3. Waste

Steps

  • REMEMBER – Check the CSRD recycling guide 
  • WATCH – Cue up the video below and watch it with the class
  • DESIGN TIME – Give students time to reflect and design in their planning booklet
  • SHARE – Have students share their ideas with the class or work in their groups
  • GO DEEPER – Add an activity from the extension buffet below (optional)

 

 

Extension Buffet

  • WATCH – The Trashman collected and wore all the garbage he created in a week (1:13)
  • FUTURE DAY IN THE LIFE – Write a story about a child in your FutureMakers community. What would a day look like in their zero-waste lifestyle? What would be different?  Brushing your teeth? Playing? Getting to and from school and other activities? Getting takeout? What do you do now to be zero waste?
  • WATCH – Follow the lifecycle of a t-shirt from resource extraction to disposal – (6:00)
  • MAKE IT – Use the Imagination Factory Trash Matcher to have students make something new with waste items from home
  • SORT IT – Become a garbologist and do a garbage assessment to see what type of garbage you make in your classroom. Use tongs and dump the garbage onto a tarp and sort the garbage. Is there recycling that should have gone elsewhere? Pledge to reduce the garbage you make as a class. In another week complete the same tasks and see if you did better.
  • WATCH – Why a Circular Model is better than Linear (11:53)
  • THEATRE – Have students create a theatre project to teach others about zero waste. Students make a live skit or short video to share what they’ve learned with other students in the school
  • WATCH – Learn about responsible resource use with the UN goal #12 – Responsible Consumption & Production (4:19)
  • FIELD TRIP – Consider taking a field trip to a nearby landfill and recycling center or search your community for MakersSpace that you could visit.
  • FIX IT – Host a fix-it day where students learn to repair their clothes. Have students identify a piece of clothing they need to fix. Invite parents who have sewing supplies and know how to sew to help students replace buttons or patch a rip.
  • WATCH – Learn about how resources are made into the stuff we use everyday video (3:14), Or go deeper by exploring the ‘How it’s Made’ series which explores how different types of consumer goods are made from their raw materials.
  • DISCUSS – Get students thinking about needs versus wants. Tell students we are going on a backcountry hiking trip. You can only take what you can carry.  The teacher quickly jots down all ideas on the board and then the class distills needs from wants. Often we use these words interchangeably, but they have very different definitions.

 

 

4 responses to “3. Waste”

  1. Definitely preview the videos – I feel that not all work with all groups. I curated the list form ‘How it’s made’ and we watch them while the kids eat their lunch – they just vote on the next one from suggestions I give. A great tie in is to do an art lesson from recycled materials. I think I will try and plan a “take apart” afternoon where I bring in some non-working small appliances and them them spent an afternoon just taking it apart (with anything leftover to be brought to the recycling depot or transfer station.)

    I added in a visit to the recycling (bottle) depot as part of this lesson. Aziz was able to provide a great tour of our facility and share what happens to the materials a what it can also be turned into. Graham was also a great guide for the transfer station and landfill. Upon our return, when the kids worked on the Waste section, they were really able to start to make connections to their plans for their future communities.

    This lesson has had great impacts on our class – I will be shopping this weekend for more bins as they want to be able to recycle their food wrappers instead of throwing them away thanks to our recycling depot visit! The kids are even wishing we had fix-it places to learn to fix or to have more to be fixed here in town.

    I REALLY encourage teachers to thoroughly preview each lesson and watch ALL of the videos ahead of time to help determine what it the best fit for your class. I continue to suggest extra visits as possible. (Like going to the grocery store for the food section and the recycling depot for this one.) In Revelstoke, I would even suggest a food bank visit as they are a great example here of sustainable, especially with their extra kitchens in the back that are available for things like canning and preserving workshops!

    Is there a place where we can see comments from other teachers from these lessons?

    1. Thanks for sharing all your thoughts Connie! So great! You will find other teachers comments at the bottom of each lesson page. Seems like you are one of the 1st, so that’s why you don’t see any yet.

  2. This section was thought provoking for all students. I previewed the extra videos listed below and I thought that my students would find “The Lifecycle of a T-Shirt really intersting. Most have many T-Shirts and don’t think much about where they come from or what their impact is. This is a really big topic and most of my students were able to focus on one or two aspects of how they would deal with waste.

  3. Again, the FutureMakers video is excellent. The extensions Buffet offers many excellent resources that compliment learning in this area. We watched “Why a Circular Model is Better Than Linear Model”. The students enjoyed this video and during our outdoor learning time they compared what they were seeing in nature to the circular model. Nice to see that connection and the learning that took place around that.
    I did not book the Landfill trip to coincide with this lesson. This was a mistake on my part. I like the idea of visiting the local bottle depot and I will set that up next time. I would also like to connect with the local supermarkets to discuss what they do with expired goods.
    Unfortunately, I notice that students are still throwing recyclable containers into the garbage during the day. We do not have recycling at school, and I have asked students to take these containers home to be recycled. Any thought on how to address this issue? Connie, do you do the recycling for the class or is it a school initiative? Thanks!