Category Archives: Art

Trash Monster

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Each child brings in one recyclable trash item and the class builds a monster sculpture out of the trash.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Activities

Students will each bring in one recyclable trash item, and together they will build a trash monster sculpture. The class can vote on his/her name and decide on the monster’s super power. Add clothing or accessories to the sculpture as long as they are recyclable. Put the Trash Monsters on display for Halloween. Students may write stories about the trash monster as an extension.

Green Monster

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Make a poster featuring a cartoon character who reminds people to save energy.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Science, Language Arts, Art
  • Suggested Time: about 2 hours, may be broken into sessions

Materials

Chalkboard/whiteboard, Green Monster Worksheets, poster boards (1 for every 4-5 students), markers, scissors, colored paper, glue, tape or tacks for posting, paper and pencils.

National Standards

Language Arts:

  • Evaluation strategies.
  • Communication skills.
  • Participating in society.

Science:

  • Regulation and behavior.
  • Population and ecosystems.
  • Structure of the earth system.
  • Populations, resources, and environments.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Language Arts:

  • Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (4-6)
  • Consult reference materials (e.g. dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases. (4-6)
  • Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain specific words and phrases. (4-6)

 
Science:

  • Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. (4)
  • Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem. (5)
  • Rocks, minerals, and soils have common and practical uses. (6)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • List ways to conserve environmental resources.
  • Define conserve and resource.
  • Design a Green Monster cartoon character to promote energy savings.
  • Write a slogan to motivate others to conserve resources.
  • Plan and create a poster encouraging others to practice conservation tips.

Teacher Preparation

Note: This lesson will be most effective when used as an introduction to additional environmental education. The goal is to engage students’ prior knowledge of conservation and increase their interest in conservation strategies.

Introduction

  • Ask students to brainstorm what they can do to protect the earth. Ask them the “3 Rs” of protecting the earth/environment (reduce, reuse, recycle) to help them think of ideas.
  • Record ideas on the board, and ask a student to do or act out the tips immediately in the classroom, if possible.
  • For example, the students may open the blinds and turn off the lights, turn off the computer and/or monitor, put used paper in the recycling bin, use a re-useable lunch bag, clear objects away from heating vents, etc.
  • Explain that the students will be learning about energy conservation.

Activities

  • Distribute copies of the Green Monster Worksheet. Have students look up conserve in the dictionary and write the definition on the worksheet. Note: This lesson will be most effective when used as an introduction to additional environmental education. The goal is to engage students’ prior knowledge of conservation and increase their interest in conservation strategies.
  • Ask students what is conserved by the strategies they listed on the board. They should write what is conserved next to the idea. Explain that what is conserved is called a resource. Have students look up resource in the dictionary and write the definition on their worksheet. Then students should choose 5 ideas from the brainstorming to write on their worksheet.
  • Ask students why it is important to conserve resources. What might happen if the earth’s resources run out? Help them consider the effects on humans, animals, and plants.
  • Explain that the students will to create a poster encouraging others to conserve by taking simple steps like the ideas listed on the board. The poster will feature a cartoon character called the Green Monster. Discuss why conservation is called “green” or “being green.”
  • Have the students read the poster instructions aloud from the Green Monster Worksheet. Make sure students understand what a slogan is.
  • Break students into groups, where students should use scrap paper to design their Green Monster cartoon character and write their slogan and tips. Then they should use copy paper to sketch a draft of their poster.
  • Once the students’ draft has been approved by the teacher, students should work in groups to create a poster board with the art supplies.
  • After the posters are finished, students should present them to the class. Then the students or the teacher should hang the posters in the school hallways.

Extensions

  • Students may present the posters to other classes or building staff.
  • Students may participate in the Energy Savings Patrol club and patrol the building for conservation opportunities. See the Energy Savings Patrol Teacher Guide for more information.
  • Students may create smaller signs for the classroom featuring the Green Monster, slogan, and 1 conservation tip. The signs may be posted near the area where the tip can be put into practice. For example, post a sign reminding people to recycle next to the trash can and recycle bin.

Closing

After reviewing the lesson, ask students which tips they plan to put into practice at home. Ask how they might encourage their family members to do the same.

Worksheet

See: Green Monster Worksheet

Draft – O – Meter

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Students do a draft audit at home.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Art

Materials 

  • Pencil
  • Tape
  • Plastic food wrap

Activities

Students will learn an easy technique to find drafts in their homes and classrooms.

  1. Cut a 12cm by 25cm strip of plastic wrap.
  2. Tape the shorter edge of the wrap to a pencil and let the rest hang freely.
  3. Blow plastic wrap gently and note how sensitive the wrap is to air movement. Drafts mean that air is leaking into or out of a building. This means either a loss of heat in winter or a loss of air conditioning in summer.

