Diary of a Turtle 25 Reviews

4.6 Rating 224 Reviews

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Which kit components were the most impactful and why? The turtle trackers and messages from the Sea Cleaners. It really helped my students to understand what we were doing and stay engaged with the learning.

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect? Unfortunately, due to the timing within the school year and challenging weather conditions we did not complete a waterways clean up. We are more regularly tidying as we walk with our family's and taking care of our school environment instead.

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? All of my students are more aware of their actions and chatting with their families about alternatives to plastic and rubbish.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? If we drop our rubbish on the ground, Miso Speedy might die!

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? N/A

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“It was great to complete this towards the end of the year. My students were highly engaged with the learning.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? Gloves - the kids loved these!

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect?

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? Their attitude to their environment has significantly been impacted- they notice things far for after the conclusion of this program.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? When I was at the beach with my family, I chose to pick up bottle tops I found to help our wildlife.

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? Coat hanger

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bag, Plastic Bottle, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Container, Plastic Wrapper, Plastic Cup

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“It was incredible to have a box of tools to support the children's learning around looking after their water environment. As a time poor teacher it is so appreciated to have all the items and resources on hand to deliver a quality program.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? The turtle with the tracker. The combined art. The gloves and rubbish bags.

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect?

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? It really helped us link to our value Kaitiakitanga.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? Pick up your rubbish, do you want to kill a turtle. (Bit harsh but they were very passionate about it all).

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? Alcohol cans in school grounds.

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bag, Plastic Bottle, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Container, Plastic Straw, Plastic Wrapper

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“This was such a successful kit. We did it as a whole class of Year 1's and 2's. The particular highlight was following our turtle, viewing it on the map and seeing it win the Turtle 2025 race.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? The online support resources

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect?

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? It has allowed us to have conversations about this

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? Discussion of the rubbish that was collected and how this could be reduced / eliminated

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? clothes peg

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bottle, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Container

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“It was great to be able to collect and discuss the rubbish. The online resources and support for the kit is great.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? Cleaning up the local waterways

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect?

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? Yes- the children are often asking for bags to collect rubbish at lunchtime around the school playground.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? How can we make a difference?

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? Glass cup

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bottle, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Wrapper, Plastic Cup

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“Loved this kit and it coincided with me heading on holiday. I was able to show the children of the pollutyion in the water and the effects on the marine life including the turtle who's shell was misshaped.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? The little message cards about "our" turtle. It made it very real and provoked lots of discussion.

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect? Went out twice and got 2 full bags each time.

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? It has enhanced it.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? We are picking up the rubbish so Flo (the turtle we were tracking) doesn't try to eat it.

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? Paintbrush

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bag, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Wrapper

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“The children loved the idea of tracking a turtle and it really engaged them, it was a pity the turtle wasnt closer to NZ but the children were still invested in the whereabouts of our turtle. They would ask daily to checkj in and see where Flo was. They also loved getting the messages, totally believing they were a printout of an actual text I had been sent. When we did a big clean up with our gloves and rubbish bags, the children were telling others we were picking rubbish up so Flo didnt try to eat it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? The diary writing prompts, the gloves for picking up rubbish and the big rubbish bag.

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect?

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? The children are often bringing in the rubbish that they see lying around our playground. They get upset if any of it blows into the drain.

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? "We don't want the turtles to get sick"

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? chopstick

Which of the following types of plastic waste did your class collect? Plastic Bag, Plastic Bottle Top, Plastic Container, Plastic Wrapper

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“This was a fantastic resource to help our tamariki build awareness of how their actions affect the environment. The children were so engaged in following the turtles, and they loved the diary-writing prompts. It definitely impacted their response to litter and plastic.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Which kit components were the most impactful and why? Tracking the Turtle

How many bags of rubbish did your class collect? N/A

How has this kit impacted your class culture toward whenua ora (land wellness) and sustainability? Hugely, as they connected passionately with the turtles they took the message of being kaitiaki home to whanau

How high was student engagement throughout this kit?

Very Low

Neutral

Very High

What’s a sentence you heard in your classroom that would help us understand the type of learning that was taking place? Hot sand is causing more girl turtles than boy turtles

What was the most unusual piece of rubbish found? N/A

How well did this kit help your class build statistical thinking and numeracy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

How well did this kit help your class build literacy skills?

Helped a little

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

Diary of a Turtle helped my students better understand the impact plastic waste can have on marine life. Agree

“I really enjoyed using the Diary of a Turtle school kit and found it lent itself beautifully to taking a slightly different lens with my class. I had previously used the Sea Cleaners kit last year, so this time I let the tamariki mā guide our learning. Their questions and curiosity took us all the way to the Great Barrier Reef and the movie/documentary Turtle Odyssey narrated by Russell Crowe. We explored Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea, highlighting empathy and kaitiakitanga through the pukapuka, and dived into The Great Barrier Thief by Sue Pillans to learn about coral, climate change, and the impact of warming water on polyps. We graphed the journeys of Ariel (Bunji’s “sister”), and the daily Sea Cleaners text messages became our shared book, inspiring writing from Ariel’s point of view about what she sees and experiences in the ocean. Through play, the tamariki created turtle nests and artwork, which generated rich oral language and deep engagement. Bunji and the turtles were woven right through our curriculum for the term – reading, writing, maths, science, art, and play. This kit was a fantastic springboard for integrated learning, student-led inquiry, and developing empathy for our moana and its creatures. I would highly recommend it. I have shared a PDF of our learning but ask that as there is names and faces not to share publicly - Thank you.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago