Lesson 4: Helping our animals! - Kelsey Glass

Lesson 4: Helping our animals!
Created by: Kelsey Glass
Audience: Kindergarten
Standards:
VA SOL K.8 The student will demonstrate that being a good citizen involves
a) taking turns and sharing;
b) taking responsibility for certain classroom chores;
c) taking care of personal belongings and respecting what belongs to others;
d) following rules and understanding the consequence of breaking rules;
e) practicing honesty, self-control, and kindness to others;
f) participating in decision making in the classroom;
g) participating successfully in group settings.
Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Social studies programs should include experiences
that provide for the study of people, places, and environments so that the learner can:
h) examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of
land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions
Objectives: Students will understand the importance of protecting our Earth and the creatures
that live on it through the creation of posters advocating for the protection of our Earth and the
animals that inhabit it. Students will understand that good citizens are involved in their
communities, which includes recycling.
Resources:
Turtle clip (http://www.tourdeturtles.org/flash/MarineDebris.swf), plastic bag, plastic beverage
holder, Garbage Island pictures [attached], Dear Children of the Earth written by Schim
Schimmel, large white paper, construction paper, scissors, glue, crayons
Introduction:
Invite students to come and sit on the carpet as a large group. Hold up a plastic bag and a plastic
beverage holder and ask students what they believe the items are and what they think happens to
the items when they get thrown away. Listen to student responses and tell students that we’ll be
viewing a short clip that might help us answer our questions about our plastic trash. Using the
projector screen, show students the turtle clip [found under resources], reading aloud the words
for students who will need the assistance. Discuss the students immediate reactions to the clip
and help them understand its meaning. Replay the clip for the students, if necessary. Allow for
students who have questions or comments to share them with the class.
Content Focus:
Show students the plastic bag and plastic beverage holder again and tell students that often our
trash ends up places we do not intend it to and it can become harmful to animals and the planet.
Using the doccam, show students images of garbage islands that are found in the Pacific Ocean.
Ask students how they think the garbage islands affect the sea animals. Tell students that sea
animals are not the only animals affected by trash. Tell students to be thinking of ways to help
the earth and its animals while we read a story as a class.
Before reading Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel, tell the students that the book is
written like a letter from ‘Mother Earth’ to all of her children. Inform students that ‘Mother
Earth’ is not a real person, but a representation of our planet, and that she has a message for us!
After reading Dear Children of the Earth ask students the following questions and allow for
some discussion: What sort of animals live throughout the Earth? How can we love and care for
our Earth and its animals? What will happen to the animals if we don’t take care of them? What
if we add trash to their homes? How can we help keep our Earth clean and the animals safe?
Remind the students that in the book Mother Earth says that if we all do little things, we can
make a big difference. Ask the students what little things they can change to help the Earth? Use
chart paper to help brainstorm ideas for how to help different animals throughout the world. On
the chart paper, have distinct lists for the animals and problems affecting them that the students
create. Guide discussion to include how students can help animals that live on land as well as
animals that live in rivers and oceans or in the air [see background information for additional
ideas for scaffolding].
Instruct students that they will be making posters to help remind themselves, and others, the
importance of helping our planet in all the ways that we can. Show the students some sample
posters [see attached] and ask them to pick an animal they would like to help. Have students go
back to their seats and provide students with large white paper, construction paper, scissors, glue,
markers and crayons and instruct students to begin creating their posters. As students are
working, be sure to circulate throughout the classroom, providing support when necessary. As
students draw, ask them to tell you about their posters and how they’re planning on helping the
animals of the Earth. As students finish, ask them to caption their posters: encourage students to
try their best with spelling but provide assistance when needed. When students finish, instruct
them to get community helper book (from the designated unit bookshelf) and sit on the carpet
reading quietly until everyone has finished.
Closing:
When all students have finished, have them put their independent books away. Have students
return to the carpet and sit in a large circle. Instruct students that we will be sharing our posters
with the class before we hang them in the hall for the rest of the school to see and learn from.
Emphasize that through creating our posters, we have helped our community and school learn
more about protecting animals/the Earth. Have students share their posters according to animal
type. For example, have all students who created a poster about sea animals to stand up and
present together. Other categories may include river animals, African animals, birds, etc. Once
all students have presented, collect the posters and hang them in the hall for others to see and
learn from. If students are not already aware, introduce them to where the recycling bins are in
the classroom and school.
Evaluation:
Formative: Use discussion following the turtle clip and during and after the reading of Dear
Children of the Earth to check for understanding of content.
Summative: Use captions on student posters as written understanding that they can help animals
throughout our world. Use presentations as a verbal understanding that students can
communicate more than they may be capable of writing.
Background information:
Teaching students about protecting our Earth and the animals who live throughout it can
be a sensitive issue because when addressing protection, you have to discuss the negative
implications not helping can have. At a kindergarten level, this means discussing how animals
are being harmed by our trash, which often leads to death. The death of an animal is a very
sensitive topic for five year olds, because often it is something they have encountered or have
stories about. It is important to address student feelings and comments as they arise, addressing
that eventually all animals and things die, but we can keep the happy memories with us always.
It is also important to address that the students can help make a difference in the lives of wild
animals, by taking steps towards recycling and protection.
Garbage islands, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, are a collection of marine debris
in the Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter or trash that ends up in waterways. The trash in the
pacific has accumulated because the debris is not biodegradable, or it will not break down over
time. Attached is a helpful diagram that provides an estimated timeline for decomposition rates
of common marine debris items. Marine debris can be very harmful to marine animals, as seen in
the turtle clip. In addition to turtles, seals and other marine mammals are at risk; seals can be
victims of “ghost fishing” that occurs when they get tangled in trash or abandoned nets and
drown. Sea animals are not the only ones affected though. Any animal can mistake trash for
food, which can make them sick or even kill them. The plastic beverage container can kill birds
when they get stuck in them or eat part of them.
There are a number of ways that students can make a difference in protecting animals
throughout the Earth: reducing the amount of waste we create, reusing items or repurposing
items, recycling, conserving water, conserving electricity, selecting products that are
biodegradable (meaning they will eventually break down), help clean up wild habitats (like
beaches or forests). Students and families can also take larger steps, such as joining a
conservation organization or voice their concerns to their local government representative.
Additional resources:
http://juicycoppertoes.com/YOUCANHELP.html
http://animals.about.com/od/wildlifeconservation/tp/helping_endangered_species.htm
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbagepatch/?ar_a=1
Pacific Ocean Garbage Islands
http://thehigherlearning.com/2014/06/08/this-19-year-old-has-a-plan-to-clean-up-half-of-thepacific-garbage-patch-in-10-years-video/
Visual Support for Student Posters
https://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/photos/042210d.cfm
http://www.speakdolphin.com/photos/uploads/large/WeNeedToTalkWeb.jpg
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/directory/seal.jpg
http://savingwild.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/05/10369_10151149583901400_1452557287_n1.jpg