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First graders spent part of their morning on Tuesday decorating paper plates in the shape of tortoises with various colors and shapes ranging from rainbows to hot pink with black dots.
“I like tortoises,” said one first grader.
The activity was part of a lesson taught by five high school seniors who went to Ambrose Elementary School on May 19 to teach first graders about the Galápagos tortoises.
The lesson is part of an effort to “pay it forward” by giving high school students the opportunity to share their experiences and encourage elementary students to explore science. The high schoolers were told to create a lesson around elementary school standards while learning tips and tricks for how to teach younger students.
Lia Stelljes, the science, engineering, and technology coordinator for Winchester’s elementary schools, and Ann Ritchie, director of science for grades 6-12, helped students plan the lesson.
The high school students Mya Salyards, Slate Morrison, Priscilla Meyer, Gavin Valeriano and Gaby Hermsdorf were part of 20 students who went on the Galapagos Islands trip in February 2026. These 20 students will take turns presenting lessons to first graders at all of Winchester’s elementary schools, from May 18 through May 29.
For nine days, students were guided around the islands by naturalists Edwin Rodolfo Alay Cruz and Edgar “Bismark” Guaman, who have spent their lives on the islands.
During the trip, students learned about the ecology and culture of the Galapagos Islands and participated in a variety of activities, including swimming with sharks and other marine life, which all of the students agreed was their favorite part of the trip.
For some of the students, they joined the trip because of their interest in marine life, conservation and sustainability.
Valeriano joined the trip because of his interest in sustainability, which he plans to pursue as he goes on to study sustainable building practices at Colorado State University. Hermsdorf had wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands since she was a child, and she loves traveling and the ocean.
“I already miss it,” Hermsdorf said. “I’d like to go back and see it again.”
The high schoolers showed first-grade students in four classes a presentation on Galapagos tortoises. The presentation included photos of the different animals living on the islands, the differences between sea turtles and tortoises and the adaptations tortoises developed on the islands to survive.
At the end of the presentation, the high schoolers answered the pressing questions on the first graders’ minds.
“The kids were really cute, and they were good listeners,” Morrison said.
The elementary students were then given “tortoises,” in the form of paper plates with four green strips attached to them, to decorate.
The first graders drew different designs on their tortoises’ shells, including rainbows, geometrical shapes and a logo from Star Wars. Another student gave her tortoise a BFF necklace so “they would match.”
The high school students benefited from the lesson in different ways.
For Morrison, who is going to Endicott College to study education, the experience was a precursor to the future. It helped him imagine what his future as a teacher might look like.
Salyards was able to teach beside her first-grade teacher, Anne Brown, during the lesson.
“It feels nostalgic,” Salyards said.
First graders also enjoyed the lesson.
“I think anything that has to do with science and traveling,” said one of the first-grade students. “I want to be a scientist.”
The high school is planning on exploring how to use this lesson again for future first-grade classes as well as future trips for high schoolers to take.
Tavishi Chattopadhyay is a journalism student at Boston University.
