Sustainable Energy Activity/Discussion using Compass Points

Sustainable Energy?

I started with the questions: 
If an energy source is renewable does that make it sustainable?
If an energy source is nonrenewable, does that make it unsustainable? 

The students were fairly divided in their response and brought up some good arguments for both sides.   Which led in to the task at hand.

We created these compass point posters (N-Nature, S-Society, W-Wellbeing, E-Economics) for each energy source we have been studying.  The wrote pros (green) and cons (red) in each section.  The discussions that happened during and after this lesson were much deeper.  Students began to think about sustainability as a continuum.  Rather than is it sustainable, we should ask "HOW sustainable is it?".  I love how the Compass Points (from Compass Education) really get the students thinking holistically about a topic and the conversations they spark.

Plastic Straws - BAD!

We had a presentation by an organisation called TakNakStraws at our school.  It shared many horrifying facts about the use of plastic straws.  We consume so many straws and these straws are not recyclable.  Many end up in the ocean and are mistakenly eaten by animals.  This can kill them, but can also end up in the food chain - meaning we could eat plastic when we eat fish.

The students were inspired by the presentation and went home informing their parents they should not buy them.  Many now have bamboo or stainless steel straws now.  One student has even presented to a local restaurant about the negative impacts of plastic straws, so the restaurant now only gives straw on requests.

I used this bit of inspiration to make a quick lesson for our fraction unit.  There are many numbers involved in plastic straws.

About500 million straws are used everyday in the US.
The average person in the US consumes 1 6/10 of a straw per day.

Find more at https://thelastplasticstraw.org/about-us/.

Global Read Aloud - Water for South Sudan

We did the Global Read Aloud 2017 in my 5th grade classroom.  We partnered with a school in calendar by partnering the students and having them set up Padlets to connect with each other.  It brought awareness to the plight of refugees as well as the challenges of accessing clean water in South Sudan.  As a read aloud on its own, it develops great discussions around the SDGs.

After reading the book, we explored more about Salva's project Water for South Sudan.  Students were truly inspired by the stories and information provided on the website.  Some of them are looking into promoting the Iron Giraffe Challenge at our school.  I will keep you posted on some of their ideas to promote awareness and fundraise.

We also did a home learning connected to our Maths unit - coordinate planes.  We looked at our water use over a week, just through showering.  This could definitely be adapted for different units and ages.  They could also record how much water they drink per day or total water use including shower, drink, washing dishes, cleaning, etc.  Just looking at showers sparked some good observations of their patterns of behaviour - many students realised that they could probably take less showers.