Hudson On Line

Grade Level: 9-12

Academic Areas: Art

Duration of service: Year Long

Character Virtues: Caring, Civic Virtue/Citizenship

Service Areas: Education/Tutoring, Environmental, Homeland Security

Service Learning Project:

Students from Ulster County and New York City schools will collaborate with the Mid-Hudson Service Learning Institute and the Waterways Project through a distance learning program (Streams On Line) to display photographs, poetry, stories, and plays about current environmental issues along the Hudson River. First, students will photograph environmental projects underway along the Hudson River and upload them onto the Internet. Then students will write poems, stories, plays, and critical essays responding to photographs of issues of environmental concern along the Hudson River. The students will revise and edit this written material on the Internet as a part of their collaboration. As a final project, students will take the written products from the Internet collaboration and organize them into a publication as well as a gallery exhibit.

Learning Goal: Students will create visual art (photography and digital art) depicting environmental projects along the Hudson River and upload the pictures onto Streams On Line.

Standard: Arts 1.

Learning Goal: Students will respond to uploaded photographs and images by commenting through expressive and critical writing, which will be included in a school visual and literary arts publication.

Standard: Arts 3.

Community need: Better community awareness of Hudson River ecology

Possible Community Partners: Esopus Meadows Environmental Center, Clearwater Sloop, Mid-Hudson Service Learning Institute for Watershed and Environmental Studies, the Waterways Project of Ten Penny Players, local libraries, art galleries, urban and rural schools,. 

Objective: Students will photograph environmental projects along the Hudson River.

Objective: Students will comment on photographs by writing poetry, stories, plays, and critical essays that raise the awareness of environmental issues along the Hudson River in rural areas and New York City.

Character

Virtue: Caring

Objective: Students will gain an appreciation of the environmental concerns and ecological needs of the Hudson River.

Virtue: Civic Virtue and Citizenship

Objective: Students will acknowledge a conscientious connection to an important local community resource – the Hudson River.

1. Students will research current Hudson River environmental projects.
2. Teachers will meet to familiarize themselves with the Internet program, Streams On Line.
3. Teachers and students will familiarize themselves with Ten Penny Players’ literary arts and picture book publications.
4. Teachers and students will meet with local librarians and participating galleries to familiarize participants with formats for gallery exhibition.

 Key Service Activities

1. Students will take pictures and write poems, stories, plays and critical essays responding to the pictures of environmental projects related to the Hudson River.
2. Students will upload their photographs of the Hudson River projects and their comments into the distance learning Internet program, Streams On Line
3. Students will present their work in a publication and a gallery exhibition.

 Key Reflection Activities

1. (oral – caring) Students will discuss how distance learning works within an urban/rural collaboration and how the project affected their connection to the Hudson River.
2. (written – civic virtue and citizenship) After the production of the literary publication and art exhibition, students will write their thoughts about how the process of creating the works affected their sense of commitment to their community and environment.
3. (performance) Students will rehearse the presentations of their poetry, stories, and plays and get feedback from teachers and other students.