Recycle with EPA ~
Entrepreneurial Paper Activities Overview How can students Think Globally, Act Locally? A team of ungraded high schoolers and bilingual ninth graders responded to this challenge by applying recycling guidelines to a venture capitalist model. Students visited a recycle center and a plastic s museum to assess how discarded material can evolve into useful and/or aesthetic objects. Identifying paper overuse as a major school problem, the young entrepreneurs hosted representatives from Earthworm, Inc. and learned how to recycle school paper. They tested local river water with Vista volunteers from the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College and shared results with the school community. Brainstorming ways to reuse paper, they researched and shared the history of paper making; constructed a giant paper tree from recycled paper; made hundreds of origami miniatures and personalized Chinese calligraphy art. A Recycling Fair for the entire school involved hands on demonstrations of papermaking, computer slide presentations, and EPA exhibits. The enthusiastic response to their displays corroborated student findings: Turning trash to treasure can help communities and may lead to a wide array of careers.
Assessment Results of student surveys, graphs, and experiments are recorded to evaluate on-going science and math activities. Products, including computer slide shows and recycled art, are assessed on appearance and completion. Student interactions and contribution during tours, interviews, and presentations are evaluated through teacher observation and peer review. Software or Materials Used For research: Internet access; for computer slide show: Microsoft Office; For Entrepreneurial Paper Art: paper making materials including recycled paper, blender, water, aprons, gloves, frames; for documentation: camera. and film; for literature: Recycle with EPA Book List. Web Sites Web Sites for Recycle with EPA Keywords Environmental Science, Ecology, Origami, Paper Making, Paper Recycling, Re-use, Re-duce, Re-cycle, Recycled Art, Student Entrepreneurs, Think Globally Act Locally, Water Testing Final Words Recycling together can lead to the unexpected. We were thrilled with the growing friendships between our two classes. Students with diverse backgrounds and disparate skills learned that teamwork inspires respect. Schoolwide response to the recycled art was also surprising. At the fair, everyone wanted an origami miniature. The line to the calligraphy station was endless because kids loved seeing their own names and addresses spelled out in traditional Chinese characters. Teacher Tip We asked staff and teachers to contribute recycled "treasures" for Recycling Fair prizes. Fair visitors were invited to sort available recyclable items - aluminum can, small battery, plastic bottle, paper, etc - into appropriate bins. As a result, everyone owned a bit of the project. |
E-mail contact Karen Prussing kprussing@hotmail.com Su-Chih Sun Teacher Bio Karen Prussing teaches Business and Office in the Occupational Skills Development Center (OSDC) at Charlestown High, a School to Career School. Among her job training achievements is the school store run by her SPED students. No stranger to "teacher as entrepreneur," Karen supports the school's Young Entrepreneur Project and has written a proposal to help fund a student photo ID program. Her collaboration with Bain Consulting has produced a copying machine for her classes. Serving on the schoolwide Annenberg grant committee, lets this Lead Teacher forge strong relationships with department representatives and encourage "newly-minted" teachers to join a school-based cadre of dedicated, competent professionals. Su-Chih Sun teaches Unified Science and Algebra to bilingual students at Charlestown High School. Prior to coming to the Boston Public Schools in 1999, this proud mother of three taught Chinese heritage and language at a church school, and received Outstanding Teacher Awards from the North American Council of Culture Affairs, Boston Office (Taiwan, R.O.C.). When discussing career opportunities with her students, Su-Chih capitalizes on her past experience as laboratory assistant at Brigham and Women's Hospital where she co-authored publications for science journals. Subject Areas SPED - Vocational Skills - Business and Office; Science, Math Grade Levels Chinese bilingual 9th graders worked with ungraded high school students Students Collaboration between Special Education Students in the-Occupational Skills Development Center (OSDC) and Chinese Bilingual 9th graders. Adaptable for all middle and high school students. |
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