"Unless"

Last week in my class we celebrated Earth Day! (The only "semi-official" science-related sort of holiday there is). Every year I look forward to this very special tradition for my students and I, as it pays homage to one of the greatest teachers I have ever had from high school. :)

Every year Mr. Ulmer, my advanced biology teacher, would "act out" the famous Dr. Seuss story The Lorax for his classes. It became legendary, and kids would come back every year to see his outstanding performance. I remember watching him thinking, "That's how I want to be. I want to be the kind of teacher that creates fantastic memories like this for my students." Mr. Ulmer was the kind of teacher that you never forget. Kids didn't want to disappoint him, and he had some of the BEST classroom management I had ever witnessed. When I started teaching, I e-mailed Mr. Ulmer and asked him if I could "carry on" the Lorax tradition with my sixth graders. He, of course, was overjoyed and said yes. To this day it is the highlight of my year, and the "favorite" day of many of my students. Here is how it all goes down:

First, I tell only a few students about the special plans for Earth Day. Those students stay in with me during lunch and one day after school to help me decorate the classroom (it's a BIG job and takes a LOT of time). I also inform my kids to, "Wear GREEN" on Earth Day to show their spirit!

Then, on Earth Day Eve, we decorate. It usually takes a few hours.

On Earth Day, as the kiddos come in, they are greeted with this:

I also play music from the Broadway show, "Seussical" as they come in as well-just for extra fun!

I start by telling them about Mr. Ulmer and the impact he had on me, and then I go into my performance! I use my document camera to project pages from the book on the whiteboard, but I have a typed out script that I use to act out the different roles.

I have "The Oncelers" house...where I can peek out through the opening...

And my own stuffed Lorax. He acts like a puppet for most of the event.

I also have various props like a toy axe to make the "Truffula tree chop" sound, a container of water that I splash my hand in while the "Hummingfish" are humming, and a megaphone. The kids always get a big kick out of the different props and sound effects! :)

After the story, the kids pose for a class picture, and I hand out stickers with the word, "Unless" on them that they can proudly wear for the rest of the day. The word unless comes from the story.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It's not."

I LOVE this day! It takes a LOT of work, but it is so worth it! Seeing my former kids come back this morning to pop their heads in and take a peek at the decorations just speaks volumes. I hope that Mr. Ulmer would be proud...and I sure hope I can make as much of a difference in the lives of my kiddos as he did in mine!

Here are some photos from previous Earth Days in my class! (This year we didn't have any green chart paper, so we used purple for the grass-I like the green a lot better).

Happy Earth Day everyone!