Special Days
The United Nations has set aside special days, weeks, years and even decades known as the United Nations Observances to bring awareness to human rights issues. Here is a list of some of these days that happen throughout the 2015 Classroom Energy Diet Challenge and ways that your classroom can celebrate while earning points!
March 21 – International Day of Forests and the Tree
This day encourages people across the globe to acknowledge the importance of trees and forests, and the need to protect them for future generations. Get Growing is a great challenge to complete to help students understand carbon offsetting and the role that trees play in cleaning air.
March 22 – World Water Day
Water is an essential to life and at the core of sustainable development. In addition to this day, 2015 is also the year of Water and Sustainable Development. What better way to help students understand how vital water is than by examining indirect uses of it through the Water Works challenge?
April 7 – World Health Day
This year, World Health Day focuses on food safety. Use this day as an opportunity to discuss with your students local farming, genetically modified organisms and the importance of healthy eating habits. You can also have students examine their own lunches, look at where some of their food items come from and calculate its carbon footprint for the What’s For Lunch? challenge.
April 22 – International Mother Earth Day
Earth Day celebrates our planet and promotes environmental activism. This day can be connected to just about any challenge in the CEDC. Take your classroom outside and pick up trash for the Community Connections challenge, complete the One Hour, No Power challenge or create an art display out of recycled materials for the Post-It! challenge.
April 23 – World Book and Copyright Day
This day is dedicated to celebrating world literature, paying tribute to great authors and encouraging everyone to discover the power of the written word. This is also the date that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. This is a great opportunity for your students to write their own energy story and read it to another class for the Story Time challenge.
