WE MUST RECYCLE
| Students profile/age of the student: | 8-10 years old |
| Connected subject in the curriculum | Environmental, Social Studies |
| Skills and competencies to be developed | Creative thinking, teamwork, how to reuse instead of simply discarded. |
| Terminology, keywords | Recycle, reuse |
| Teaching techniques and tools: | brainstorming, problem-solving, storytelling, time management |
| Materials needed: | – card stock – crayons, colored pencils, paint (optional) – clean, plastic bottles – scissors – assorted art supplies |
| Materials offered | Additional links: https://www.teacher.org/lesson-plan/we-must-recycle |
| The time needed for the activity | 20 Minutes |
Description
Ask students if they have ever recycled anything. For some, this will be a daily or weekly thing, but for others, this may be a foreign concept. Explain that recycling has two meanings, for most it means taking things that others may throw in the trash to go to a dump and cleaning and sorting them (glass, plastic, paper), and letting the recycling center use this stuff to make something else.
The other meaning is about the same, but it means using something, like a pop bottle, to create something else, usually something useful. This is sometimes called upcycling.
Explain that the need to recycle is not just so plastic bottles do not end up rolling around in the landfill.
There are many types of recyclables that end up in landfills but never biodegrade. Though they should be safely contained in the landfill, some trash, including recyclables, can end up out in nature. This can harm wildlife and plants that are trying to survive in the wild.
What would happen if a duck accidentally swallowed a bottle cap? What if a fish got stuck in the plastic rings that soda comes in at the store? These things could be really dangerous to animals.
So today we are going to try to use ‘trash’ that could be harmful to make something functional and beautiful.
This is one way to recycle or upcycle, as some say. Let’s see what we can create.
Allow students to get creative and make something unique out of the pop bottle and art supplies. Display the creations in the classroom and have an open discussion about recycling items to give them new life.
Note: If a child is having trouble on his/her own, allow students to work with a partner or in a small group. This will allow the student to brainstorm more easily.