It's cool to be green!

Recently, urban education students in Assistant Professor Colin Dalton's Foundations of Literacy class participated in a green building tour of the Leed Certified George R. Brown Convention Center, at the invitation of Mayor Annise Parker's Office.

The students learned how the Convention Center reduces energy and water use, recycles its waste and utilizes renewable energy. They also connected the topic of sustainability to similar themes in the famous children's novel Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman.

"The tour and literary connections illustrated to the future teachers the importance of providing developing readers with text-to-world connections to enhance reading comprehension," said Dalton. "Additionally, the pre-service teachers learned the importance of incorporating field trips and high-impact teaching into their curriculum."

Urban ed students tour the George R. Brown Convention Center.