Curated OER
Biodegradable Plastics
Sixth graders explore the many uses of corn as a renewable source. In this biodegradable resource lesson, 6th graders investigate how corn is used in manufacturing and as a fuel. Students construct a piece of homemade plastic using...
Curated OER
Make Your Own Biodegradable Plastic Stuff
Students identify the four basic natural resources. They distinguish bettween renewable and non-renewable resources. Pupils recognize that all natural resources are needed by living plants and animals. Students list consequences for...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Green Plastics—Chemistry Outreach
How do green plastics reduce waste and environmental pollution? Budding scientists create and test a variety of compounds used in green plastics during an insightful experiment. Beginning with startling statistics and ending with...
Teach Engineering
Biodegradable Husk-Bags Design Challenge
Those corn husks can be put to good use. Future engineers design and build a new, biodegradable bag for potato chips out of corn husks. They test out their bags by shaking, dropping, and tossing them, as well as placing them in water.
Curated OER
Introduction to the Scientific Method
Students participate in an experiment and learn to record it using the scientific method. In this biodegradable plastics lesson, students follow the scientific method to complete an inquiry. Students complete an experiment with a fish...
Curated OER
Biodegradable Plastics
Pupils prepare a type of biodegradable plastic. They design method(s) to compare its properties with some common plastics that are readily available in the market. They later advance to identifying variables in an experiment and fair test.
SF Environment
Compost Tag
Composting is a great way to get children involved in recycling. First, they discuss how biodegradable products decompose to make compost. Then, they talk about what can and cannot be composted. They play a game similar to around the...
Curated OER
Biodegradability
Young scholars test a variety of plastic bags to test its biodegradability. They record their observations and discuss them once the experiment is complete. They identify materials best suited to be placed in a landfill.
Curated OER
Biodegradable
In this biodegradable worksheet, students explore what happens to buried garbage over a weeks time by burying milk cartons, plastic bags, and more. Students answer 4 questions.
Curated OER
Protecting the Environment
Students explain what biodegradable materials are and list examples of them. They design, with online partners' feedback and input, a product made of biodegradable materials and develop a marketing campaign to best sell their product.
Curated OER
Trash Bashing
Students define trash, garbage, or solid waste, discuss ways of disposing of trash, list examples of biodegradable materials, and have trash relay race in order to sort trash into appropriate containers labeled biodegradable, reusable,...
Curated OER
Waste Management
Students investigate the amount of trash they generate, the problems that result and possible solutions.They complete four activities regarding household trash, biodegradability, packaging, and recycling.
Curated OER
Ecology of the Dump
Students determine which types of garbage are biodegradable and which are nonbiodegradable. They practice measuring skills, hypothesizing, taking data, and writing a lab report. Students observe the relative biodegradability of metal,...
Curated OER
Biodegradability Capsule
Pupils identify products that can and cannot biodegrade. They create their own biodegradable capsule and discuss what happens to trash in a landfill. They analyze the results and discuss as a class.
Curated OER
Biodegradability
Learners study the effects of water, salt water and heat on common household materials. They separate an emulsion and show that the materials are completely recoverable and observe the effect of acetone and water on polystyrene.
Curated OER
Waste Management
Four different activities focus on the amount of trash generated and how humans can better manage waste. Learners analyze two days' worth of household garbage, test materials for biodegradability, and rate recyclability of various...
National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready to start...
Curated OER
Ocean Pollution
Students explore ocean pollution. In this ecology lesson, students view a video entitled This Pretty Planet and identify common biodegradable products. Students participate in activities designed to simulate the negative effects of...
Curated OER
The Lake Trip
In this pollution and animals instructional activity, students read and discuss a short story on one families trip to a lake and their encounters with pollution and Eastern Blackbirds. Students then answer 6 short answer questions...
Curated OER
Classroom Composting
Students observe and describe the cyclic nature of life. They identify and appreciate the importance of a balanced ecosystem. Finally, students compare and contrast biodegradable and non-biodegradable resources in nature and describe the...
Curated OER
Back to the Earth
Students conduct an experiment in which they bury four objects (apple, lettuce, plastic and styrofoam) in the ground and come back to observe them a month later. They consider what biodegrades and how it affects our planet.
Curated OER
Stage 1: What is Going into the Bin?
Student can explain the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable. They calculate how much rubbish bags all their families together produce each week and then calculate how much rubbish their families produce during the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Physical and Chemical Properties of Polymers
Pupils determine the physical and chemical properties of polymers. In this chemistry instructional activity, students test them for biodegradability. They collect data and compare their results.
Curated OER
Compost Tag
Students identify biodegradable items. In this environmental lesson, students participate in a game of tag. A student's name is called out along with a biodegradable item and the student is tossed a ball.