Environmental Literacy - Teaching our Students to go Green

Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to both teach and learn from my peers with regards to the 21^st century literacies that are present in today’s classrooms. The jigsaw method is one of my favourite ways of collaborating with my fellow classmates, as it allows us to practice teaching to one another while learning new concepts. One of the literacies that I found to be most interesting was Environmental Literacy. This concept intrigued me because it was something that was rarely focused on when I attended elementary school. Environmental literacy refers to educating students about the physical world that they live in and how they're actions can affect the Earth positively or negatively. I feel that this is such an important concept to be teaching young minds because they are ultimately the people who will have to live on the planet that we have left for them. Therefore, it is imperative that we teach our students how to properly care for the Earth, especially amid the current crisis of global warming. In addition to topics such as recycling, water consumption, littering, and buying local food, we need to simply teach our students to appreciate and respect the earth.

During our classes we have had the opportunity to explore various programs relating to the literacies. One of the programs regarding environmental literacies incorporated activities in which teachers conducted some lessons and classes outside. They may be teaching students about the alphabet or simple math equations the same as they would inside the classroom, but just outside. I liked this idea because as a young scholar I can’t recall many instances where I was outside during the school day other than at recess. I believe that this would be a good idea to use in my future classes not only for its environmental awareness aspect but also for allowing my students to get some fresh air by being outside. I feel that students would not only be excited to engage in outdoor classrooms but also be able to focus better. This type of instruction would clearly benefit students who cannot focus when they are sitting inside all day.After thinking about this topic I started to think about some ideas that I would try out in my classroom. In terms of teaching young students math I thought that it would be fun to get students to collect natural elements of the outdoor classroom to use as manipulatives rather than the typical blocks or counters typically used in classrooms. They could use rocks, sticks or fallen leaves to practice addition and subtraction. As I previously stated I think that this would hold the student’s attention much better as opposed to practising these skills in the classroom.

An interesting resource that really sparked my interest was the Green Sparks Initiative, which is an American site that provides educators and other individuals with ideas and links for teaching students about how to be environmentally aware. They provide ways in which teachers and other school officials can strive to have a “green” school. This includes some of the topics discussed above, but also about healthy eating and about global environmental issues. This is a great example of how the 21^st century literacies can be integrated together to teach students how to be critical thinkers. This single resource promotes both environmental literacy, global literacy, financial literacy, and healthy living.

As a future educator, I will strive to include topics and concepts mentioned throughout this blog into my classroom. In doing this I can better prepare my students to be active citizens passionate about caring for the planet that they call home.