-Ask students to think of ways we can reduce the amount of garbage in the classroom

Melissa Fahlman

Created Lesson

Critical Challenge: How can I change my garbage habits?

Grade One

Rationale: The students will have gained background knowledge about how garbage affects the environment from the previous lesson, Garbology: the study of our classroom garbage. Now, in continuation with the theme, "Caring for our environment," the students will be able to apply their knowledge from the previous lesson and today’s lesson in a critical challenge. The activity will allow students to recognize their garbage habits and focus on a means of changing one or more habits so that they can contribute to waste reduction in the classroom. Because this lesson is closely tied to the students’ home environments, it is important to send letters home to the parents to inform them about our classroom activities. It is also a great way to get the parents involved. This lesson will create an awareness to the problem of excess packaging and unnecessary waste. This lesson builds on the broad personal planning outcomes: Students will be able to relate consequences to actions and decisions and students will be able to use a goal-setting process. The lesson also meets a broad Social Studies outcome, as the students are "practising responsible behavior in caring for their immediate environment" by improving the school environment. This lesson could serve as a beginning to a waste reduction program that could be launched as an entire school project.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to:

Suggest alternatives to their current "garbage habits" that will reduce waste at lunch time.
Actively participate in class and partner discussions.
Relate consequences to actions and decisions.
Use a goal-setting process.

Requisite Tools:

Background Knowledge:

Knowledge of how garbage affects the environment.
Understanding of the concepts of "habits" and "alternatives."

Criteria For Judgment:

Criteria for what makes a "better" alternative—i.e. materials that are better for the environment because they create less waste, they can be reused, they are biodegradable, etc.

Critical Thinking Vocabulary:

Comparison—which is better for the environment?
Alternatives

Thinking Strategies:

KWL chart
Pair and class discussion
T-chart worksheets

Habits of Mind:

Open-mindedness (willingness to seek an alternative)

Teacher Activities

Student Activities

Introduction:

-Ask the students to walk quietly to the carpet.

-Once they are seated, ask the students if they can recall what we learned about garbage last class.

-Write what they know about garbage in the "K" column on a KWL chart that is displayed at the front of the class. See Figure A.

-Ask the students if they thought about where garbage goes after they throw it away and if they have any questions about garbage (this question was asked in a previous lesson).

-Fill in the "W" column of the chart with what the class "wonders" about garbage.

-Explain that the book Canadian Garbage Collectors may answer some of their questions about garbage.

-Read the book.

-Discuss the main ideas in the book, particularly focusing on the part about "Mark's house."

-Ask the students what they have learned about garbage, and begin to fill in the "L" column of the KWL chart.

Body:

-Ask the class what Mark's family did to reduce the amount of garbage that they created.

-Write these ideas in a list on the board.

-Teach the class the word "alternative." (have the word on a large card) Explain that an alternative is a choice. An example may be helpful at this point, such as, "When it is cold outside, you may chose to wear a sweater or a jacket to keep warm." Or "You may chose to play on the swings or in the sandbox at recess."

-Relate the word "alternative" to the story, explaining that Mark's family made many choices that reduced the amount of garbage they created.

-Explain that some choices are better than others. Explain that the choices Mark's family makes are better for the environment because they produce less waste.

-Ask the students to recall how much garbage our class creates at lunch time and how much garbage would be created over a long period of time (this is based on the previous lesson).

-Ask the students to discuss with the person beside them, one way that they could reduce the amount of garbage they create. To start the students thinking, ask them to remember what most of their garbage was made of, whether the materials were good or bad, and how they could reduce the "bad" materials.

Remind the students to think of an "alternative" that is better for the environment.

-Ask students to share some of their ideas about how they can reduce the amount of garbage in the classroom.

-add these ideas to the list began using the ideas from the story.

-Show the students two contrasting pictures. Ask, "which is a better alternative?" The pictures could be:

#1 a pack of drinking boxes or #2 a thermos
#1 a sandwich wrapped in plastic or #2 a sandwich in a tupperware container.
#1 A cloth napkin or #2 paper towels.
#1 A cloth lunch bag or #2 a paper lunch bag.

-talk about garbage habits.

-ask the students to choose one way that they can change their garbage habits. Explain that they will do this by finding an alternative that is better for the environment.

-Have the students go quietly back to their seats.

-Provide the students with a handout that is separated into two columns(T-chart format) and is labeled:

I used to…(on one side)

But now I can…. (on the other side) See Figure B.

