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Out on a Limb: Earth Day (6th)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Out on a Limb: Earth Day (6th)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

6th-8th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Library / Technology, Philanthropy, Science and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Brainstorming; Group Discussions; Prior Knowledge; Research; Response to Text/Others; Summarizing/Paraphrasing; Teamwork
PHIL:	Common Good; Environmental Stewardship; LEAGUE Event Lesson: Earth Day; Needs Assessment; Responsibility
SCI:	Air; Analyze; Ecology; Environment; Natural Resources; Observation; Plants
SOC:	Civic Responsibility/Virtue; Common Good; Environment; Land Use; Pollution

Focus Question(s):

What is each person's responsibility for environmental stewardship?

NOTE: Prior to this lesson, use the Blue Sky Activity in which students envision a better world. If you already have a Blue Sky display, revisit it before beginning this lesson.

LEAGUE Coaches: After teaching this lesson, please complete a short evaluation.
LEAGUE Learning Link(s)
Post Service Reflection

Purpose:

Students review the role trees play in providing a healthy environment. As they discuss the meaning of stewardship for trees on their campus and in the community, students determine their role and responsibility. The Tree City USA designation provides framework and rationale for student discussions about what they can do for Earth Day.

Duration:

One 50 Minute Class Period

Objectives:

The learner will:

share information about the roles and benefits of trees.
define stewardship and discuss responsibilities in promoting the common good through environmental stewardship.
identify the benefits of participating in the Tree City project.
propose actions to be environmental stewards of trees for the Earth Day Event.

Materials:

Internet access or printouts for each group of the following articles:
- Should our city become a "Tree City"? Read the following benefits to the Tree City program: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/benefits.cfm
- The Arbor Day Foundation gives 15 reasons to be part of Tree City USA: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/reasons.cfm
- The Trees Are Good link gives the social, economic, and environmental benefits of trees: http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_benefits.aspx
- The Arbor Day Foundation provides statistical benefits of trees to a community: http://www.arborday.org/trees/benefits.cfm
- Growing Planet provides psychological and environmental reasons to plant trees: http://www.growingplanet.org/benefitoftrees.html
- An NPR story tells the good and bad of our people to trees ratio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96758439

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:
Go outside with the students and walk around the school campus to observe and count the trees on the property. Encourage discussion about the beauty and variety of trees as well as the roles and importance of trees in the environment (provide shade, homes for animals, oxygen, reduce carbon, etc.) Ask the students to identify the needs of trees and observe whether the trees have a suitable environment (good soil, room to grow, sufficient water and clean air, etc.). As you walk around, also look for possible places to plant more trees.

Return to the classroom to review the things discussed outside (roles, needs, benefits, etc.) Ask the students a few open-ended questions such as the following: How many trees should there be per person in the world? Are there enough trees on our campus and in our community? What threatens the life of trees? What can we do to increase the number of trees and improve the conditions for trees in our area?
Write the words responsibility, environmental stewardship, and common good on the display board. Ask the students to identify these terms and help them as needed. Responsibility is "being answerable for one's actions or the actions of others." Environmental stewardship is "careful and responsible management of a natural resource entrusted to your care." Common good is "something that is in the best interest of the community."
Pair up students and tell them to discuss their responsibility to be environmental stewards of trees. What should they be doing to protect and plant trees? After a few minutes of discussion, ask the pairs of students to share a summary of what they discussed. Write on the display board the key responsibilities students propose. Tell them they will make a plan to fulfill some or all of these responsibilities in their Earth Day Event.
Divide the class into four or five groups. Give each group a different article to read. Below is a list of lnternet links to articles related to stewardship of trees. Tell the groups to read their article and discuss what information in the article should be reported to the rest of the class. Tell them to look for information in the article that could help them decide what action to take for the sake of trees and the common good. (Have them keep in mind the class's list of responsibilities.) After 15 minutes, each group reports their summary and recommendations. Use this discussion to make a plan for the Earth Day Event.
- Should our city become a "Tree City"? Read the following benefits to the Tree City program: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/benefits.cfm
- The Arbor Day Foundation gives 15 reasons to be part of Tree City USA: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/reasons.cfm
- The Trees Are Good link gives the social, economic, and environmental benefits of trees: http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_benefits.aspx
- The Arbor Day Foundation provides statistical benefits of trees to a community: http://www.arborday.org/trees/benefits.cfm
- Growing Planet provides physiologic and environmental reasons to plant trees: http://www.growingplanet.org/benefitoftrees.html
- An NPR story tells the good and bad of our people to trees ratio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96758439

Assessment:

The learner's involvment in the classroom discussions and activities will form the basis for the assessment of this lesson.

LEAGUE Learning Link(s): (click to view)

Have an idea for a Learning Link?

Submit your idea here.

If your Link is accepted for publication on the Web site you will be credited with your name, school, and city.

