lesson 2: reduce
STANDARDS:
UW Teacher Education Standards
Standard 11: Uses Technologies
Standard 7: Understands and Adapts to Multiple Forms of Communication
MMSD Standards
Geography 5: Explain how people’s actions can have an effect on the environment.
Behavioral Science 6: Work together to find solutions to problems.
Wisconsin DPI Social Studies Standards
Standard A: Geography: People, Places, and Environments
Standard B: History: Time, Continuity, and Change
Content Objectives:
Students will learn that:
1. Human activities can affect the environment in negative ways.
2. Humans produce waste every day and it is found all around us.
3. Waste is put in landfills.
4. Products are packaged differently, and create more/less waste.
5. Not everything has to be thrown away. You can compost biodegradable materials.
6. Human activities can affect the environment in positive ways.
Process Objectives:
Students will…
Participate in a Waste Walk
Pick up garbage during Waste Walk
Watch YouTube videos
Discuss YouTube videos
List which products make more/less waste.
Hypothesize which type of chips uses more waste
Measure chips in each bag/serving
Measure garbage produced by each method of chip serving
Discuss which chip bag(s) is the best to buy
Brainstorm what materials can be thrown away/composted
Create class compost pile.
Psychomotor Objectives:
Students will:
Measure quantities of chips and waste.
Compare quantities of chips and waste.
Affective Objectives:
Students will:
Work together in measuring and comparing quantities of chips to waste.
Care about the earth and how humans affect it.
Want to reduce the amount of waste they make.
Materials:
Garden gloves (if necessary for Waste Walk)
Computer with Internet Access
Youtube videos: Where Does It Go? and Journey of Our Waste
Tablet Paper and markers/Whiteboard (or Blackboard)
Large bag of chips
Fun size bags of chips
Bowls
Area outside of school available for compost pile
Campfire ring (if desired for compost pile)
Lesson Context:
Students are in the midst of a “Go Green” unit. They have learned what ecological footprints are and how we can make our footprints on the earth smaller. One way to do that is through reducing. We will explore more about how reducing works and why it is important in this lesson.
Procedure:
1. Ask students what they normally do with garbage when they’re done with it. (put in trash can, leave on table, let someone else pick it up, litter) Where do they see garbage? (trash cans, outside, in schools, in houses, by the street, at the park).
2. Explain that we will go on a Waste Walk. Tell students they are looking for any places they see waste/garbage. If the garbage is in the “right” spot, try to remember where it is. If not, please pick it up and we will put it where it belongs.
3. Go on Waste Walk (around school, and outdoors through neighborhood) (1)
4. Discuss Waste Walk (2) Done in Think: Pair: Share Format
What did students find? Where did they find it? Where is the proper place for waste to be? Was all of the waste we found there? Why/why not? Where does our garbage go once it’s in the proper place (trash can)?
5. Watch YouTube videos: Journey of Our Waste, and Where Does It Go? (3)
Where do the videos take place? Does this problem only affect one area of our world? It affects everyone!
6. Discuss videos:
i. First have students draw pictures of their reactions from the videos.
Is the way we dispose of our waste healthy for humans? Is it healthy for animals? Is it healthy for the earth? What kinds of things do we use in our every day lives create waste? Students can add to their drawings during these questions if desired
ii. Discuss videos verbally, allowing students to share their pictures and/or verbal ideas.
7. Make list of items that create a LOT of waste and a LITTLE waste.
8. Tell students we are going to have a snack. Bring out the chip bags: one large bag, and the individual small bags. Ask students if they’d rather have some chips from the big bag or their own small bag. Have students guess which method of chip dispensing makes the least amount of waste
9. Hand out two bowls (preferably reusable bowls or made from recycled paper) to each student. Hand out the individual chip bags to each student. Have students measure how many bowls that small bag takes up (probably one). Eat the chips! Record number on the board.
10. Hand out enough chips from the big bag of chips to fill the same amount of bowls the small bag filled for each student. Have students measure to make sure it is the same amount. Eat the chips! Record number on the board.
11. Compare the numbers on the board. (they are the same!)
12. Have students take their empty small bags of chips and pile them all on the carpet. Then put the empty big bag(s) of chips in a different spot on the carpet.
13. Ask students what they notice. (the pile of small bags has a lot more garbage) Why do you think one pile is bigger than another? How is one pile bigger when they hold the same amount of chips? What kind of bag do you think you should buy? Why? (4)
14. Discuss that we have to throw things like chip bags away, but do we have to throw everything away? (NO! We can compost, too—food scraps, organic material, etc.) (5)
15. List examples of things we can compost at home or at school
16. Start a class compost—pick a location (outside classroom window, on playground, near cafeteria, etc.) (6)
17. Have students create rules of the compost pile
i. What can go in, how often it is stirred, what it can be used for, why it is important, etc. When will we use our class compost (snack time, lunch time) Who will use the compost (our class, whole school?) Does the whole school know about composting? How can we teach them about it?
Extension:
If class decides to inform the whole school about composting, discuss ways of teaching the school the importance/how to use the compost pile. Students can then follow through on these ideas—make posters, hold a school assembly, be lunchroom helpers, etc.
Closure:
Is school the only place that we can compost? Where else can composting take place? (at home, at restaurants, at grocery stores, at parks, etc.) What can we do to make this happen?
Assessment:
Lots of observation: listen to discussions, see what students pick up on Waste Walk, see how engaged they are during YouTube videos, watch how they measure the chips, are they interested enough to extend the activity?
Formal: Read the rules of the compost pile
