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Earth Day (4th)

Three Rs of Environmental Stewardship:
Earth Day (4th)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Three 'Rs' to Environmental Stewardship (4th Grade)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

3rd-5th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Library / Technology, Philanthropy, Science and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Dinosaurs to the Rescue!; Cause/Effect; Literary Response
PHIL:	4 lesson genOn; Common Good; Environmental Stewardship; Need; Recycling; Stewardship
SCI:	Conservation; Environment; Natural Resources; Nature; Pollution
SOC:	Citizenship/Civic Engagement; Core Democratic Values; Environment; Resources

Focus Question(s):

What is each person's responsibility for environmental stewardship?

NOTE: Prior to this lesson, use the Blue Sky Activity in which students envision a better world. If you already have a Blue Sky display, revisit it before beginning this lesson.

Purpose:

In this lesson, students learn how reusing, reducing, and recycling can save resources and reduce pollution. They take personal responsibility for environmental stewardship and strategize what they can do in their school, homes, and community to reduce pollution.

Duration:

One 45 Minute Class Period

Objectives:

The learner will:

discuss the meaning and applications of the three Rs--Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
observe effects on the environment of improper plastic bag disposal.
investigate how they can affect the environment in a positive way.
give examples and benefits of reusing, reducing, and recycling.

Materials:

Student copies of the text on the Earth Day Network site http://ww2.earthday.net/plasticbags
Internet access to view a two-minute film about plastic bags at http://ww2.earthday.net/plasticbags
Copy of the book Dinosaurs to the Rescue! A Guide to Protecting Our Planet (see Bibliographical References )
Chart paper with two columns labeled Paper and Plastic (or a plastic bag and a paper bag to tape over the column headings).
Student copies of Attachment One: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Handout 1: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:
Create a two-column graph with a plastic bag at the top of one column and a paper bag taped to the top of the other column. Ask the learners: “After you purchase groceries at a store which is better for the environment – paper or plastic?”

Give each learner a self-sticking note and ask them to write their name on it. Have them place their sticky notes on the plastic or paper columns on the display board. You may have students who know that using a reusable bag is the best option. If someone mentions it, add it as a third choice. Look at the data collected and have the students describe the results. Then state, “To save the planet, we must use the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Check for understanding of these terms:
recycle: – to make something over into a new product
reuse: – to use something again
reduce: – to use less of something
State, “Now that we have reviewed the three Rs would anyone like to change their vote?” Allow students to make changes by moving their names from one column to another. Have a couple students describe the new data.
Give each student a printout of the facts about paper and plastic bags on the following Earth Day Network site: http://ww2.earthday.net/plasticbags. Have the students read the article and highlight facts they think are important. Then show the video clip at the bottom of the website.
Write the words Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle on the display board. Have the students name ideas for applying the three Rs to plastic bags. Write their ideas under each word. (They may include ideas about paper bags and cloth bags.)
Read aloud the book Dinosaurs to the Rescue. Stop often to discuss the difference in behavior between Slobosaurus and the other characters in the community.
Ask the students to explain in what way reusing, reducing, and recycling are philanthropic acts. Review the meaning of the team philanthropy as "giving time, talent, or treasure or taking action for the common good."
Discuss why it is important for the community to work together to address the problems of pollution.
Ask the students to reflect on their own personal responsibility to the environment and what they can do to make a difference.
Distribute copies of Attachment One: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Divide the students into groups to brainstorm more ideas for ways to put the three Rs to use at home, school, and community. Ideas may come from the book and the plastic bag discussions. Have each student write ideas on the handout.
Come to a consensus on what the class will do related to the three Rs during this Earth Day Event to be good stewards of the Earth and work for the good of the community.

Assessment:

Choose one for the whole class or allow students to choose from this list:

Have students demonstrate their knowledge of conserving natural resources by writing a paragraph on why they feel plastic or paper bags are better for the environment. Allow for students to come up with alternative solutions.
Have students demonstrate their knowledge of conservation by writing a pledge to change one thing in their lives in order to make a difference. (Bringing a reusable water bottle to school, not using Styrofoam containers, reusing containers for other purposes before discarding them, etc.)

