Beyond Recycling at Kootenay Orchards School in Cranbrook for Jan 5th 2015

The grade 6 students in Mrs Potter’s class at Kootenay Orchards school in Cranbrook, are getting right back into the Beyond Recycling Program. In this weeks lesson, we are learning more about the Cycle of Stuff and the impacts that the everyday products we use have. In the lesson "It’s all from the Earth", students worked together to sort out everyday products into raw material groups. Some of the items sorted where tissue, wooden spoon, cell phone, stainless steel kitchen utensils, fleece sweaters and a pair of jeans. They were sorted into 4 raw material groups (iron, cotton, oil and wood). The students generated some great discussion on what raw materials are in many products. From this activity, students worked in groups to develop their own story of chosen items and the discussed the "lifecycle" of those products from extraction of raw materials, all the way to disposal. Some of the story ideas generated where hockey sticks, pucks and a horse saddle. Next week we will share some of those ideas as well as diving into the next lesson, Closing the Loop.