How We Organise Ourselves 2020-21

The Central Idea: 

A sustainable economy makes efficient use of resources and minimizes waste.

Lines of Inquiry:

  • What’s going to waste
  • Different economies (linear, sharing, circular) and how these connect to sustainability and waste
  • Taking action to minimize waste

 

Story #1

Waste

The students have been discussing the concept of ‘WASTE’ over the last few days. They have been exploring how waste affects, pollutes, and impacts ecosystems. Today, we began to create a visual that captures our thinking. It began by looking at the different choices ‘WE’ make that can affect the environment and ecosystems.

We began by drawing an outline of a student on large chart paper. We documented our ideas about the different ways we contribute to the issue of waste, around the outline of the human figure. The students shared their observations and views on human consumption and its impact on the environment. They noted how certain materials such as paper, plastic, oil and food, add to this global issue.

Next, we looked at the different ways ‘WE’ can make a difference. The students shared many ideas and then made a commitment to take ‘action’. Some students chose to focus on using less paper, being more mindful of food waste, and look for ways to repurpose plastic.

During lunch break, the students discussed the choices they made when purchasing food from the cafeteria. They talked about choice, size of the potions and their own actions that lead to waste. They have decided to inquire into this further, by working in teams to conduct interviews. They hope that their inquiry would lead to suggestions that would reduce food waste.   

We look forward to observing the different ways the students take action on their learning.

 

Story #2

The 5 Whys Strategy 

Over the last few days, the students have been discussing the concept of ‘WASTE’.

  • What do we waste?
  • How does the waste affect or impact other things?
  • What can we do about waste?

The students shared what they thought humans waste. The list included:

  • Oil
  • Food
  • Paper
  • Plastic
  • Time
  • Wood
  • Electricity
  • Cardboard
  • Playdoh etc.

Next, we used question words to help us explore impact, cause, and effect. We also began to think about the suggestions we might provide to help reduce waste.

Then the students used the ‘5 Whys technique‘ to help them uncover the root cause of the problem.

They used the information they gathered to create a poster that would bring awareness to the problem.

 

Story #3

Sharing an Opinion 

The students have been exploring Opinion Writing.

First, the students decided on ‘what’ they wanted to give their opinion about. Most students decided to focus on the action they wanted to take because of their inquiry into waste.

They began by giving their own opinion, but also setting up their readers to expect that their writing would try to convince them of it. 

Then, they connected parts of their piece using words such as also, another, as and because. After drafting and editing their writing, the students shared their opinion with the class.

Finally, they published their writing and presented their opinions to others.