between Green Beans with our GT teacher Tara Diventi; Our PTA with Walking Wednesdays; Eileen Clegg (our 2nd Grade I.A. who runs our recycling department; Janice Ford, our Art Teacher about using recycled materials for art projects; KIDZART staff-how can we use recycled items for the students projects.; Howard County Recycling Department through Howard County Public Works; the Bureau of Environmental Services 6. Plan ahead for service-learning *Continue to make Swansfield a “Green Awarded School”. Ask students how we can better our school and overall environment and maintain a plan with our community to meet further needs. 7. Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service I contacted Alan Wilcom, Chief 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia, MD 21046 410313-6444, the representative from the Howard County Government (Public Works/Recycling Dept.), to set up a presentation for our staff and students. Want to know more about recycling? Howard County has a detailed and very informative website, www.howardcountyrecycles.org which provides information about recycling items that you might not have known were recyclable. The Specialty Recycling page highlights reuse and recycling programs including what to do with baby items, candles, CDs, electronics, medical equipment, yoga mats and much more. There are links to websites for recycling items such as batteries, electronics and CFLs. Do you want to schedule a recycling presentation? Recycling Coordinators are available to attend community meetings, religious groups, businesses, schools, etc. to spread the word about Howard County recycling. Maybe you want some help starting a recycling program or improving an existing ‘Watching our Waste!’ Summer 2012 program? The Recycling Division is here to help. Don’t hesitate to call (410−313−6444), send an email at help@howardcountyrecycles.org or visit our website if you come across an item you aren’t sure about, think of a question, or have something you want to share. If you would like to know more about America Recycles Day (ARD), please visit www.americarecyclesday.org. RESOURCES SES Bridges Service Learning Project: ‘Watching Our Waste’ WEBSITES MSDE SERVICE LEARNING SITE: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/servicelearning/ Recycle Rap Power Point Link: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFQQFjAA&url=ht tp%3A%2F%2Fwww.musicbulletinboards.net%2Fmk8downloads%2Foct%25202007%2FRECYC LERAPbySusanWill.ppt&ei=F3EhUNSsD-S16AHmyoHIBw&usg=AFQjCNEdngUStmjM0riOfU_8ioTEY3Tbw&sig2=Ksew5iBvRL-ZsmdHMHqxYA Community Recycling Programs: www.howardcountyrecycles.org http://www.howardcountymd.gov/RobinsonNatureCenter.htm For more information on easy ways to recycle and how to incorporate math into Waste Free Wednesdays, visit: http://www.howardcountymd.gov/DisplayPrimary.aspx?id=6442462193 Want a recycling presentation for students and staff? These informative FREE presentations challenge and engage children and adults to learn about trash, recycling and other easy things we can do to help the environment. A handy chart of what can and can't be recycled. Print a lunchroom poster of what can and can't be recycled (or contact us for a copy). Print school recycling brochures and look at HCPS recycling website, www.hcpss.org/parents/recycle.shtml ‘Watching our Waste!’ Summer 2012 Neat Resources! Zero Waste Lunches (cost n to single-serve packages) Kids Ecological Footprint Rot Not Landfills Experiment (an experiment to see what 'breaks down' in a landfill) Nature's Recyclers Compost Coloring Book How many recycled cans power an air conditioner for 2 hours? Find out using the EPA's iWARM calculator. Recycling/Fundraising Ideas: Elmer's Glue Crew Terracycle Office Depot Recycling Rules EcoPhones Cartridges for Kids Funding Factory Just for Kids: www.kidsrecycle.org/ www.kidsrecyclingzone.com/superhero-training.html www.kid-at-art.com/ www.epa.gov/students/index.html Recycling Websites for Adults: http://eartheasy.com/blog/2009/03/environmental-websites-for-kids/ http://ncseonline.org/environmentors/ www.facingthefuture.org/ www.wastefreelunches.org/ www.timeforkids.com/TFK/ www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/free-lesson-plans Environmental Services: About Us Most Requested News & Alerts Meetings & Events Forms & Applications FAQs Contact Us Site Map Environmental Services RSS TOOLS: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/servicelearning/training_tools.htm EVALUATION: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/servicelearning/docs/best_practices.ht m ‘Watching our Waste!’ Summer 2012