-Explain that the students will draw a picture of something that they usually bring in their lunch on the left hand side and an alternative that they can use on the other. Instruct the students to finish the sentence as well. For example, a students may write, "I used to bring drinking boxes, but now I can bring a thermos in my lunch."

-Explain that these papers will be made into a class book, titled "Changing Our Garbage Habits."

Remind the students to put their names on the papers.

Closure:

-As the students are finishing their pictures, have the students sign a pledge at a table in the classroom that states: I promise to care for the environment by changing my garbage habits. Display this on the wall.

-Send a letter home to the student's parents explaining what we are doing in class and encourage the students to discuss what we are doing in class with their parents and encourage them to reduce garbage too! Also encourage the students to bring their worksheets home to show their parents, but emphasize that they need to bring them back so we can create our class book.

-Challenge the students to bring a "garbageless" lunch one day this week.

-walk quietly to carpet and sit facing the front board.

-thinking about the lesson from last class and recalling what they know about garbage.

-responding to the teacher by raising hands and sharing ideas.

-listening carefully to peers’ responses and reading the KWL chart.

-raising hands to ask questions about garbage.

-listening to peers’ responses and reading what the teacher writes in the "W" column of the chart.

-listening to the teacher’s description of the book and observing the cover, thinking about what the book might be about.

-listening to the story.

-participating in a discussion about the book.

-thinking about and responding to what the book taught them about garbage.

-participating in a discussion about how Mark’s family reduced waste in their home.

-trying to read the word "alternative", thinking about what it means, and listening to the teacher’s description of the word.

-giving the word personal meaning and relating it to the story.

-remembering the amount of garbage we examined in the last lesson and thinking about how this would multiply over long periods of time.

-sharing their ideas with a partner about how they can reduce garbage in their lunch.

-discussing the meaning of an alternative by using examples from their own lunch and from the story.

-sharing the ideas they and their partners generated with the rest of the class.

-listening to their peers ideas.

-looking at the pictures, thinking about which would be a better alternative by using their knowledge about materials that are good for the environment, and sharing their ideas with the rest of the class.

-listening to the teacher’s description of a garbage habit and beginning to think about their own garbage habits.

-thinking about one garbage habit they could change. What is a good alternative?

-go back to seats.

-reading the handout.

-listening to the instructions for the activity.

-put name at the top of the page.

-working on the activity. Drawing one item that they often bring in their lunch that creates a lot of waste, and an item that they could bring as an alternative that is better for the environment.

-as they are finishing their pictures, they will be coming to the side table to sign their names on a pledge.

-putting the letter for their parents and their worksheet from today into their planners/folders that go home everyday.

-listening to the teacher’s encouragement and thinking about a way our parents can reduce their waste.

-listen to the teacher’s challenge and picturing what a "garbageless" lunch might look like.

Materials/Resources:

Canadian Garbage Collectors, by Paulette Bourgeois and Kim LaFave
KWL chart (See Figure A)
Felt pens
Chart paper
Chalk, chalk brush
Handouts for each students that are labeled "I used to….." "But now I can…"

Eco Education Program, published by BC Environment.
letters for parents informing them about our class project.
a card labeled "alternative."
Various contrasting pictures. I.e. thermos, juice boxes; cloth lunch bag, paper bag.
a large piece of paper formatted like a pledge that has the header, "I promise to care for the environment by changing my garbage habits."
materials to create a class book—i.e. string, construction paper, cardboard, colored felts.

Extension Activities:

Students could:

think about ways we can reduce other kinds of garbage in the classroom and draw a picture and/or write about it. (i.e. How can we reduce the amount of waste paper we create?)
make a poster that encourages others to reduce garbage by showing how garbage is bad for the environment. These could be displayed around the school.
help put together the class book by designing a title page, beginning to number the pages, etc.
draw a picture of their favorite part of Canadian Garbage Collectors.

Assessment:

Did the students suggest appropriate alternatives?--Criteria: would the alternative be better for the environment because it would result in less waste?
Did the students actively participate in class discussions and when working with their partners?
Did the students stay on task when working individually?
Did the students complete both sides of the worksheet and create pictures that show they made an effort to contribute their best work to our class book?

Figure A: KWL chart

GARBAGE….

WE KNOW	WE WONDER	WE LEARNED

Figure B: Student Worksheets

I used to…..

But now I can…..