Memories That Will Last a Lifetime

I am so amazed at how much my students have grown and learned as a part of our PBL this year.  Our PBL, From Turtles to Tigers, may have ended in December but the learning has lasted all year long.  It all started in September when we read an article in Scholastic News about sea turtles.  The kids just couldn't get enough, so we began to read more and more about these amazing creatures.  As the kids learned what animals need to survive, we created the ideal habitat for sea turtles. 

 

Through our research and reading literary texts, we learned that sea turtles were in danger and needed our help!  My very thoughtful 3rd graders wanted to do something to help these majestic sea creatures.  They brainstormed and came up with a list of ways that they wanted to make a difference.  We finally decided to donate money to the sea turtle hospital right here in the great state of South Carolina.  The students came up with some great ways to raise money.  In December, the kids made sea turtle ornaments to sell for Christmas.  

 

With the help of our supportive OES families, this fundraiser allowed us to earn enough money to adopt 2 sea turtles through the SC Sea Turtle Hospital.  As the months have gone by my students have continued to talk about the sea turtles and share ideas that they have about how they could help save the them.  Finally, last week they were able to see the sea turtles that our $1,000 donation is going to help.  I have never seen a more excited group of boys and girls!  First, we went through the aquarium to check out some other sea creatures. 

 

Then we were finally able to make our way down to the Sea Turtle Hospital.  Seeing the look of amazement on my kids' faces was well worth the time and effort we spent on this PBL!  The kids were full of questions for the hospital workers and kept asking wanted to know which sea turtles they had adopted.

I truly wouldn't have thought that moment could get any better!  BUT IT DID!!!  They had the very rare opportunity to see a 475 pound leatherback sea turtle named Yawkey who had been captured the Saturday before our visit.  This is the only leatherback sea turtle the SC Sea Turtle hospital has ever had. 

 

 

The next day we learned that Yawkey had been released shortly after our visit.

 

 

We read the article about Yawkey's release and watched the video of it.

                                     

 

These are memories that I know I will hold on to for the rest of my life.  I hope that my students will hold tightly to these special memories and know that they have made a difference in the world!