Have you ever wondered what it's like to teach with the Sustainable Development Goals in mind to middle school, English Learners? Please follow along with us as we take a year-long river journey and lift up SDG 6, access to clean water and sanitation.

River Journey

River Stewardship in Madison County

The mission of Madison County School District is to graduate independent, productive citizens. Such a citizen is one who recognizes and works to protect that which is valuable to the community. This year the focus of my three, accelerated-ESOL courses is for students to study, to recognize, and to become knowledgeable advocates for an invaluable– but silent– member of our Madison County community: the Broad River.

I, Kelli Bivins, am a firm believer in Place-Based Education which uses local topics of study to strengthen student academic knowledge and skills while simultaneously placing an emphasis on student research and participation in service projects to increase awareness about selected topics. According to a partnership between entities inducing the National Park Service and the US Forestry Service, “Place-based education (PBE) immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum.” (source)

Working alongside the founder of Madison County Middle School’s ESOL department and author, Mr. Joe Moore, we are guiding the students through this year-long course. Mr. Moore is an avid canoeist and a river expert, having served as a river guide in a variety of locations. One of many books of study Mr. Moore teaches is A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This book, read by seventh graders at our school, points to the need for all humans to have access to clean water. He also teaches Holes, by Luis Sachar, about a dried-up lake. These literature selections, plus Mr. Moore’s vast river experience and knowledge, will tie well into the direct ESOL classes as we examine and write about the value of having a healthy river in one’s community.

This project is innovative because we are positing the students as experts. They are community members and, as young people, have a large stake in the future of Madison County. Educating citizens to protect and preserve our natural resources will go a long way in maintaining such a high quality of life, such as the one enjoyed in Madison County.

Here are our Units and lessons:

Unit 1: What do we have in common with early humans?

Unit 2: All Living Things Need Access to Clean Water

Unit 3: What lives in our rivers? A close look at adaptations and evolution among organisms

Unit 4: How Can We Teach Other People to Take Care of Our River?: We need our rivers and our rivers need us.

Four interconnected units to teach appreciation of and stewardship of our county’s river.

Here are links to Unit One and what we have so far for Unit two. The purpose of this Unit One, “What do we have in common with early humans?” was to establish the universal need for clean water and the birth of agriculture and its need for water. (and, secondarily, that even people from early days communicated, made art, had families, etc). In addition to these lessons, students also have additional reading support built into our 55 minute classes.

Unit 1: What do we have in common with early humans?

Unit 2: All Living Things Need Access to Clean Water

Unit 3: What lives in our rivers? A close look at adaptations and evolution among organisms

Unit 4: How Can We Teach Other People to Take Care of Our River?: We need our rivers and our rivers need us

Students who are newly arrived to our country learn academic content and English simultaneously.

Project Update, end of Quarter Two

We are entering our eighth week of school, and the students have studied the Neolithic and Paleolithic Era and are ready to dive into learning about the Broad River. The first unit established the universal need for clean water and the birth of agriculture and its need for water.

Likewise, Mr. Moore’s sixth grade class is reading Holes by Louis Sachar that is set in a dried up lake. His seventh grade class is reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park which underlines the universal importance of water. Mr. Moore is our resident river specialist, and I am so grateful to be his colleague in ESOL.

This week our six, sixth grade leaders created a survey for their peers and found the following results:

Through this survey, we realized that 19% know that there is a river in Madison County and no one knows the name of the river. It is clear that there is a need for the work we are doing on river conservation and placed-based learning. I am so grateful that our Principal, Ms. Georgie Bullock has blessed this work!

Next week we are asking that the survey be distributed to all 1,200 students at Madison County Middle School. Then, our students' work to create awareness of our river will begin in earnest!

We have so much good news to share! Carly Robinson from Camp Kiwanis is eager to re-ignite the partnership between the River, Camp Kiwanis, and Madison County's middle school students. In the past there was an afterschool program devoted to teaching students about the Bluestone Creek on site at the camp. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the grant to fund buses will come through and that we will be able to have a river celebration near the end of the school year with our students and their families. This would be a step towards realizing my dream to have a place-based learning class like this one for all middle school students in Madison County, and even perhaps in all of Georgia.

Soon our group of sixth grade leaders will be participating in a virtual meeting on October 13th along with students whose teachers are also in the year-long program called “Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability”. I was awarded a 100% scholarship to participate in this teacher professional development program and student service through Shelburne Farms which focuses on teaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

There is so much to celebrate, and I am grateful for each of you and the interest you have in raising river stewards! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or anything to share.

Project Update, end of Quarter Three

In Unit Three we examined how genetic mutations can give rise to adaptations and organisms specifically suited for their environments. We took a close look at the habitat and ecosystem of the Broad River and studied its native animals and how they’ve evolved to survive and thrive. It was with sadness that we also looked at negative impacts humans make on our environment that can lead to detrimental effects on its organisms.

River Studies in centers

We also took a fieldtrip on March the 30th ("turd-i-th") to learn how water is reclaimed.

photos of ESOL fieldtrip

Cedar Creek Water Reclamation Facility

3/30 fieldtrip highlights

Visit to the University of Georgia

Unit 4, Advocacy

Our students wrote a letter to Governor Brian Kemp. They wanted to let him know that they care what happens to our river. They also wanted him to visit.

Royal Ambassadors on the Broad River