TeachOne Back to School
In what ways can schools, nonprofits, and businesses come together for the common good? What new community forms when students lead an art and environment project?
Creative Community with Crayon Collection: In this unit, three lessons stand alone or in collaboration across different age groups in a Crayon Collection that reuses crayons to promote art, recycling, and community collaboration.
Learners research the environmental effect of crayons and their own power to make an impact. They collect gently used crayons from restaurants and other places in the community. They sort them by color, repackage them for re-use, add a kind note, and donate the new packages where they identify a need. This elementary lesson includes an art lesson with crayons, pictured here. This lesson is enhanced when it involves collaboration between different age groups.
Learners research the environmental effect of crayons and their own power to make an impact. They collect gently used crayons from restaurants and other places in the community. They sort them by color, repackage them sustainably for re-use, and add a kind note. They learn about the difference between nonprofit and for-profit businesses, and they identify where there is need for the repackaged crayons. Optional: they may plan an art project to do with younger or older generations (preschool or retirement home).
Youth reflect on the value of art in communicating feelings and culture, while taking part in service to the community. They teach an art lesson to young children to encourage self-expression. They plan an environmental service project that puts crayons in the hands of young children. The youth identify nonprofit organizations or schools that might need crayons, and they arrange a collection of gently used crayons and delivery of repackaged crayons. This project is enhanced when it involves collaboration between classrooms from elementary to high school.