Learning Link(s): (click to view)

Have an idea for a Learning Link?

Submit your idea here.

If your Link is accepted for publication on the Web site you will be credited with your name, school, and city.

These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. READ: Kayla finished taking her bath and got into her pajamas. Her mom reached for the drain plug in the bathtub to let the water out.
“Wait!” exclaimed Kayla. “Don't waste that water!”
“What do you mean waste? You used it to take a bath,” her mother said.
“Yes,“ said Kayla, “but we learned in school that we need to take care of our environment. If we reuse that water for something else, that means there will be more clean water for someone else to use.”
“I guess that makes sense,” her mother said. “But what will we do with it?”
DISCUSS: How do you think Kayla and her mom could use the old bath water? How has Kayla done a good job of demonstrating the three Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle)?

2. READ: Did you know that San Francisco was the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags at grocery stores? Los Angeles City Council approved a ban that will take effect July 2010. In China and other countries, customers must pay for plastic bags at the store.
We know that using cloth bags is good environmental stewardship, and we should use them whenever we can. But, nobody's perfect, and we sometimes end up with plastic bags. Think about a plastic grocery bag. Make sure you think about all its properties. That means its shape, size, how strong it is, etc.
DISCUSS: Now, let's discuss different ways we could reuse this plastic bag. Try to focus on things that help the environment in other ways. Think about how you could reuse it in school, at home, or in the community.
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/plastic-bags-ban-and-tax.php?daylife=1&dcitc=daylife-article
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-05/26/content_7944466.htm)

3. READ: We have learned that philanthropy is giving time, talent, or treasure or taking action for the common good. The common good includes things that are good for everyone in our community. During Earth Day we talk about environmental projects that benefit the common good.
DISCUSS: Let's think of projects we could continue to do even after our Earth Day service project is over. How can we be philanthropists in our community and help to reduce, reuse, and recycle? What can you do as an individual (one person) either on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis as environmental stewards?

4. READ: Sofia was working on a watercolor painting during art period. She bumped her hand against her cup of water and spilled it all over the table. She leapt up and rushed over to the tissue box. She pulled tissue after tissue out of the box until she had a good-sized wad. She rushed back to her table, but her art teacher was already wiping up the spill with a cloth washcloth.
“Oh, thanks, Mrs. Van. Sorry I spilled.”
“That's okay, Sofia, everyone makes mistakes.” She glanced at the huge wad of tissues in Sofia's hand. “But, the best way to clean up a spill or mess is with a cloth towel. Not only does it pick up more water, but it also doesn't waste tissue. We should try harder to reduce the amount of paper products we use. Sometimes they're easier to use, but they're not always the best use of our resources.”
“Yes, Mrs. Van.” Sofia looked down at the floor. She knew Mrs. Van wasn't yelling at her, but she still felt bad. She slowly walked over to the trash can, ready to throw away her wad of tissues.
“Wait,” said Mrs. Van. “You should refold those tissues. Keep them in your desk for the next time you need a tissue. Then you'll really be helping to reduce.”
DISCUSS: How are tissues made, and what natural resource is used up to make them? What other products do we use that are made from this natural resource? How does reducing the amount of products we use that are made from natural resources help the common good?

5. READ: Hi, I'm Leon, and my school is right downtown where there are lots of office buildings. People in office buildings use lots of paper, and they have to pay to have someone pick up their recycled paper. So, some offices don’t recycle. My class decided to help them out by putting paper recycling bins in each office. We all brought in cardboard boxes from home and painted them to make them look a little nicer. We also glued on an instruction sheet with what kind of paper they could put inside. We asked for permission to place our recycling boxes in the office across the street. We put the boxes by the regular trash cans and the photocopy machines. At the end of each week we picked up the office paper recycling.
It was actually pretty cool to go over to the office and collect the paper in the bins every Friday after school. And, the people in the office were always nice to us. One Friday they even had treats for us. Helping out in our community turned out to be a really fun project.
DISCUSS: How do you think the students in Leon's class inspired the people in the office? Leon and his classmates are philanthropists—they gave their time, talent, and treasure for the common good. How do our actions for Earth Day make us philanthropists?

