How are we connected to land and water?
A community of Grades 3/4 learners spent the year travelling the world, exploring the complex connection that humans have with land and water. Their final travel destination was Australia, where the Great Barrier Reef had become a topic of much interest and wonder. The learners’ curiosity was channelled into questions that were then sorted and categorized. Additional time was spent discussing different types of questions, including ways to make questions dig deeper and lead to more meaningful findings.
Research teams were then created to investigate the questions further through non-fiction texts, videos, and an interview with a teacher who had previously travelled to Australia. Through this process, learners gathered, analyzed, and organized their information in a variety of ways. One major finding was that plastic bags were a leading cause of damage to the plants and animals of the Great Barrier Reef.
The next week, a learner burst into the classroom with breaking news to share, as they had just noticed a poster at a local big-box store announcing that plastic bags were no longer going to be given out, encouraging customers to bring reusable bags instead. This was very exciting news for the classroom community, and they wondered what else could be done to help.
One learner, who was particularly passionate about braiding bracelets out of string, asked whether plastic bags could be repurposed into bracelets. An idea was born and soon a fundraiser was created, selling bracelets made of plastic bags to bring awareness to the dangers of water pollution. All money raised went to #TeamSeas (introduced to the learners via a popular YouTuber named “Mr. Beast”). Learners created posters to spread awareness and inform fellow learners in other classes about this opportunity. They soon realized the demand for bracelets was higher than expected, and they needed to put some organizational tactics in place for this to be successful. A sign-up list was created, along with an estimated delivery time.
Learners were then organized into various teams with specific jobs, including the advertising team, bracelet makers, delivery team, and money managers. After two weeks of sales, $105 was raised to support #TeamSeas. Learners were thrilled with this outcome and very proud of their noteworthy efforts. Together, they deepened their understanding of their connection to the natural world around them and worked together to make positive change.
Following this inquiry, connections were made to the state of water in their own community and surrounding areas, with plans to investigate these local matters next.
