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Fifth Grade Explores Service and Sustainability
Making an IMPΔCT
Fifth Grade Explores Service and Sustainability
It’s a big question, but one that St. Andrew’s fifth graders are bravely tackling with their ongoing project, IMPΔCT. After some exploration, students came to an answer: we are here to serve other people. With IMPΔCT, a website using digital storytelling to explore service learning, sustainability, and social justice, fifth grade aims to spread awareness that our everyday actions, no matter how big or small, have a larger impact on the people and the world around us than we may realize.
A collaboration between Language Arts and Social Studies classes, IMPΔCT was spearheaded by fifth grade teachers Mark Garcia and Michele Turner. “At first, I didn’t believe that my teachers were actually building a website. It was amazing – I’ve never seen anything like it,” said fifth grader Iker Lopez about the early days of the project. Students were thrilled to take on a project of this magnitude and dove in head first.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have been a leading guidepost for the IMPΔCT site. These goals were set up by the UN in 2015 in order to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Fifth grade chose three of the seventeen UN goals to focus on for the IMPΔCT project: 1) climate action, 2) reduced inequalities, and 3) peace,
Will Greenberg, Sally Queen, Caroline Bentley, and Avery Torres present an infographic they created about microaggressions.
Making an IMPΔCT
justice, & strong institutions. Students choose topics to explore as they relate to these three sustainable development goals.
The site is full of student-created videos, podcasts, essays, and drawings, all focusing on a different aspect of social justice or sustainability. So far, fifth grade students have educated on topics like microaggressions, marine pollution, media literacy, racial and gender inequality, and antisemitism, among so many others. There is always something new to learn: you can find student diagrams of an ideal “green city” focused on energy conservation and lower levels of pollution, videos about the future of journalism and artificial intelligence, and photos and audio reflections from the fifth grade volunteer trip to Community First Village, a 51-acre master planned community in Austin that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness.
Each webpage features action steps provided by students, allowing their reader to take their education from online to real-life application and prove that small actions really do create lasting change. Iker had a particular interest in the research the class did on media literacy: “I learned that a lot of people were getting scammed with the news they were getting. Many people were not getting the reliable news they needed and the people who were getting unreliable news didn’t know it wasn’t reliable. While I was doing my research, I learned how important fact-checking is.” Fifth grader Madelyn
Madelyn Gurasich and Fisher Works recorded a podcast on their thoughts on the book “Insignificant Events In The Life of a Cactus,” which told the story of a young girl who was born without arms.
PK Blake and Iker Lopez on IMPΔCT launch day.
Gurasich has loved any time she’s gotten to explore climate action: “I really like anything to do with the planet section of IMPΔCT because I feel really strongly about helping the planet.”
Students love the various methods of digital storytelling they are able to use to get their message across. “I love writing, but my favorite method was podcasting. When we first did the podcast, it was about this really lovely book that we read that I really liked [Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling] and at first, I didn’t even know it was ever going to be on IMPΔCT. Doing the podcast was a really free way to express my feelings.” said Madelyn.
On December 7, the fifth grade invited St. Andrew’s administration, faculty, and parents to the McGill Chapel to present their website to the public for the first time. The community was amazed at the inspiring work that had gone into the site. IMPΔCT has not only allowed the students to spread their message to others, but it has inspired the fifth graders themselves to make positive changes in their own lives. Both Iker and Madelyn noted a new dedication to sustainability since they have started the IMPΔCT project. “I’ve been trying to find better ways for me to live more sustainably.” said Madelyn. “I’ve been composting and recycling. Now I’m really aware of throwing away too much trash or even using so much trash.”
From their earliest years at St. Andrew’s, students learn how to become global citizens with the help of their teachers. The fifth grade has been doing incredible work – they are sure to inspire others with their passion, intelligence, and initiative. Check out IMPΔCT to learn more.
TOP PHOTO: Students do landscaping work at their volunteer day at Community First Village, which provides affordable permanent housing and a supportive community for people coming out of chronic homelessness.
LEFT PHOTO: Chance Fresch and Aaron Berman present research on media literacy at the Fifth Grade Newseum, also spotlighted on IMPΔCT.