6. READ: "Conservation is ethically sound. It is rooted in our love of the land, our respect for the rights of others, our devotion to the rule of law."
-Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States (1908–1973)
"Conservation means the wise use of the earth and its resources for the lasting good of men."
-Gifford Pinchot, American forester and public official (1865–1946)
DISCUSS: What is conservation? What does it mean to conserve resources? How do the three Rs of reduce, reuse, and recycle relate to conservation? These two quotes are meant to inspire people to conserve. How do you think our actions during our Earth Day project may inspire other students?

7. READ: Danny got a weird feeling in his stomach when he saw all the trash in his neighborhood park. Every day when he walked home from school, he saw pop cans, gum wrappers, paper and foam cups, and other things─sometimes dangerous stuff. He often carried a bag in his backpack so he could pick up trash on his way through the park. One weekend he asked his parents and some of his neighbors to help too. He brought garbage bags and told everyone to wear gloves so they wouldn't hurt themselves. They divided the trash into things that could be recycled (aluminum cans), things that needed to be disposed of carefully (used needles), garbage (old bits of food and greasy paper), and things that might be recycled and reused (clean gum wrappers, paper scraps, broken glass, and cups).
Danny decided to create an art project out of some of the reusable objects. He cleaned some of the dirty pieces and created a collage out of pieces of glass, cups, and paper. His art showed a scene of a beautiful, clean park. At the bottom he wrote, “Together we can make the world a more beautiful place.” Danny asked to have his collage displayed in the city activities center. He hoped that he could inspire others to clean up.
DISCUSS: Remember, the meaning of philanthropyHow were Danny's actions an act of philanthropy? is "giving time, talent, or treasure or taking action for the common good."

8. READ: To help students remember to be good citizens on Earth Day, the physical education teacher came up with a special basketball game. She got two recycling containers and pieces of paper she had found around the school that were thrown in the regular trash can. Each team had 20 crumpled pieces of paper. Students took turns making baskets into the recycling containers to see which team could do it the fastest and get the most papers in. Some students used a regular basketball jump shot. Others tossed it in underhand. Both teams did pretty well and only missed their target a couple of times. Now, every time the students pass a recycling container or a stray piece of paper, they remember how important it is to toss it in.
DISCUSS: What is the target of our Earth Day service project? Just like the paper tossing activity, are there different ways for each student to help us hit our target? How can we teach other students in our school the importance of what we are doing?

9. READ: While he was writing a report for Earth Day, Jaden read that since 1960 the amount of waste each person generates has gone from 2.7 pounds per day to 4.5 pounds per day.
The best way to reduce this number is by preventing waste in the first place. This is the first R of the three Rs—reduce. If companies design less packaging for food and other items, there will be less to throw away. We can write letters to ask them to do that, or we can choose products that use less packaging. For example, we can buy fruits and vegetables that are not in plastic bags, and we can buy larger packages.
DISCUSS: What are some other ways that we can reduce the amount of trash we make? Are we doing anything during our Earth Day project that helps reduce? If not, can we add something that will reduce waste?
(www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm)

10. READ: Many countries around the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags or to charge people money to use them. Plastic bags are a pollution problem because they roll around outside and get into the rivers and lakes. In the United States some cities have banned stores from giving them out, but it is not against the law to use them.
Reducing the amount of plastic bags used relies on everyone taking personal responsibility for environmental stewardship. Everyone needs to figure out on their own what they can do in their schools, homes, and community to reduce pollution.
DISCUSS: Do you think it works better to rely on philanthropists to help the environment or to pass laws that force people do be environmental stewards? Or is a combination of both methods a good choice? How is what we are doing for our Earth Day project a part of our environmental stewardship?
(ww2.earthday.net/plasticbag)

School/Home Connection:

Ask students to bring a variety of items from home that were destined for the trash but could be reused, recycled, or reduced. Students should be prepared to explain how each item could have been reduced, reused, or recycled as they attach it to the Slobosaurus outline (see Extension). The final product will be a large, class collage. Be sure students ask an adult's permission to bring the items to school.

Teacher Note: Have a selection of reusable or recyclable items for students who are unable to bring something from home.

