Education Commons^™

Engaging Children With Animals Increases Their Awareness Of Their Footprint On Earth, Brett Foster

Honors Theses

Teachers should reserve time in their classrooms to connect curriculum to animals and environmental topics. Connecting core subjects like writing, reading, or even math to animals builds student investment in learning as they can connect the topics of animals to their lives. Animals are all around us and are a topic that students naturally spend a lot of time with and can easily identify in the world around them. There are several benefits of incorporating animals into the curriculum, including an increased sense of empathy, an awareness of their environmental impact, and an investment in their community.

I have focused …

Esperanza Rising And Identity: Exploring Literature And Self In Upper Elementary School, Emma Fuller

Honors Theses

Upper elementary students benefit from exposure to windows and mirrors in literature. The term “mirrors” refers to when students can relate to characters and situations, and see their own lives valued in an academic context. Mirrors are important for representation in schools because it allows students to reflect on their own learning. “Windows” allow students to see a perspective into other people’s lives. They are important because they encourage reflection on different ideas and empathy among students. One of many literary works with strong “windows” and “mirrors” is Pam Munoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising. In this Senior Project, I focused on …