School Demographics
I teach 5th grade at an elementary school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our school is in midtown, with a diverse population. About half of the students live in the school’s neighborhood and the other half comes from all over the city. Our school district has made an effort to emphasize social emotional learning and social justice in classrooms. The aim is for students to build empathy and connect coursework to real world problems and solutions. My students are developing their personal identities, and they are interested in learning about the world. This environmental justice unit will not only meet their science academic standards, but also show them the disproportional social impact and injustices caused by plastic pollution.
The topic of plastic pollution is an environmental issue that upper elementary students can easily relate to and understand. Recycling clubs and programs are popular in elementary schools across the United States. Our school has a Recycling Club. The 5th graders are assigned to a classroom, and they are responsible for taking the recycling bin to the recycling receptacle outside. The Recycling Club gives students a sense of purpose as they help their school community. Being environmentally and socially conscious is popular, even among elementary students. Students use reusable water bottles religiously. Reusable water bottle sales were valued at $8.64 billion dollars in 2021 and expected to increase 4.3% the following year.7 Even curriculum companies have recognized the relevance environmentalism has for students as there are units on protecting the environment in our district’s reading and science mandated curriculum programs. The seeds of environmental justice are planted for students and this unit will build on their interests and academic needs.
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