Protecting the Natural Commons
A fifth-grade collaborative unit between the Humanities and Makery teachers was revised this year to include a focus on the Natural Commons.
Educating our students to contribute to a sustainable future by engaging them in meaningful content and disciplines is an important part of our Strategic Plan. In this unit, students were guided by the definition that the Commons are the creations of nature and society that we inherit jointly and freely and hold in trust for future generations.
Kelly Hoy, Humanities Teacher, and Vanessa Miller, Upper School Makery Specialist appreciated bringing in a new lens to the project. Ms. Hoy was impressed with the fifth graders' ability to take on a real-world problem, “They deepened their understanding of the regions of the United States and developed a newfound appreciation for the delicate ecosystems or Natural Commons that we share.”
Ms. Miller said, “After participating in the Curriculum Council Retreat with The Cloud Institute this fall, it was exciting to revisit and deepen the US Region’s Project using Natural Commons as a lens to shift the focus to climate change and the importance of solution-based thinking.”
Through this curricular partnership, the students researched the different natural commons in one of the five US regions and ways to protect and support them so they can flourish indefinitely. They wrote informative paragraphs from their findings and integrated technology and maker skills to create interactive maps of their region to showcase their findings.
The project requires students to engage in investigating the answers to important questions grounded in studying a specific region of our country:
- How is climate change affecting your region?
- How would reversing global warming affect your region?
- What would you recommend the people of your region do about it?
- What can we learn from the people who have been the original stewards of the land?
Using Makey Makey circuit board kits and iPads, students recorded their voices and coded them to the Makey Makey board. When students touch the brass pads on the interactive maps while holding onto one end of the circuit wire, their body acts as a conductor and their recordings play.
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