As part of a 6 week unit of inquiry called “Our Global Impact”, AGC fourth graders learned about how human behaviors and actions negatively affect the environment. The students were inspired by their research to take various courses of action towards reducing the negative impact of plastic bags on their planet.
After watching the documentary “BagIt,” they were inspired to do some investigative journalism of their own. They invited Coleman Franklin, Co-founder and Vice President of Better Bag, and conducted an interview on camera. Coleman and his colleagues are part of a statewide and national movement to ban plastic bags because of their profound effect on the environment, food chain and our health. Better Bag, a Chicago-based startup, are offering a plastic bag alternative out of corn, other plants and sugar cane.
As they uncovered the truth about plastic, our students were shocked to find out how harmful plastic is to their earth, the animal kingdom and, ultimately, themselves. They decided to take action! In addition to working on their own documentary, raising awareness about plastic and its alternatives, our students organized a peaceful protest against the unnecessary use of plastic and plastic bags.
Fourth graders invited their peers, families, AGC staff and community members to march from 46th street to Archer Park on Earth Day, April 22nd, with signs and slogans while all the while picking up trash, plastic and compostables in the neighborhood. Classes from Kindergarten to 5th grade were invited and many to voted to join the march. Once at the park, 4th graders led small group discussions with their peers to share with them what they had learned in their unit of inquiry.
Our little school proudly filled the park with colorful posters drawn on recycled paper and cardboard. Take a moment to flip through this album and enjoy our students’ original slogans, including “Plastic Is Lame” and “Say BOO To Plastic.”
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- Isaac rallies his community with his voice.
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- AGC students collected recycling, landfill trash and compostables as they walked.
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- Kindergarteners hold hands as they walk across the park.
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- 4th graders lead a peer discussion.
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- 4th graders teach their peers about plastic and plastic alternatives.
The Plastic Bag Solution is now Better Bag. Could this be updated, we would love to share this story!
Sure! We’ll change that now. Thanks again for coming to inspire our students!