These "LEAGUE Learning Links” provide ten quick and easy 5-minute mini-lessons to help promote The LEAGUE’s vision and scheduled events in your classroom. You can choose from among these mini-lessons and use as many of them as you would like and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of ones, time, talents, and treasures for the common good) and to promote those philanthropic acts that have been identified as supporting The LEAGUE events. These mini-lessons will also help ensure a deeper understanding of character traits, civic engagement, and promote student leadership. It is recommended that students be encouraged to play as much of a role as possible and appropriate in presenting these lessons to their classmates.

1. READ: Nalini Nadkarni, a college professor who teaches about the environment, estimates that there are 61 trees per person on Earth. In a way, this means that we are all responsible for protecting 61 trees. Of course, most of us probably don't actually have that many trees on our lawn or even near where we live. We probably don't own 61 trees. But we all certainly use products made from trees. We can all reduce the amount of tree-based products we use to help protect our 61 trees.
DISCUSS: What are some tree-based products you use, and how do you think you could reduce or stop using the amount that you use? How do you think protecting your 61 trees would make you a good environmental steward?
(www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96758439)

2. READ: "We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees."
-Qwatsinas, Indigenous chief of the Nuxalk Nation (British Columbia, Canada)
DISCUSS: Why should we be concerned for the environment we are leaving for future generations? What evidence do we have that the people who came before us were or were not concerned about the environment?

3. READ: Logan wanted to help his school during their Earth Day project. They were going to plant trees and invite the mayor and city council to take part. They hoped that the planting experience would convince the city council to work toward getting their city named as a Tree City.
Logan's class decided to help by asking for donations of trees from local farmers and gardening centers. The problem was that Logan lived with his grandma. She worked a lot and didn't have time to help him. And, Logan lived in an apartment right in the middle of the city. He didn't know anyone who knew how to plant a tree, let alone anyone who raised them or sold them. He felt disappointed that he couldn't participate.
DISCUSS: Why is it important to have as many people involved as possible, doing a variety of things, during our Earth Day project? How can we make sure that each student feels like he or she can help in a way that suits his or her interests or situation?

4. READ: A frustrated student complained to his teacher: “Every day as I walk by the park in my neighborhood, I notice that the trees are really overgrown with weeds and that there is trash in the branches and underneath them. We learned in class that trees need good growing conditions, including air and water. The trees in our park don't look like they are getting what they need. I wish I could do something for the trees, but I'm just a kid.”
DISCUSS: What do you think a kid can do? What are we doing to care for our environment and the plants in it during our Earth Day event?

5. READ: Have you ever heard the old philosophical riddle "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" We could also ask that if someone plants a new tree in the forest, will anyone be able to tell? Choosing a place to plant a new tree is important because a tree in a place where there are no trees can make a big impact. People will notice the tree more, and it will improve the environment in that area that much more.
DISCUSS: In what ways might our Earth Day eventbe like planting a tree where there are none? How is encouraging others to join us like planting more trees?

6. READ: Sandee's class was considering planting trees for Earth Day. They had just learned about what it meant to be a Tree City USA. Sandee had seen signs about this in the city where her grandma and grandpa live. She remembered their town was really beautiful. It not only had lots of trees but flowers and bushes everywhere. But that was in Florida.
Sandee lived in a really big city, and the only thing she had ever heard it called was the Crime Capital of the Nation. It certainly didn't make her feel very happy or proud to tell people where she lived. Sandee really hoped that her city could become a Tree City some day.
DISCUSS: What are some good reasons for a city to become a Tree City? How could this benefit our city? How could we help to bring this about?

7. READ: "Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realize that you cannot eat money." -Cree Indian proverb
DISCUSS: What do you think this proverb means? How might our Earth Day event help to prevent this proverb from coming true?

8. READ: Do you know what a “tree hugger” is? Today “tree hugger” is sometimes used as a name for an environmentalist, someone who actively works on behalf of improving our environment. The actual tree hugger movement may have started in India in the 1970s. People practiced non-violent protest by hugging or at least standing around trees to stop them from being cut down by logging companies. Villagers had noticed that their land was becoming deforested, which affected their ability to gather firewood, eroded the soil, and caused water sources to dry up.
Other people who practiced “tree hugging” were the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s who were becoming more aware of environmental issues in the United States. Basically, a tree hugger is someone who wants to protect trees and our forests. The name is often is it used by those who aren't tree huggers to insult environmentalists.
DISCUSS: Why do you think some people would think calling someone a tree hugger would be an insult? Would you like to be a considered a tree hugger? Why?
(www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipko_movement)

9. READ: Can you imagine what the world would be like if there were no trees? The forests of the earth provide a habitat for millions of creatures to live, from small insects to large mammals. Without the forest to call a safe home, these animals would die out.
When trees in a forest are cut down, they also cause erosion during rainfall because the roots of the trees are not there to hold in important nutrients in the soil. Without good soil, we cannot grow the food we need to survive.
Deforestation also causes flooding because the trees and other plants are not there to soak up some of the rainfall. “Run off” collects in one area and produces flooding that could cause deaths and force people to move to a different area. This also means that while one area may become flooded, other areas might have no water.
Cutting down trees doesn't just affect our view of the world, but also the very things we need to survive in it.
DISCUSS: How does cutting down forests have long-term effects on our world, more than might be initially visible? What are some obvious and not-so-obvious positive long-term effects our Earth Day event will have on our community and our world?
(www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm) (www.arborday.org/trees/wwot.cfm)

