Curated OER
How Long Does Trash Last
Students work in cooperative groups to estimate how long trash lasts in a landfill. They study environmental consequences of not recycling and use graph-making software to create a graph that illustrates the lifespan of trash items...
Curated OER
Lesson: Litter Hunt
Students examine the issue of littering. In this waste management instructional activity, students discover what littering is and how it affects the environment.
Curated OER
Where is Away?
Focusing on where are garbage goes once we dispose of it, learners explore environmental concerns. Using a clear format, this lesson leads learners through a discussion of waste reduction, recycling, and composting. Then, they discuss...
Curated OER
Recycling in Palm Beach County
Students investigate the recycling program in Palm Beach County. In this recycling lesson, students discuss how garbage is processed and identify the proper color-coded bins to place recyclables in.
K20 Learn
Filling Our Land with Landfills: Solid Waste Disposal
New ReviewThough it comprises only 5 percent of the world's population, the US generates 40 percent of the world's waste. Scholars learn about landfills, their safety, and other solid waste methods. They use experiments and research to learn more....
PBS
Waste Audit
Does everything in the trash can belong there? Conduct a waste audit with your class by collecting a day's worth of garbage, separating it into recyclables, non-recyclables, or food waste, and properly distributing what they find into...
Thoughtful Learning
Doing Random Acts of Kindness
Encourage scholars to perform random acts of kindness. A lesson challenges participants to choose a peer they wish to be kind to without them knowing. Learners list five good deeds and choose one to fulfill. Pupils reflect on the process...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Trash Talkin'
Students collect and categorize solid waste produced in the classroom. They weigh the waste that has been collected over one week's time, and separate it into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. They talk about the role of engineers in...
Curated OER
Police patrol the city's garbage
Students debate the pros and cons of police searching the trash of suspected drug dealers. Students collect background information, and students interview city officials and garbage collectors. Students develop a strategic plan for...
Curated OER
Where Does Your Garbage Go?
The objective of this lesson is to teach students about the importance of recycling. Initially, students have a chance to think about their impact on our planet by following the path that garbage takes. Students then learn about how...
Curated OER
Is there Treasure in Trash?
More people, more garbage! Young environmentalists graph population growth against the amount of garbage generated per year and find a linear model that best fits the data. This is an older resource that could benefit from more recent...
Curated OER
Litter Crusade
Litter, garbage, and pollution are all addressed in a nice lesson on waste and recycling. Learners discuss what litter is and how it affects the environment. Then, they sing a song about eliminating litter before going out on campus to...
PBS
Going Green
Trash is where it's at! Using bags of garbage collected from the school, learners sort the contents into categories based on type of material and collect data on the results. The data may include weight, volume, and/or percent of the trash.
Curated OER
Classifying Waste: What Kind is Mine?
Students discover what happens to their trash and garbage once it is collected off of the curb. In groups, they classify garbage and waste into seven different categories and estimate how much waste is created in each one. Using the...
Curated OER
Talkin' Trash
Use these lesson plans to illustrate the effects of trash on our environment and the ways in which we dispose of it.
Curated OER
Collective Compromise
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning instructional activity, students examine what to do with waste as they plan and implement a strategy for controlling their school's trash.
PJ Library
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the holes in...
Curated OER
Excavating the Trash
Students look at a day's accumulation of recyclable trash from first through fifth grade classrooms, not knowing which classes it came from. After setting up a collection sheet for data, students remove items from the receptacle and...
Curated OER
One Person's Trash
Students pick an area that needs cleaning up and help clean up the trash in that place. In this clean up lesson plan, students pick either their home, school, or neighborhood to clean up and sort through the trash that they find.
Curated OER
Ecology-Minded Garbage Plants
Students complete recycling activities to learn how ordinary garbage can create a living organism. In this recycling lesson, students take a combination of seeds from used fruits. Students water and grow the plants from the recycled seeds.
Curated OER
Recycling Lesson Plans
Students can learn about protecting the environment through these recycling lesson plans.
Curated OER
Trash or Treasure?
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students pull together to clean up a community park and reflect on the experience through literature.
Curated OER
The Garbage Patch: Two Earth day Lessons
Students view a seven minute video called Gorilla in the Greenhouse. In this Earth day lesson, students review the history of Earth day. Students work in groups to describe the life cycle of a plastic bag. Students understand that...
Curated OER
Nocturnal Animals Lesson Plans
Creatures of the night aren't scary, but elicit much wonder and delight. Check out these nocturnal animal lesson plans for teaching ideas.