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During the week of August 8th 2023, I visited the Shore Country Day School in Beverly, MA as a guest instructor and taught around 25-30 children entering Kindergarten to 6th grade. The classes included a variety of environmental topics including tree growth, sustainable farming practices, and more! The students were split into three groups - primarily based on grade level. The following is a breakdown of what I taught students during my days at the summer camp! 

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Day 1: Key Vocabulary

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Before jumping into the content itself, I spent time with all three groups reviewing and teaching them essential vocabulary. In order to make these lessons engaging, I used vocabulary worksheets provided by the Project Learning Tree organization. These worksheets included crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blank, and word-to-picture matching sections and were distributed based on the appropriate grade level/age. 

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Day 2: Sketching, Skits, & Games

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During my second day at the camp, I used the key vocabulary I taught the students the day before and applied it to the activities organized that day. 

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For the youngest group, my goal was to encourage them to observe nature, specifically the different parts of a tree. I took them to their campus garden and spent time with them sketching what they observed, including things such as bark, leaves, flowers, and more. 

Following the observation part of the lesson, we discussed patterns they may have observed. Some of the questions I asked them were: "What shape is the trunk?", "Are there any seeds, flowers, fruits, nuts, or cones on the tree?", and "What other plants or animals live on, in, or under the tree?".

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For another group, I presented them with a skit named "The Forest of S.T Shrew" which is focused on the complex interaction of organisms within an ecosystem. After the students participated in the skit, I encouraged them to discuss the specific interactions they observed. Additionally, they all got the opportunity to brainstorm any questions they had regarding forests and ecosystems, which I discussed and answered the next day. 

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Finally, for the last group, we started a game called "Every Tree for Itself" which is primarily focused on the components trees need to survive and grow in an ecosystem, factors that can contribute to the loss of a tree, and how farmers and foresters use their knowledge of competition between trees in their farming practices. The students had a lot of fun participating in this hands-on simulation and got the opportunity to apply the vocabulary they learned to describe their takeaways from the game. 

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Day 3: Reading & Games

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For the youngest group, I read the book Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate out loud to the students. This was a rewarding way to connect the vocabulary they learned and their tree and plant observations from the previous days to the story. 

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Both of the other groups engaged in the "Every Tree for Itself" game during the last day and enjoyed participating in this simulation. Following the game, we all discussed what occurred in each round and how it displayed what happens in forests and farms. 

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Takeaways: 

I truly enjoyed teaching these students about the environment in-person in fun and engaging ways. My favorite part of the lessons was hearing students discuss ways they plan to further care for their environment, specifically regarding certain farming and gardening practices they can follow from now on! 

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