Going Green - Activities For the Classroom

MUCH has been written about going green and it has become a cause which is close to many people's heart. Today a lot more of us are aware of the concerns of the environment. It is essential, therefore, that we learn from our mistakes and make sure the coming generations do not repeat them. It is to this end that we must educate and spread awareness. More importantly, we need to catch them young and teachers play a very important role here. Following are some fun activities that teachers can conduct in class to help students become more aware of the problems of the environment and teach them how to do their bit.

Board games: With the aid of the teacher, the students can create a board game which would highlight those activities that are good/ bad for the environment. Students move forward if they land on a square with something that is good for the environment such as 'Used a cloth bag instead of plastic one. Move forward 2 squares,' and so on. Similarly, students have to move back if they land on a negative square such as "Left the water running, Move back two squares," and so on.

Am I degradable? The students need to learn how to distinguish between items that are degradable and those that are not, so that they think twice before throwing something on the street. This could be a long term project. At the beginning of the school year, students can bury a jumble of both biodegradable (such as fruit peels, paper etc.) and non-biodegradable items (such as plastic bags, metals pieces, foam cups etc.) The students can dig these up and look at the end of the specified time and observe which things degraded and which didn't.

Show and tell: The students can be asked to bring a news article/poem/ story or any other written material related to the environment to share with the class. They can explain what they have learned from it. Older students can be asked to bring in their own creations.

If I was the environment minister...: The teacher can conduct a short speech competition in class. The students would be asked to talk about what they would do for the environment if they were the minister for the environmental affairs in their country. The winner gets some craft made in the class out of waste materials.

Friends and Enemies: The teachers can take students out to the mall or can bring some pictures to class of various things around us. The students would have to brand these things as 'Friends' or 'Enemies' and give them stars out of five, five being a friend of the environment and one star being an enemy. For example, CFLs, cloth bags and dustbins are 'Friends' whereas bulbs, factories and aerosol cans are 'Enemies'. The students can follow up this activity by bringing their own pictures from home.

My garden: It would be helpful if the school has a big area for this activity. The school can allot a small section of the field/garden to each class. The whole year round the class would be responsible for planting, keeping clean and the general upkeep of the place. At the end of the school year a local expert could be called in to judge whose area is the best, based on the variety of plants and flowers planted, and how the area fared throughout the year. This activity will inculcate a sense of belonging in the students.

Best from waste secret santa: This puts a green twist to this well-known game. Each student will secretly be given the name of another student in the class. They have to be that person's secret santa and bring a gift for them on Christmas. However, instead of getting just any gift from your secret santa, students can make some gifts out of waste materials and present those.

My beautiful earth: It is not enough to expose students just to the problems that the environment faces today. The students need to be able to appreciate just how beautiful and breathtaking mother nature really is. The teachers can introduce students to the wonders of the wildlife, by taking them to the zoo or a sealife centre. Alternatively, the teacher can take up the case study of an animal that interests the students and various activities can be conducted in class related to it. There can be poems, skits, fact sessions, quizzes and so on. The teachers can, also, organise trips to areas rich in natural beauty to enable students to enjoy that or learn about such places all over the world in the classroom. Tree plantation drives and clean-up drives can also be taken up.