Teaching Sequence

15-20 minutes - Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
20-30 minutes - Part B: Selecting An Idea For Action
10-30 minutes - Part C: Planning Your Action
60+ minutes - Part D: Delivering Your Action
5-15 minutes - Part E: Project Completion

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Begin this lesson by inviting students to think about their school -

Option A. If students have completed the previous lesson:

Invite students to sit in circle and place the class map you created with students in the middle of the circle and ensure all students can see it. Share the map you created with students and invite them to share what they remember about the map and how it was made.
In addition, return to your notes of the things students found problematic about what they observed in their school; for example things were broken, where there was lots of litter, whether there were places for animals to sleep or feed, or how some parts of the school were difficult to access. Invite students to suggest new ideas and add these to your list.

You could rewrite student ideas on the board and work from the board for the rest of this lesson.

Option B. If students have not completed the previous lesson:

Conduct a brainstorm on things that could be improved at your school, focusing in particular on human-made, animal or environmental features such as:
- Human-made – Buildings, paths, play equipment, ovals or playing fields
- Animal – Nests, hollows, food plants for animals
- Environmental – Native plants, water (e.g. ponds, creek)
Examples could include things that are broken (such as play equipment), places where there seems to be lots of litter, low levels of natural vegetation for animals to feed or shelter in, garden beds that don’t have any plants, or parts of the school that are difficult to access.
Record student suggestions on the board.

Part B: Selecting An Idea For Action

Step 1.

Now explain to students that they are going to select one thing at their school that they think needs improving; this will be your ‘problem’. Explain to students that they will then work together to create a plan for addressing this problem.

There are several ways you could decide on which problem to pursue:

You could present students with a range of problems where improvements are feasible within the time frame you want to run the project in and with the resources available to you (e.g. proposing to knock down and rebuild a whole building might not be feasible; proposing improvements to natural vegetation within the school grounds is more feasible). Students could select their three favourite problems. The problem selected by the most students is the one that you pursue.
The teacher could propose a problem that they think is most feasible or that they know will meet with support from the rest of the school community, including the principal.

NOTE: Roots and Shoots offers mini grants to help schools and community groups get their environmental action projects up and running. Click here to investigate successful applications and how to apply.

Keep a record of all the problems you came up with in case the one selected proves to be unfeasible or to spark future inspiration.

Step 2.

Write your chosen problem on the board. You can now invite students to consider the following question in response to their problem:

Why is it this way?

The aim of this question is to begin to develop some causal understanding for why something is the way it is. For example:

The bins are overflowing. Why is it this way? Because we are bringing lots of rubbish with us in our lunchboxes.
There aren’t many birds at our school. Why is it this way? Because there is no food or shelter for them.
The garden beds are empty. Why is it this way? Because there is no money or time to replant them.
The swing is broken. Why is it this way? Because it is old.

Spend some time with students exploring the variety of reasons behind why parts of the school need improving.

Step 3.

Now look at the cause for the problem you identified in the previous step, and work with students to think about what types of actions you would need to take to address this problem. Pose the following question:

What could we do?

For example:

The bins are overflowing. Why is it this way? Because we are bringing lots of rubbish with us in our lunchboxes. What could we do? We could sort out the rubbish and see what could be recycled or start a plastic free lunch day each week.
There aren’t many birds at our school. Why is it this way? Because there is no food or shelter for them. What could we do? We could plant more plants that birds like to eat and shelter in or we could create nesting boxes for birds.
The garden beds are empty. Why is it this way? Because there is no money or time to replant them. What could we do? We could raise money to buy new plants for the garden beds or we could grow plants from seeds in the classroom to then plant in the garden beds.
The swing is broken. Why is it this way? Because it is old. What could we do? We could write a letter to the principal asking them to replace it or we could raise money to buy a new swing.

Note: The Examples Of Action Factsheet could be used to encourage thinking of actions that could be taken. You may also like to set aside time to view the Roots and Shoots Australia website exploring recent projects.

Work with students to create a mind-map of your ideas for what you could do to address your problem. You could create your mind-map on the board or use an online tool like mindmeister, bubbl.us or padlet. As you create your mind-map, encourage students to be inspired by what other students are suggesting, and to think creatively and imaginatively about what you could do.

Once you have generated a range of ideas, you can then work with students to choose an idea for action.

Part C: Planning Your Action

The planning phase has been written to be completed by the teacher; however, opportunities for student involvement do exist.

Once you and your students have made a decision on the type of action, you can begin planning what your action will look like, what resources you will need and the timeline for you project. Use this Project Planning Guide to help with your planning.

Remember to photograph student involvement in this stage of your project.

Students could be involved in this process by:

Helping define what the project is and what success will look like (e.g. How will you know when you are done?)
Thinking about what materials and resources will be needed to complete the project
Thinking about who else could be involved in the project
Designing ways to communicate what they’re doing with the school community

Some other useful tips:

Part D: Delivering Your Action

After you have completed the planning process, allow time for students to action their project.

Remember to photograph student involvement in this stage of your project.

You could use this Project Checklist to help you stay on track with your project.

Consider the following tips when supporting students through the action phase of their projects:

Part E: Project Completion

Option A. Once you have completed your social action project, consider using the Assessment and Reflection lesson to analyse, reflect upon and celebrate your project.

Option B. Alternatively, if you are unable to complete the Assessment and Reflection lesson you could invite students to engage in a discussion around the following questions:

Was our project a success? Why or why not?
What parts of the project were the most successful and why?
What parts of the project were the least successful and why?
How would we improve these parts?
How would we improve the project overall?
What challenges did we face and how did we overcome them?
What are we going to do next?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Roots & Shoots - Take Action

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