A Lesson In How To Use An Old Product In A New Way

This was written by Chris Pagliuco and provided to Madison Patch by Daniel Hand High School: 

The words reduce, reuse and recycle are heard everywhere, but what is the fourth “R”?

On May 1 and 2, in honor of Earth Day, members from the Daniel Hand Environmental Club travelled to Island Avenue Elementary School to answer that question with third grade students. 

The answer is repurposing, or using an older product in a new way.  This was the subject of a two-day lesson organized by Daniel Hand students as part of the third grade curriculum on the environment. 

“It was neat, our group travelled to and from Island Avenue Elementary School utilizing the school buses along their everyday routes, so we saved carbon and money at the same time.” club advisor, and DHHS teacher, Chris Pagliuco said. 

The event was entirely initiated and designed by club members with junior Isabelle Baird serving as club liaison with teacher Renee Pardo at Island Avenue. The students worked to create age-appropriate information and activities and overcame many obstacles in the process.

“I think the planning and execution of the lesson was a real challenge for our club and is an invaluable experience that we will be able to build upon as we work toward other goals.” Pagliuco explained.

Once they arrived, Hand students broke up into groups of three in the classrooms of Ms. Pardo, Ms. Horn and Ms. Signore.  There they presented a short video they created on different examples of repurposing from around the home. 

Then, they introduced the classes to their project of creating humming bird feeders out of water bottles and food storage containers. Before beginning construction however, the Hand students presented a power point about hummingbirds to their respective groups.

Among other astounding biological facts, the third graders learned about the amazing 450 mile hummingbird migration route from Connecticut and then compared the weight of a hummingbird to that of different coins (they weigh the same as a nickel). Once finished, the classrooms burst with activity as students enthusiastically got to work assembling their feeders. It was a learning process for elementary and high school students alike.

“At first, when I walked into the room and I didn't have the kids' attention, I didn't know what to do. So I clapped my hands in a pattern, raised my voice and jumped right in. It worked!” club member Aimee Merkel-Scotland recalled. It was clear having the high school students in their classroom meant a lot to the third-graders.

“Are there any boys in club?” one boy asked. When two male club members walked through the door, he cheered, “There are!” happily noting that environmentalism is not a passion of only females.

It was clear the two groups enjoyed each other’s company.

As the high school students got ready to leave, they nearly missed their bus because they were signing the autograph books of their students! Island Avenue students left for the day with new knowledge and hummingbird feeders dangling from their wrists, and Hand students departed with new-found confidence and leadership skills.