Sustainability in Recycling In The Third Through Fifth Grade Classroom
The Expandable Rows Below Contain Teacher Resources And Information About The Lesson, The Activities That Make Up The Lesson Start Below This List. Access To The Lesson Requires Registration, Please Create A User Name And Password Before Proceeding.
Special Thanks to Nature to Classroom Conference, Scott Williams, Cinimin & Utah Valley University for the inspiration for this lesson.
To know and understand that “We are the Keepers of our Earth” is the main purpose of the lesson. This lesson is an introduction in what it means to be sustainable. The children learn that if we do not take care of our Earth’s resources, we may not have them to use in the future and we have a responsibility to prevent depletion and extinction of the Earth’s resources. Children will display their learning and relationship to nature through a presentation and brochures of information they will develop for their community.
- Recycling Survey
- “Conserving Earth” article from National Geographic
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/conserving-earth/ - TedTalk: What really happens to the plastic you throw away? | Emma Bryce
- Recycle! A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons
- The 5R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, Rethink by Jahnavi Aswani
- TedTalk: Recycling alone isn’t enough – here’s why | Michael Cyr
- Recycling Research Guide for Custodian visit
- Recycling Research Guide for Materials Recovery Facility field trip or representative visit
- Recycling Guideline Chart Template
- Recycling Brochure Template
- Recycling Symbol Stencil
Tag board
Scissors or Exacto Knife
Green or Blue Paint
Paint Brushes
Cardboard Boxes about 2 x 1 feet - Websites from local sources which state what recycling is accepted in your community
- Final reflection Thinking Map
- Final Reflection Paragraph
Activity #1: Why is Recycling Important & What is Sustainability? (45 min)
Activity #2: Research (45 min)
Activity #3: Field Trip (3 hours) or Materials Recovery Facility Representative Visit (45 min)
Activity #4: Sort Recycling (45 min)
Activity #5: Create a Recycling Guideline Chart for Your Community (45 min)
Activity #6: Create a Community Recycling Brochure (60 min) Activity #7: Reuse Cardboard Boxes for
Recycling Bins (45 min) Activity #8: Presentation (60 min)
Activity #9: Culminating Discussion & Reflection Paragraph (60 min)
Activity #10: Recycling Survey (30 min)
- Schedule a time for the Custodian to talk to your class.
- Deliver a copy of the Recycling Research Guide to the custodian prior to their presentation in order for them to easily answer the children’s questions.
- Contact the Materials Recovery Facility and ask if a representative can come speak to your class and schedule a time for the field trip.
- Request that students collect several items they think might be recyclable.
- Request children bring in cardboard boxes with the approximate size of 2 x 1 feet.
- Research local websites which state what recycling is accepted in your community.
- Information from websites can be printed or placed into Google Classroom or similar.
Sustainability refers to the need to develop the sustainable models necessary for both the human race and planet Earth to survive.
The word “sustainability” did not get much use until the 1950s “when peoples began thinking about how population growth, the use of finite natural resources, and the pressures on the environment are interrelated.”
In the US in 1987, “sustainability” meant that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the well-being of future generations.
In 2000, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, founded Earth Charter to emphasize and assist “The Earth community with a common destiny…to join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples
of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.”
Sustainability for our Living Classroom curriculum requires the children to understand the relationship between the plants and animals in their world. They need to ask themselves how they themselves are connected to the plants and animals. They need to know that they have a responsibility to help preserve this world because they are the ones who need to care for it now and in the future, especially with the environmental challenges of habitat loss and climate change. We want them to know that this is a beautiful planet that needs their care.
One of the newest programs in graduate school is Sustainability.
How long for common types of trash to break down:
- paper: 2 – 4 weeks
- orange peel: 6 minutes
- milk carton: 5 years
- plastic bag: 15 years
- tin can: 100 years
- plastic bottle: 450 years
- glass bottle: 500 years
- styrofoam: never
Reducing Trash in Landfills:
- Reduce your consumption of single use goods
- Reuse items instead of throwing them away
- Recycle items after they have been reused
- Rethink the ways which modern convenience has lent itself to single use goods and choose to alter your habits in an environmentally literate way
- Refuse to buy products which are not able to be recycled or reused
Sustainability:
Sustainability refers to the need to develop models and implement systems which preserve, prolong and replenish supplies necessary for both the human race and planet Earth to survive.
The word “sustainability” did not get much use until the 1950s “when peoples began thinking about how population growth, the use of finite natural resources, and the pressures on the environment are interrelated.”
In the US in 1987, “sustainability” meant that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the well-being of future generations.
In 2000, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, founded Earth Charter to emphasize and assist “The Earth community with a common destiny…to join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples
of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.”
Sustainability for our Living Classroom curriculum requires the children to understand the relationship between the plants and animals in their world. They need to ask themselves how they themselves are connected to the plants and animals. They need to know that they have a responsibility to help preserve this world because they are the ones who need to care for it now and in the future, especially with the environmental challenges of habitat loss and climate change. We want them to know that this is a beautiful planet that needs their care.
One of the newest programs in graduate school is Sustainability.
Natural Resources: air, water, soil, minerals, fuels, plants, and animals.
Conservation: is the practice of being aware of your impact on and limiting your use of natural resources so they are still usable by all living things now and in the future.
Pollution: the presence of or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects
pollutant: a substance that makes land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use; something that causes pollution
Sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future Generations to meet their own needs
Renewable resources: resources which can be replaced like plants, trees
Nonrenewable resources: once they are used up they are gone forever like fossil fuels
Market: is finding a buyer for the items you are selling
Materials Recovery Facility or MRF: is where the recyclables are sorted to be sold to another company which uses it to make new things.
This lesson can be taught anytime between Pre-K and through Second Grade.
Winter
A question that has guided this Living Classroom curriculum is “ Why is our relationship to the natural world necessary?” Understanding biodiversity helps answer this question. All environmental issues affect biodiversity. If the food chain and food webs lose one of their strands, the entire web is effected.
We will learn every living thing within an ecosystem is interdependent. We need children and adults to become environmentally literate: to have the knowledge, skills, commitment, passion and motivation to take responsible action on behalf of the environment.
Lessons in this Thematic Strand: Natural Resources:
- What are they?
- Renewable or Non-Renewable?
- Energy Conservation
- Water Conservation
A River Ran Wild, a book by Lynne Cherry describing the restoration of the Nashua River
TedTalk: Are we running out of clean water? | Balsher Singh Sidhu - Environmental Awareness & Choices
Trash & Food Waste Awareness
Recycling: - 5 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, Refuse
Pollution: - Air
- Water
- Land
- Light
- Noise
- Wind
- Indoor Air
- Reducing Pollution
Climate Change: - PhET: Greenhouse Effect
- Feedback Loop of Diminishing the Arctic & Antarctic Ice Sheets
In this Thematic Strand, we ask the questions: - What does it mean to be sustainable?
- Why is our relationship to the natural world necessary?
- How can being environmentally literate help me understand sustainability?
- How can I take responsible action on behalf of the environment?
The purpose of the Living Classroom is to have children learn, through hands on experiences, the intricacies, the interdependencies, and the mysteries that exist in nature. The lessons will guide the children to understand the importance of being caretakers of our Earth in order to preserve our present and future ecosystems.
The Essential Questions:
What does it mean to be sustainable?
How can recycling help me understand sustainability?
How can I take responsible action in my own community on behalf of the environment?