Trash Monster

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Each child brings in one recyclable trash item and the class builds a monster sculpture out of the trash.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Activities

Students will each bring in one recyclable trash item, and together they will build a trash monster sculpture. The class can vote on his/her name and decide on the monster’s super power. Add clothing or accessories to the sculpture as long as they are recyclable. Put the Trash Monsters on display for Halloween. Students may write stories about the trash monster as an extension.

Recycled Clothing

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Customize old clothes into wearable ways to save energy.

Students turn old clothes into new items that remind others to save energy.

  • Grade Level: 4-6
  • Subjects: Social Studies, Art

Examples:

  • Appliqué a low energy light bulb onto a tee –shirt or baseball cap.
  • Graffiti stencil clothes with "switch off" slogans to remind people to turn off lights.
  • Use fabric paint or Sharpie markers to draw pictures of a clean earth on a pocket or other clothing.
  • Teach students how to mend holes, buttons, and other simple sewing tasks to preserve used clothing.
  • The class may hold a recycled clothing fashion show.

Tips

  • Keep it simple.
  • Use a clear message – very few carefully chosen words or symbols.
  • Tidy presentation – plan where you are going to put everything before you do anything (make a plan on a separate piece of paper).
  • There are many websites with designs to use as models.
  • The lesson could be divided into two sessions. Session 1 is to present a plan on a piece of paper. Session 2 is to recycle a piece of clothing to show how to recycle.

Green Monster

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Make a poster featuring a cartoon character who reminds people to save energy.

  • Grade Level: K-3
  • Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Art
  • Suggested Time: about 1 hour

Materials

Chalk/whiteboard, poster boards (1 for every 4-5 students), markers or crayons, tape or tacks for posting. This lesson will be most effective when used as an introduction to additional environmental education. The goal is to engage students’ prior knowledge of conservation and increase their interest in conservation strategies.

National Standards

Science:

  • Properties of objects and materials.
  • Organisms and their environments.
  • Properties of earth materials.
  • Types of resources.
  • Changes in environments.

Social Studies:

  • Scarcity.
  • Environment and society.

Ohio 2010 Standards

Science:

  • Objects and materials can be sorted and described by their properties. (K)
  • Properties of objects and materials change. (1)
  • Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical environment. (1)
  • Living things cause changes on Earth. (2)
  • Some of Earth’s resources are limited. (3)

Social Studies:

  • Individuals have shared responsibilities toward the achievement of common goals in homes, schools and communities. (K)
  • Families interact with the physical environment differently in different times and places. (1)
  • Human activities alter the physical environment, both positively and negatively. (2)
  • Evidence of human modification of the environment can be observed in the local community. (3)
  • Individuals make the community a better place by solving problems in a way that promotes the common good. (3)

Objectives

The student will be able to:

  • List the “three Rs” of protecting the earth.
  • Give examples of how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
  • Design a Green Monster cartoon character to encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling.
  • Decorate a poster encouraging others to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Introduction

  • Ask students to brainstorm what they can do to protect the earth.
  • Record ideas on the board, and ask a student to do or act out the tips in the classroom, if possible.
  • For example, the students may open the blinds and turn off all or some of the lights, turn off the computer and/or monitor, put used paper in the recycling bin, use a re-useable lunch bag, clear objects away from heating vents, etc.
  • Explain that the students will be learning about how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Activities

  • Ask or tell students the “3 Rs” of protecting the earth (reduce, reuse, recycle). Write each one in a separate column on the board. Use the following definitions and examples, or adjust for your class:
    • Reduce: use less (electricity, water, paper, other goods, etc.)
    • Reuse: use again (fix broken things, give to someone else, find a new use, etc.)
    • Recycle: used items like glass, cans, paper, & plastic bottles can be turned into new items if they are sent to a recycling company instead of being thrown away.
  • Ask students why it is important to reduce, reuse, and recycle. What might happen if the earth runs out of water, gasoline (petroleum) for cars, electricity for lights, places to put trash, or energy for heat?
  • Help students think of more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and record on the board. Students may act out these ideas if possible.
  • Explain that the students will create a poster encouraging others to reduce, reuse, and recycle by taking simple steps like the ones they listed. The poster will feature a cartoon character called the Green Monster. Discuss why reducing, reusing, and recycling is called “green” or “being green.”
  • Break students into groups, where students should decorate their posters with a Green Monster cartoon character. They should also write and/or draw ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle (one for each).
  • After the posters are finished, students should present them to the class. Then the students or the teacher should hang the posters in the school hallways.

Extensions

  • Students may present the posters to other classes or building staff.
  • Students may participate in the Energy Savings Patrol club and patrol the building for conservation opportunities. See the Energy Savings Patrol Teacher Guide for more information.
  • Students may create smaller signs for the classroom featuring the Green Monster, slogan, and 1 conservation tip. The signs may be posted near the area where the tip can be put into practice. For example, post a sign reminding people to recycle next to the trash can and recycle bin.

Closing

After reviewing the lesson, ask students which tips they plan to put into practice at home. Ask how they might encourage their family members to do the same.