Students investigate natural resources and man-made items. In this earth science lesson, students classify items from trash into man-made items or natural resources. Students construct a flow chart to investigate the life cycle of a...

Students explore how landfills function. In this landfill lesson, students explore the use of landfills and the decomposition process by creating a model landfill. Students discuss pros and cons to landfills and how potential problems...

Students examine debris, what it is, where it comes from and where they go.  In this debris instructional activity students view a video, answer questions and discuss what they learned.

Students examine how their belongings and their trash represents who they are. In this archaeology skills lesson, students watch a video titled "Discovering the Past" and then give archaeological techniques a try. Students examine and...

Young scholars examine how global wind and water patterns aid in the spread of worldwide pollution. In groups, they read articles about the domino effect of pollution and create posters displaying its journey. On blank world maps,...

Looking at art is the first step to analyzing it. And, if you can analyze art, you can analyze anything. Kids examine several pop art pieces that represent consumerism in modern culture. They discuss multiple facets of each piece and...

Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...

You can lower your ecological footprint by recycling! Lesson four in this series of five has individuals, through the use of a computer, calculate their ecological footprints. Through discussions and analysis they determine how many...

Ecosystems provide many things humans not only use but also need in order to survive. The last instructional activity in the series of seven introduces scholars to the idea of ecosystem services, that ecosystems provide humans with many...

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...

Students investigate the concept of time and how it is used. There are key words that can be used to stimulate thinking about how each is related to time. They take an inventory of how time is spent in a single day. Then students can...

Students examine the effects of packaging decisions and the engineering advancements in packaging materials and waste management. They observe biodegradation in a model landfill.

How do we clean up oil spills and other pollutants in the water? Explore water treatment strategies with a set of environmental science experiments. Groups remove oil from water, work with wastewater treatment, and perform a water...

Does money seem to slip through your middle schoolers' fingers? Encourage them to examine spending, saving, and budgeting habits with a unit on consumer skills and money management. Young spenders study the waste that occurs with school...

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.

Students recognize the importance of solid waste management. In this science lesson plan, students analyze individual solid waste management habits as they enhance their knowledge of solid waste disposal and the recycling process.

Students develop a graphic way of visualizing the concept of a million by utilizing what had happened to the Nashua River due to the dumping of raw sewage in 1962.

Students examine the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. They work together to discover how their local community handles waste disposal. They complete a worksheet to end the instructional activity.

Students evaluate the school's recycling and waste management practices. After analyzing current methods, teams develop a new recycling plan, and create a slideshow presentation. They present their proposals to the principal for...

Students explore how waste disposal has changed over time and what the current issues are.  In this disposal lesson students collect data and create graphs.

Students explore the concept of waste management. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students study the nuances of the terms reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students investigate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle many everyday items...

Students identify class and types of materials in our environment.  In this investigative lesson students work in groups to process information about what actions should be taken concerning solid waste.

Students demonstrate responsible consumer choices. In this social studies lesson, students read The Lorax and discuss wants and needs. Students discuss how to save natural resources by making informed consumer choices.

Third graders explore the concept of sorting recyclables. In this recycling instructional activity, 3rd graders determine how to separate recyclables from waste and how to sort recyclables into different categories.