ORCA Classroom Connections
March 2020
Welcome back to Orca’s quarterly teacher resource newsletter!

Spring is nearly here, and we’ve got you covered for free lesson plans and activities, discount codes and book suggestions as you shift into the final months of the school year.
Bringing Sustainability into Your Classroom
 
This month we're helping teachers bring sustainability into their classroom discussions. With Earth Day quickly approaching (April 22, 2020), these activities will encourage students to take positive action now and help them better understand how sustainability fits into their lives at school and at home.
 
With excerpts, lessons plans, videos and downloadable worksheets, the following ready-to-use activities will get your students thinking green, just in time for spring.
Artwork by Irene Luxbacher
from Treasure .
Stay Connected!
Check out previous editions of Orca Classroom Connections on the Orca Teacher Resources section of our website.

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for your next newsletter in May 2020.
Elementary School—Classroom Activity
In  Justine McKeen, Walk the Talk , the second book in the Justine McKeen series, Justine decides there are too many cars idling in front of her school. So she comes up with a solution that should help keep the air cleaner. But she soon discovers not many adults trust her crazy ideas.
Justine McKeen: Walk the Talk
by Sigmund Brouwer, illustrated by Dave Whamond
Orca Echoes (Fiction Ages 6-8)
Get your students thinking about story in a whole new way.

When you remember your favorite teachers, it’s nearly certain that you remember how they made you feel good about yourself, not the exact points of what they taught you.

In short, humans connect through the heart, which is how and why songs and stories impact us. And though we connect by telling stories, much more important is that we connect by listening to stories.

This classroom activity is "Story Move 1" from Orca's Story Ninja Program , a set of 21 ready-to-use lesson plans and accompanying videos that cover story-building, writing and editing, featuring bestselling author Sigmund Brouwer. It includes a video to watch with your students, a PDF download from Justine McKeen: Walk the Talk and a lesson plan with follow-up activities.
Middle School—Classroom Activity
Let's Eat: Sustainable Food for a Hungry Planet
by Kimberley Veness
Nonfiction Ages: 9 – 12
The journey our food takes to get to our table can sometimes be very involved and have a huge environmental impact. If we are going to consider feeding all the people on the planet, we
need to create alternative farming and growing technologies for sustainable consumption.

In this activity, students will read chapter 1 of Let's Eat , respond to a series of discussion questions and create a Food-Travel Log to track how far the food in their fridges has travelled.
All the food you eat, whether it's an apple or a steak or a chocolate-coated cricket, has a story. Let's Eat uncovers the secret lives of our groceries, exploring alternative—and sometimes bizarre—farm technology, and touring gardens up high on corporate rooftops and down low in military-style bunkers beneath city streets.
High School—Classroom Activity
In One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet , conservation biologist Anuradha Rao profiles Black, Indigenous and People of Colour leading various environmental efforts around the globe. From saving ancient trees on the West Coast of Canada to protecting the Irrawaddy dolphins of India and uncovering racial inequalities in the food system in the United States, environmental heroes of all ages and ethnicities are celebrated in this book.
One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet
by Anuradha Rao
Nonfiction Ages 12+
Applicable to different courses and subjects, this classroom activity will build research and presentation skills while educating students about various environmental efforts and activism all around the world.

Download and print out the worksheet provided to begin this activity in your classroom.
A Reading Roundup (and Discount!) on Books About Earth and the Environment
Looking for books to spark conversations with your students about sustainability, climate change and protecting the environment? This month, we’re offering a 30% discount on all titles in our Earth and the Environment category.

Visit Orca's Earth and the Environment category to view titles and apply the discount code at checkout.
Discount code: GREEN30
Save 30% on all Earth and the Environment titles at orcabook.com until
March 31, 2020.
@orcabook