PVC Fifth-Graders Team Up on a Project to Protect Our Planet 

Future environmentalists? Future researchers? Future journalists? For PVC fifth-graders, these are real possibilities thanks to a recent interdisciplinary project called Planet Protectors: Watching the Western Hemisphere. 

The Planet Protectors project synergized science with social studies, utilizing students’ research and writing skills, as well as layout and design to create a newspaper featuring the students’ articles. “For our Western Hemisphere unit Western, we wanted to develop an assignment that combines environmental issues, geography, and advocacy,” said Erica Camilo, 5th grade teacher. “Students selected a location in the Western Hemisphere and investigated an environmental issue affecting that area. Next, they crafted articles and visuals for a digital newspaper to raise awareness about their chosen cause. They researched the organizations working on solutions and explored real-world efforts to create change. This project was a first for all of us - teachers and students.”

The multi-week project involved both independent and group work, which was new to PVC fifth-graders. “I don’t work in groups much, and if given a choice, I’d probably rather work alone. A lot of it was new to me, and I’ve never done a project about a certain place and how it’s being affected by pollution and other things,” said Esme. “We each had separate jobs that were divided between us. My job was to research the location, The Hudson Bay in Northeastern Canada. Lucas’ job was to work on the local organization that was helping.”. Group members were responsible for researching credible sources through databases and writing an article for the newspaper on their topic of focus. “I chose Polar Bears International, I had to do a lot of digging on the website and jotting down notes. I would go back into the organization and find more information, so everything was accurate,” said Lucas. “ I learned a lot about the organization. They set up cameras in Norway and put tracker chips on polar bears so they can track them on a digital map. I was surprised that the Hudson Bay includes other inlets, bays, and coves jutting through Hudson Bay and towards Ontario and Manitoba. I didn’t know that Polar Bears live that far down south.”

During the multi-week project, regular review sessions were factored into the schedule. Students in the same class would review each others’ projects and offer feedback, and larger review sessions would include all the fifth-grade classes. Students would volunteer to present their newspaper project to the larger group and answer questions from other students. “The process of review and editing was an important component of the project,” said Ms. Camilo. “Students would regularly return to their work, organizing, double checking their notes, and appropriately citing their sources.”  For team members, reviews were a welcomed daily occurrence. “It was nice sharing my thoughts with someone else. We didn’t just work on our sections, we also read each other’s sections and helped them edit,” said Esme. “I had my page to design, and I shared a page with my teammate. For the page that we shared, we had to discuss how we were going to organize it.”

Claire’s newspaper masthead reads: Need To Know with the headlines: The One and Only Central Rainforest, The Ecosystem in the Mayan Rainforest is Vanishing, and Helping Hands. “I was assigned the Central American Mayan Rainforest. The part I wrote about for the article was the organizations that are helping the animals being affected by environmental issues in the rainforest, such as infrastructure development and deforestation, like jaguars, howler monkeys, and parrots,” she said. “That’s how I learned about the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy and how they enlist volunteers to clean up the rainforest and plant new trees.”  

Ms. Camilo’s observations of students’ progress on the multi-faceted project were encouraging and inspiring. “From research and writing through the design process, students embraced the needs of the assignment, which included collaboration on the project as a whole and individual ownership for their parts,” she said. “This project empowered students to think critically, work as a team, and take meaningful action for a more sustainable future.” 

Taking pride in her team’s work, Claire shared her reflections on the experience. “It was interesting working in a group of three, especially when I would change something to the project. It was also fun to learn about places I didn't know about. I had never heard of the Mayan Rainforest before,” she said. “I am happy with the finished product. I think it came out beautifully.”