Curated OER
Garbage 2: Recycling
Students apply what they have learned about throwaway products "and the valuable natural resources from which they're derived" by thinking about where garbage goes after they throw it out. They also examine their own ideas and habits...
Purdue University
Plastic Water Bottle Design – What’s the Best Shape?
Join the fight to reduce plastic waste. A hands-on STEM activity first teaches scholars about the scourge of plastic waste. They then measure the dimensions of water bottles to calculate surface areas and volumes before using the surface...
Curated OER
Landfill Project
Students explore impact of garbage on environment, examine waste management operations and how they can directly impact environment, implement ways to lower household garbage, and make STELLA Model about garbage flow and use model to...
Curated OER
The Rotten Truth
Fourth graders watch a video about how much solid waste is produced by each person and how it is disposed of. Using the internet, they identify and interpret data on the type of trash thrown out the most. They offer possible solutions...
Curated OER
Recycling: Causes of Pollution
Students read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss while focusing on similarities in their world and that of the Lorax by completing a worksheet. They examine the effects of pollution or garbage on the environment.
Curated OER
Related Lessons Break It
Students brainstorm about the kinds of things that they use at home and school each day. They consider the types of materials out of which these things are made. Keep a list of their repsonses on a large sheet of paper or on the blackboard.
Curated OER
Understanding Groundwater & the Effects of Pollution
Students complete a unit on the effects of pollution on our water supply. They create a graph to examine the density of earth's land surface, round the population to the nearest hundred million place, participate in a...
Curated OER
Dumptown, USA: Making a Ton of Difference
Middle schoolers investigate the recycling system in the United States by participating in an online activity. In this environmental care instructional activity, students research what makes up our trash output in this country and where...
Curated OER
Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Waste and Recycling: Recycling Paper
We take paper for granted, while thousands of trees are being made into the paper we toss in the trash. Start a dialogue about paper reduction and recycling in class, and share the negative effects paper production has on our ecosystem....
Curated OER
The Garbage Patch: Two Earth day Lessons
Young scholars view a seven minute video called Gorilla in the Greenhouse. In this Earth day lesson, students review the history of Earth day. Young scholars work in groups to describe the life cycle of a plastic bag. Students...
Intel
Composting: Why Bother?
The first STEM lesson in a group of 10 explores composting. After discussing how to make a better tomorrow, classes are challenged to track garbage in their communities, visit a local waste management facility, and conduct a survey about...
Curated OER
Recycling and Composting
Students set up composting sites that allow food scraps and paper to be recycled by nature. They are introduced to one aspect of recycling; composting. Students see how God recycles as the worms change garbage into something that brings...
Curated OER
Solid Waste and Recycling
Young scholars demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices....
Curated OER
The Water We Drink
Third graders relate that the quality of their drinking water is subject to the condition of the environment and water found in streams and creeks in their community. They track the travel of a wad of paper from a student's desk to a...
Curated OER
Chalk Fizz
Little chemists observe the effects of acid on calcium carbonate as an example of chemical change. As a demonstration you will place a raw egg in vinegar overnight, and as a lab activity, learners drip vinegar onto a piece of chalk....
Curated OER
The Bubonic Plague and Health
The Bubonic Plague is a fascinating study. Your class will discover the causes and effects of the plague and how it was spread. Additionally, they will learn how the spread of the plague helped people understand the importance of good...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Environmental Concerns
Every year, more than 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the oceans of the world, most of which is plastic and toxic to ocean life. Lesson 32 in the series of 36 focuses on environmental concerns, specifically pollution. Under...
Curated OER
Hand Washing
Mostly discussion, this lesson explores the importance and methods of hand washing. A few true stories of community illnesses spread by the neglect of washing hands serve as an anticipatory set. The activity is most memorable if you are...
Curated OER
"Shadow Art"
Now here is an art project I would totally enjoy. It includes the use of two very inexpensive materials, shadows and junk! The class uses collected junk and a light source to create a positive space image and its shadow. They will...
Curated OER
Throw-Away Society
Students think about garbage disposal and the amount that we produce.
Curated OER
Mapping the Village
Learners measure, weigh, and document the amount of trash and garbage generated by the school for one day. They brainstorm solutions for trash in the area and assist with the school-wide recycle program.
Curated OER
Recycle
Pupils determine the weight of paper waste generated by the class. They brainstorm ways to reduce and recycle. They make their own paper to demonstrate recycling. This lesson is very effective in demonstrating how recycling works.
Curated OER
What's Up with Waste?
Fifth graders design a brochure that identifies types of solid waste that are often improperly disposed, explains the effects of this disposal and proposes a solution to the problem. The read humorous books, define vocabulary words and...