Balmville Fifth Grade Scholars Present on Social Justice Activists: Greta Thunberg, Isatou Ceesay, and William Kamkwamba

Balmville's fifth grade students have been exploring the social justice topics of Racial Inequities, Environmental Justice, Food Justice, and LGBTQIA+ Social Justice. As a culminating activity for Ms. D'Amico's and Mrs. Crozzoil's class' most recent unit of study on Environmental and Food Justice, students were asked to explore the impact of climate heroes and food justice issues as it relates to their Newburgh community. An extension to this keystone project was to present their learning to the Balmville students and teachers. Fifth graders conducted mini lessons for classes in grade Pre-K thru fifth about specific climate heroes, such as: Greta Thunberg, Wangari Maathai, Isatou Ceesay, and William Kamkwamba, as well as shared their knowledge of Food Justice and Food Apartheid, and how it affects low income and rural areas.  Scholars learned and taught others how Food Justice is a grassroots movement in response to food insecurity and the lack of access to healthy foods. Each mini lesson included a reading of a children's book: Our House is On Fire: Greta Thunberg's Call to Save the Planet, Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter, One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, Saturday at the Food Pantry by Diane O'Neill, and Jayden's Impossible Garden by Melina Mangal.

 

 

Mrs.Crozzoli and Ms.D'Amico began this social justice exploration in October 2021 hoping to stir up a desire within children to know more and do better, for themselves, their Newburgh community, and the world. This is a class of change makers and we're going to hear their voice on a larger platform one day.