Think Green
< PALEYEDUCATION : Online Classes
Grades 1-2
Class Description
In an effort to aid at-home learning, we are making selected media for this typically on-site class available here online, including pre-viewing focus questions and post-viewing discussion questions.
The global community recently celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. With that in mind, we believe now is a crucial time for students to examine the environmental issues facing our planet and the importance of storytelling in changing hearts and minds. By using short clips from the Paley Archive as a jumping off point for discussion and consideration, we hope students will think more about ways they can nurture and protect the world that surrounds them.
Related Vocabulary/Concepts
ENVIRONMENT: The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
LIFE CYCLE: A series of changes in form that an organism undergoes, returning to the starting state. (find out more)
REDUCE/REUSE/RECYCLE/REPAIR: Reducing is cutting back on the amount of trash we make, reusing is finding a new way to use trash so that we don't have to throw it out, recycling is using trash to remake new goods that can be sold again, and repairing is fixing something broken in order to use it again. (find out more)
Pre-Viewing Reflection:
• What is an environment in your own words?
• What kinds of things do you see in your environment?
• Can anyone think of an example of another kind of environment?
• How do you think people affect their environment?
• How does the environment affect us?
Siebenstein: Die Blume (The Flower)
Our clips are from the Paley Archive. To view, you need to register. If you have already received your username and password, click to log in and view media.
Pre-Viewing Focus Question:
• In this story, you will meet a man who wants to grow a plant. Notice everything the man does to help his plant grow.
Post-Viewing Discussion Questions:
• What happens in this story?
• How does he plant his flower? What do plants need in order to grow?
• How do you think this man feels about his plant? How can you tell?
• How do you think that the man felt about waiting for his plant to grow?
• Have you ever had to wait for anything? How did it make you feel?
• What happens to his flower at the end? What does he do after the flower dies?
• So far we have seen that flowers start from seeds. Can you think of something else that starts from seed?
• Why do you think planting is important? How do you think planting helps our environment?
• Do you think that the environment you live in has been changed as a result of you living there? If so, how?
• Do you think the changes that people have made to your environment have been changes for the better? Why or why not?
• Do you think that any of these changes have hurt the environment? If so, how?
Rocko's Modern Life: “Zanzibar”
Our clips are from the Paley Archive. To view, you need to register. If you have already received your username and password, click to log in and view media.
Pre-Viewing Focus Question:
• What kinds of problems do these animals discover about their environment and what do they do to solve the problems?
Post-Viewing Discussion Questions:
• What happens in this story?
• At the beginning of the story, what are all of the animals doing? What impact does it have on the community?
• What were the problems that these animals discovered?
• What solutions did they come up with?
• Why do you think the characters are always singing songs to make a point? Do you think songs can help people understand a problem/solution?
• What do you do with your garbage?
• What do you think are some things we can do to make less waste?
• Why do you think it is important to take care of our environment?
3-2-1 Contact: “The Rotten Truth”
Our clips are from the Paley Archive. To view, you need to register. If you have already received your username and password, click to log in and view media.
Pre-Viewing Focus Question:
• What problem is presented in this clip? Is there a solution?
Post-Viewing Discussion Questions:
• What happens in this story?
• How do landfills work?
• What problems are presented?
• What solutions are also presented?
• Even with required recycling in the city now, there are only 23 years of space left in NYC landfills. What will happen when we run out of space?
• Where do you think we should put our garbage?
• What other solutions can you come up with?
Additional Resources
Learn more about starting your own “food scrap garden.”
50 Years of Earth Day: What’s Better Today, and What’s Worse
Earth Day Curriculum Resources, K-5