Cross-Curriculum Extensions:

Display a very large outline of a dinosaur (Slobosaurus) on a bulletin board. Encourage students to bring items from home over the next few days that could be reused, reduced, or recycled to make a collage on the Slobosaurus. (See School/Home Connection.)
Have students calculate their impact on the environment and learn about ways to reduce it by using the Carbon footprint calculator: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency site contains general information about composting and recycling. Get information on waste reduction and starting a recycling program in your school.
If you have a local place that recycles plastic bags, have the students bring in the plastic bags they have accumulated in their homes. When you have a large collection, calculate how many plastic bags you have and divide by the number of people who brought them in. Then multiply by the number of people in the classroom to get an idea of how many plastic bags are used by the families represented in the class. Then discuss how many that would be for the community or state. Bring the bags to the recycling site.
View a slideshow with statistics about plastic bags and the damage they do to the enviroment. Go to the Pocono Record.
Reseach the chemical makeup of plastic bags and the amount of oil used in plastic bag production. Find the current research about the potentially toxic chemical Bisphenol A used in plastic bags.

Reflection: (click to view)

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event. Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service project and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE: Have the students write a paragraph about their personal service project experience using this prompt, or something similar: “This service project was like a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk because…”

ACTIVITY TWO: Toss a tennis ball to a student and have that student use one word or phrase to describe or summarize how they felt about their service project experience. After a student has had an opportunity to respond, have him or her toss the ball back to you. Continue the process until everyone has had an opportunity to respond. As always, allowing a student to pass (not respond) is permissible.

ACTIVITY THREE: Give each student an 8 ½” x 11”-sheet of multi-colored construction paper, a pair of scissors, a glue stick/paste and a variety of old magazines and newspapers. Instruct them that they will have a certain amount of time to go through these magazines and newspapers to cut out pictures and/or words that could be used to describe their involvement in the recent service project. Once they have cut out pictures or words, instruct them to place their name somewhere on the construction paper and then glue the pictures and/or words they cut out to the construction paper being careful not to cover up their name. Display these in the classroom. If time allows, have each student share the contents of his or her collage with the rest of the class.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Provide each student with a sheet of construction paper, preferably of five different colors. Have the students cut from their sheet of construction paper, five different geometric shapes; namely, a square, a circle, a triangle, a cone, and a rectangle. Provide each student with a wire coat hanger and pieces of string. Collect all the squares in one pile; all the triangles in another, and so forth. Invite the students to select one of each shape from the piles. On the circle have them draw a face showing how they felt doing the service project on the reverse side have them write a word or two describing how they felt during the activity. On one side of a triangle have them draw a picture of what they did during the service project and on the reverse side write a brief description. On the square, have them list what they think were the affects/effects of the project. On the rectangle have them draw another act of giving or caring they would like to do and on the reverse side ask them to describe what they drew. On the cone have them place their name. Then demonstrate how the students are to attach the strings to each shape and tie the shapes onto the coat hanger to make a mobile. Display the mobiles in the room. If time permits, ask for student volunteers to explain their mobile.

Bibliographical References:

Brown, Laurie and Brown, M. Dinosaurs to the Rescue!: A Guide to Protecting Our Planet. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN: 0316113972
adapted from Learning to Give lesson: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit145/lesson4.html
Earth Day Network. "Get Rid of Plastic Bags ... and Plastic." http://ww2.earthday.net/plasticbags
Carbon Footprint Calculator: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wastes site. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/index.htm
The Pocono Record. http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016/.

Lesson Developed By:

Heather de Koning Foley
New York City
P.S.132
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
  In School



  At Home



  In the Community

Academic Standards:

State/Country:

Philanthropy Framework:

Comments

Barbara, Teacher – Newark, NJ4/29/2009 2:07:30 PM

The students in this lesson learned how reusing, reducing, and recycling can save resources and reduce pollution. We discussed strategies they can use in their school, homes, and community to reduce pollution.

Maral, Teacher – Newark, NJ5/5/2010 10:56:58 AM

Great lesson for Earth day! Great way for students to find out the dangers of using plastic bags. Also lead to a great discussion on alternatives and ways that they can contribute.