10. READ: The Arbor Day Foundation “inspire(s) people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.” It is an organization that encourages people, cities, and the world to replant trees and to prevent deforestation. It was founded in 1972 as a celebration of and to reinforce the idea behind our national holiday of Arbor Day. The first Arbor Day was started in April 1872 by a man in Nebraska who saw a need for more trees to help improve the soil conditions and prevent erosion on farm land. On the first Arbor Day, prizes were given for planting the most trees in one day. The founder of Arbor Day, J. Sterling Morton, said, “Each generation takes the earth as trustees.”
DISCUSS: What do you think the word “trustee” means? How are we “taking the earth as trustees” during our Earth Day event? (www.arborday.org)
(For an interactive history book see www.arborday.org/arborday/history.cfm)

School/Home Connection:

Have the students talk to their families about their class's plans to plant trees or become a "Tree School." With their family's help, they can begin to research local businesses and partners to donate trees for this Earth Day Event.

Extension:

Have the students write a business letter to the mayor or another community representative with information about the benefits of becoming a Tree City USA.
In a whole-group discussion, brainstorm and draft guidelines about what a "Tree School" designation might include. With the principal's permission, have them develop a brochure/school display using art and graphics to announce the school's plan to become a Tree School.
Have students draft a friendly letter to the principal using the Friendly Letter Rubric found at http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/letterrubric.htm. Students may indicate the class's desire to plant additional trees on the school property and describe where these trees would be planted as an Earth Day activity.
To make the lesson more global, the discussion could include trees around the world. The following links provide ideas for saving the rainforests of the world from deforestation:

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/1001.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/4621/BPAGE2.HTM

http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_002.htm

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/education/kids/fact-sheet.html
For more lessons related to deforestation and rainforests, go to Learning to Give unit It's Goin'Down: The Rain Forest

Post Service Reflection: (click to view)

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event. Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Have the students complete the following prompt:
“My experience during this LEAGUE Event activity was like____________because_________________”
Have each student share his/her writing with the class. Challenge the class to listen for commonalities and differences in relation to their own writing.

ACTIVITY TWO: Assign the students to groups of two or three. Provide each group with a handful of construction blocks or similar manipulative-like construction toys, molding clay, straws, paper, etc. Instruct the groups to talk among themselves about what they did, how they felt, and what impact they think their involvement in this LEAGUE Event might have had. Explain that each group is to create a structure from the materials that represents/symbolizes their experiences. When completed, give each group an opportunity to explain their structure to the rest of the class and how it is intended to represent/symbolize their experiences.

ACTIVITY THREE: Ask the students to consider their favorite sport. Give each student some old newspapers, a pair of scissors, a glue stick/paste, and a sheet of construction paper. On the construction paper, have each of them draw and cut out a piece of sport’s equipment that represents their favorite sport. On their cutout “piece of sport’s equipment” have them add words and phrases cut from their newspapers that will help someone looking at their “piece of sport’s equipment” understand the connections that they are trying to make between their participation in this LEAGUE Event and their participation in their favorite sport. Display the students’ final products and be sure that they are given ample time to do a walk down “The Hall of Famous Sports Equipment” to read what others have written.

ACTIVITY FOUR: From a single piece of large white construction paper, cut out a variety of jig-saw puzzle shapes. Be sure that each student in the classroom gets at least one of these puzzle pieces. Have each student write on their puzzle piece a response to one of these prompts:

What I did in this Event.
How I felt as I was participating in this Event.
What difference did this Event make?

Have the students, using a colored pencil or crayon, lightly color their puzzle piece so as not to cover up what is written on it. Then working as a group, have each student properly place his/her piece into the puzzle as one might put a jigsaw puzzle together. Once the puzzle has been completed, have a couple of students paste/glue the pieces onto a larger piece of paper and display the complete puzzle under the heading, “Working Together to Solve the Puzzle”, or some similar appropriate heading.

Bibliographical References:

Tree City USA: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/benefits.cfm
Arbor Day Foundation on Tree City USA: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/reasons.cfm
Trees Are Good: http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_benefits.aspx
The Arbor Day Foundation: http://www.arborday.org/trees/benefits.cfm
Growing Planet: http://www.growingplanet.org/benefitoftrees.html
Mongabay http://rainforests.mongabay.com/1001.htm
Library Think Quest http://library.thinkquest.org/4621/BPAGE2.HTM
Save the Rainforest http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_002.htm
Rainforest Alliance http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/education/kids/fact-sheet.html
Air Pollution and Trees: http://www.air-quality.org.uk/15.php
NPR story on people/trees ratio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96758439
Learning to Give unit It's Goin' Down: The Rain Forest http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit380/

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Sharon Gallimore
East NY Family Academy
East NY Family Academy
Brooklyn, NY 11207

Handouts:

Academic Standards:

State/Country:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:Out on a Limb: Earth Day (6th) Summary

Lessons:

1.: Out on a Limb: Earth Day (6th)