Learning is sometimes best accomplished by teaching, as dozens of Tahoma High School seniors experienced recently in visits to each of the district’s elementary schools to talk about environmental sustainability.

Bus loads of seniors from American Politics and Global Issues classes visited all four Tahoma elementary schools May 6 to spend a couple of hours talking to fourth-grade students, engaging them in educational games and answering questions.

The visits are the culmination of more than a year of planning and research by Tahoma High School APGI teachers, led by Darcie Muller and Lindsey Hatch, and the district’s Teaching and Learning Department to develop a new learning unit called Humans and the Environment. Seniors studied environmental issues and then developed their own lessons that could be presented to fourth-grade students. Fourth graders also are studying Humans and the Environment, along with students in seventh, ninth, 11^th and 12^th grades.

“This unit challenges students, as complex thinkers, to consider how environmental issues will affect their generation and the ones that follow it,” Muller said. Because the curriculum covers several grade levels, having seniors circle back and present information to students who are just beginning their studies seemed appropriate.

“We wanted our call to action to be a culminating project that would support student learning at the fourth-grade level,” she said.

But what really made the plan work is the enthusiasm of the high school students.

“The best part of this entire project was seeing the fourth graders be entertained and want to get involved with our projects,” senior Ben Rogan said. “It was a great feeling to see that all of our work paid off.”

The seniors were required to research topics and then present them in creative ways that would appeal to fourth-graders. Many used laptop computers for PowerPoint presentations, quizzes and games designed to help the younger students understand. But students also relied on more traditional teaching methods that used colored paper, posters, flash cards and even a puppet show.

Each class was divided into four groups, with seniors presenting different topics simultaneously and then rotating to another group after 15 minutes. By the time seniors were boarding buses for the return trip to Tahoma High School, fourth graders had been introduced to topics that included global warming, deforestation, recycling, energy efficiency, preserving water resources, and dangers associated with plastic waste at sea.

Seniors came away impressed by their younger counterparts.

“When we went down to teach the fourth graders I realized that they have such a mind for learning and they could sometimes come up with better ways to help than we could,” senior Christina Kayler said. “They also shared that they knew much more than we gave them credit for and it was cool to see them apply their knowledge to ask and learn more.”

Muller said the program will continue, building on what was learned this year.

The seniors were very excited about their projects,” she said. “I also received a plethora of positive feedback from the elementary school teachers and principals; everyone is excited to make this an annual event. We still have some items to tweak, but overall, this was an amazing experience for everyone involved.”