What about plastic bags?!

Reading non-fiction stories sometimes has a startling and unexpected impact that can even be very emotional.  That’s what happened in first grade as we were reading stories in preparation for our hero study.  Two of the stories we read had to do with individual responses to problems created by plastic bag litter.  In One Plastic Bag, a young woman learns that plastic bag litter is causing problems for her family’s goats and her response along with friends and neighbors is to gather the bags, wash them and weave them into purses that they sell.  They not only clean up the streets, which helps everyone, and the goats, they are able to buy more goats for the community.  In Plastic Bags Sacked, a ten year old boy is angered when he learns that sea turtles are dying because they are eating plastic bags that they believe are jelly fish.  He gathers his friends and they tell everyone they can, including businesses, of the dangers of plastic bags and implore to stop using them.  Their small group expands exponentially around the world so that there are now more than 7,000 groups following their lead. 

When we finished the second story, hands went up and it seemed every student had an idea: let’s collect bags and recycle them, we can make jump ropes with them, let’s write letters to the stores that use them, we can make eco bricks… and they got right to work!  They made signs to collect bags  and began making jump ropes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTJEcqAxra0&feature=youtu.be) and flower bouquets (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHQHuhk7kZA&feature=youtu.be).  They wrote letters to many stores.  One student’s mom came in and helped us make ‘eco bricks’ (plastic bottles stuffed with plastic bags and other plastic waste) to help build a bench.  Then we learned about the 7^th graders here at AFS also undertaking a plastic bag project!  We were so excited!

 We had an amazing afternoon visiting in Roseanne Liberti’s class where her students taught us about their project (weaving 800 plastic bags into mats for homeless people) and helped us make ‘plarn’ (plastic yarn) and taught us how to weave on their looms!  It was so incredible that we had this connection right here in our school!

We of coarse invited the 7^th graders to our class and explained how our journey began.  Then the first graders taught them how to make plastic bag flowers and eco bricks!  It was so inspiring to see young students working with older students toward a common goal to help our environment!  And it was even more amazing that it was all started by their own heart felt response to literature!