Objective(s)

Students will learn about the process of recycling and how it improves the environment.

National Standards

Science: changes in Earth; Earth's history

Summary

This lesson is designed for a classroom with learning centers. Using the theme of Earth Day, centers can be set up for students to visit on a rotating basis. Each center could also be developed into a lesson.

Technology and/or Materials Needed

• "Don't Pollute" by Stan and Jan Berenstein
• Audio tape of story, "Don't Pollute"
• Student journals
• Dictionaries
• Collection of trash to include clean bottles, plastic, paper, and aluminum
• Bins labeled glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum
• Folders labeled glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum with pictures of each category
• Ingredients for "Dirty Dessert" (see activities)
• Computer with Internet access

Implementation Time Frame

Each center or lesson should take approximately 20 minutes, except Center/Lesson 5 allow additional time.

Activities

Center/Lesson 1: Students will listen or read the story "Don't Pollute" by Stan and Jan Berenstein. After reading or listening, students will record their favorite parts of the story in their journals.

Center/Lesson 2: Students will look up vocabulary words: environment, recycle, trash, pollution, and litter. (Make sure the dictionaries you are using include these words.) Students will write and illustrate the words in their journals.

Center/Lesson 3: Students will analyze a collection of trash and sort the trash into bins labeled glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum. Students can self check themselves by looking at folders with each of these labels and pictures of items that belong in the category. After completing the activity, students should place all the "trash" back into the trash can.

Center/Lesson 4: Using the web site, www.planetzoom.com/StoryBook/StoryBook.html-ssi the teacher and students will read the story, "Colin the Can". The story is read from the computer; therefore, this is best viewed with a small group of students or with a TV connector from the computer. After completing the story, students should answer questions orally to assess comprehension of the story and the aluminum recycling process.

Center/Lesson 5: Students will assemble a "Dirty Dessert" for snack time. During the preparation, students will practice measurement skills and review the layers of the Earth and how the soil is represented in different layers by the pudding, cookie pieces, and insects.

The ingredients of "Dirty Dessert" include: prepared instant chocolate pudding (enough for each child to have 1/2 cup), crushed chocolate cookie pieces, candy or gummy worms, and small cups. Students will measure 1/2 cup in their cup. On top, students will add approximately one tablespoon of crushed cookie pieces and then a gummy worm.

More lesson ideas: Students will visit a recycling plant. Students can visit other classrooms to spread the word about recycling.

Assessment

Students will create posters to encourage others to recycle. With teacher's help, different slogans will be created for children to use on poster.

Posters can be evaluated using a rubric assessing the appropriate use of pictures for slogan chosen and original design.

Resources and Related Links

• www.planetzoom.com/Storybook/StoryBook.html-ssi