Fifth Grade
Energy Island
How can my diet effect the climate of our planet?
Students (97-107) were given three articles, all discussing how a decrease in eating meat could help our planet. Each article stated a different point about how the amount of meat produced for consumption is increasing global warming. Students then completed a stake holders worksheet to identify how our lives would be impacted if they shifted their diets and ate less meat. They also identified other people who might be impacted by a shift in the American diet. Students looked at how it would impact our economy, our health, the health of our community, and the carbon output of our country. The class then held a Socratic seminar discussing their findings. This conversation lead into a new topic, hydroponics. Students investigated hydroponics on their own, because they were interesting in the idea of growing plants more efficiently and with less waste/chemicals. |
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Water Conservation
In order to support the “Water Bottle” initiative that 5th graders (97-107) collected, analyzed and graphed data to help the school community to see that we could make changes in our water bottle usage. The data collected helped the students to support their initiative to encourage students to bring in reusable water bottles instead of plastic recyclable bottles. The students collected data at the beginning of the study and then worked with other classes to implement PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS, CLASS WATER BOTTLE AWARDS and the creation of posters as reminder. The students are also collecting information to determine the cost and energy difference between purchasing a reusable water bottle and recyclable water bottles.
Bay History
The fifth graders (97-107) at Bodkin Elementary School participated in a green school social studies lesson. The students used the website Here to analyze the negative changes that have occurred in the Chesapeake Bay over the past 400 years. The students compared the Bay from the early 1600’s, the colonial period in our 5th grade curriculum, to present day.
As an exit ticket, the students wrote journal entries with detailed illustrations from the perspective of the famous explorer and colonist, Captain John Smith. They imagined the changes he would see if he “took a time machine to present-day Maryland and landed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.” Additionally, the students discussed the possible causes of the decay of the Chesapeake Bay as well as environmental efforts that have been enacted to slow the decline of the Bay. Finally, the students discussed additional steps that can be taken to help our Bay in the future. |
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Additionally, the students discussed the possible causes of the decay of the Chesapeake Bay as well as environmental efforts that have been enacted to slow the decline of the Bay. Finally, the students discussed additional steps that can be taken to help our Bay in the future.
Info on John Smith
Info on John Smith
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Water Filtration- Environmental EngineeringIn the 4th marking period, 5th grade students (97-107) researched the scarcity of clean freshwater around the globe and methods of water filtration. Students were then challenged to collaboratively design and build a water filtration prototype, based off a realistic disaster where a hurricane depleted local freshwater sources. Following the build, students tested their filtration prototypes and reflected on the entire engineering process.
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