With all of the recent buzz about going green, this summer is the perfect time to plan strategies that will make your classroom more environmentally friendly. Not only will these efforts please Mother Nature, they'll be a great tool for teaching your students about environmental issues, and how small changes can make a big difference. Incorporating respect for the environment into education at an early age will help ensure the next generation will grow up with a sense of stewardship that is reflected in recycling, being an informed consumer and in political choices.
So how does a busy classroom teacher create the time to go green in the classroom? The good news is that implementing green strategies in the classroom doesn't have to take a whole lot of your precious prep time. In fact, you can even get the kids to do the work! Spend some time during the first week of school brainstorming different ways that you can all make your classroom more sustainable. Depending on the age of your students, this is a terrific chance to teach them an important lesson about what "sustainability" really means. Like the rest of us, it's likely that your students are picking up on all of the "going green" hysteria in the media. While this environmental attention is long overdue, it's important that students are able to distinguish between what's real and what's hype.
This link offers a well-organized compilation of 50 tips for making a classroom a bit more green. From sustainable school supplies to class competitions, these eco-friendly suggestions are fun, easy and can get the whole school involved.
Curious about how to go green beyond classroom activities and supplies? You can also incorporate environmentally based lesson plans into your curriculum. This site, managed in part by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, offers detailed lesson plans on a variety of environmental issues for almost every age and discipline.
For more great green educational resources, visit these sites:
Green School Project - Offers lesson plans and activities in addition to some cost-saving strategies for your school.
Edutopia - Supplies terrific ideas that support "education for ecosystem"!
Project Wild - a widely used conservation and environmental curriculum used by educators for grades K-12.
