Beautify America this April

How do you encourage and inspire your class to make a difference in the community? April provides many great opportunities for helping your kids understand that everyone must be concerned with ecology and conservation. You can recognize Earth Day (April 22^nd) and Arbor Day (April 27^th) in your classroom by trying any of the many ideas listed below to honor Keep America Beautiful Month this April.

What Can I Do?

Let your students know how important keeping the environment clean is, and how each and every one of them can make a real difference. Here are several ways to present this information:

• Picture books: Check out your local library for pictures books on pollution or recycling. Two suggestions are The Lorax and Look Out For Litter.
• Online comic: From Clean Sweep USA, this comic allows the viewer to see potential dangers to their community as well as things they can do to help.
• Video: Many communities have posted videos about beautification projects they have taken undertaken in their neighborhoods. Additionally, there are videos promoting recycling or planting trees. Websites, such as Youtube and Teachertube, can be excellent resources for these inspiring videos.

After your class has internalized the provided information, give them time to respond. Depending on the age and the dynamic of your classroom, the appropriate method of response may vary, but can include:

• Journaling: Block out time for pupils to write what they are feeling after the first step.
• Class discussion: Whether on a carpet or at their desks, encourage pupils to react to the damage humans are causing to the earth.
• Think, pair, share: Give each individual time to reflect independently and possibly jot down a few notes on a notecard or piece of paper. Then, have partners discuss their thoughts. Finally, provide a time for your class to share their opinions. 

Next, create time for students to brainstorm projects for Keep America Beautiful Month. Given time and opportunity, they will be able to think of some projects that they could do even though they are children. Offer them these ideas for places they could do their projects:

• In the classroom
• At school
• At home
• In the community

Ample time to brainstorm without adult input is essential. When they are allowed to be creative thinkers, your learners will be more motivated to participate in their projects. Often, students are more excited about ideas they develop themselves than they are about the ideas that adults determine for them. Ideally, brainstorming should happen toward the end of March, so that your class has the entire month of April to develop and implement its plan.

If your class struggles with developing their own ideas, here is a short list to get them started:

• Tackle the litter around the school. Set aside a time each week to survey the school property and as a class, pick up the trash.
• Reduce waste. Encourage everyone at school to see how much waste they can cut out by using the backs of papers or miniature white boards instead of paper and pencil.
• Beautify your community. Focus your efforts away from the school property and spruce up a nearby area. You never know the inspiration your class find, once they are outside of their usual four walls. 
• Take a pledge. Challenge your pupils to reduce, reuse, and recycle at home. Taking a pledge can give them the nudge they might need to participate in a project, as well as it can bring in family involvement.
• Create posters to encourage others to keep America beautiful. Explain to students the importance of awareness and that awareness can be increased through posters. Ask local stores, gyms, or libraries to display the posters.

What Can My School Do?

Each of the above ideas can be expanded to a larger scale; some of them can be turned into a school-wide competition. How many pledges can each class get? Which class uses the least amount of paper?

Put on a school-wide Keep America Beautiful Fair. You can invite various local agencies to participate, such as local park rangers, Boy Scout troops, FAA, and local affiliates of Keep America Beautiful. Some groups may have presentations; some may simply have displays. Provide a structure for the fair to support presentations and displays. Students can create their own displays or presentations that display the ways they keep America beautiful at home and school. These displays and presentations can include recycling, composting, gardening, and more.

Let this year be the year your class inspires those around them to take care of the environment and keep the USA clean and beautiful.

Related Resources:

Classroom Paper Recycling

Looking for a lesson to spur pupils into deeper thinking? This Common-Core aligned lesson asks students to consider how paper recycling works. It contains a history of paper recycling and a hands-on exploration.

Compose in a Bag

Want to explain what compost is or how the decomposition process works? Use this interactive lesson to demonstrate it. Not only does the lesson allow students to easily notice change, but it also requires minimal day-to-day upkeep and has a minimal amount of mess compared to many decomposition activities.

Out On a Limb!

Seeking to connect science with nonfiction articles? This lesson challenges pupils to consider their role in being a good steward of the earth while reading and discussing a variety of non-fiction articles. Prior to Arbor Day, this lesson can be a good springboard prior to a project; however, it may also be used any time during the year.