Let’s Keep Our Planet Clean and Green

 Topic(s): Science

Images/Video Resources

The Magical School Bus talks about recycling

This video provides an excellent presentation on how paper is recycled.

Trash and Recycling with Steve

Scenario

How do you feel when you go to a place where trash is everywhere? You probably feel disgusted, right? And you probably feel the urge to make that place a better place. Many places could be a good example of this. For example: a park with papers everywhere, a street with plastic bottles here and there, or how about the beach where you can find almost all sorts of trash.

Recycling is something that every person should be practicing.  It is very important because it concerns our beautiful planet, Earth. You may have noticed that when your parents buy things like: paper bags, cleaning products, aluminum cans, glass bottles; some of these things have a special symbol on.  

This symbol means that a product is a recycled product. Recycling products help make our planet a better place to live in. if we recycle items we do not need any more new things to be made. We will save trees and other important natural resources making this planet a better place to live in, not only for us, but also for future generations. There are many things that we can recycle:

Task

Sample Investigations/Teacher Resources

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is looking for ways to make our world a better place. They have sent the following letter to you.

Dear Environmentalist,

     We don’t have another planet to go to. We live in a beautiful planet that is full of resources, but these resources are not limitless. We are consuming these resources carelessly. There are many things we can do to help clean our planet one of them is recycling. Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling is important to both the natural environment and us. We must act fast as the amount of waste we create is increasing all the time. Your task is probably one of the most important tasks that you will carryon for many years, even though your class assignment will only take six weeks.

     Your task will start today and it will consist of the following. You and your team need to come up with a project to help preserve the natural resources of this planet and motivate others to be participants in this project.  You will come up with a plan to make our planet a better place to live in. The following are just ideas  to guide you on your research. They are not to limit your research.

• You can come up with a project to clean the water.
• You can come up with a project that we can use instead of gasoline.
• You can come up with a project that we can use for electricity.
• You can start a recycling system here at campus, at home, at the park or somewhere else. 

     The different ways you can help this planet are limitless. All you need is a little bit of imagination and a lot of desire to help make this world a better place.

Respectfully,

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Department

This link, from CSCOPE, provides information about recycling.

http://www.clarkswcd.org/Kids/KidsHome.htm

This website makes it easier for you to find the teaching materials you need

http://www.enviroliteracy.org/teachers-index.php

From this link students can get images that relate to recycling.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=recycling&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1366&bih=651&wrapid=tlif134326489330210&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=hZgQUKyPAurr6wHP3YHYDw

This link provided excellent resources on how to recycle paper at your school.

http://earth911.com/recycling/paper/paper-recycling-at-school/

This link provides links to several lessons that relate to science and can be incorporated in the classroom.

http://www.instructorweb.com/science.asp

In this game students have to place recycle things in the proper recycling bin.  http://www.planetpatrol.info/games/mastergame33/MasterGame33.html

Student Resources

This link provides a list of recycling centers in the Rio Grand Valley. You can contact these places for more information.

http://www.theriograndevalley.com/recycling/index.html

Planetpals is a web page that provides information on what recycling is.

http://www.planetpals.com/recyclefacts.html

It is important to know where your nearest recycling station is. Cameron county just like other counties from USA has several recycling sites.

http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/solid_waste/directory.htm

What , Where and How can I recycle?

http://vrarecycles.org/WhatWhereHowCanIRecycle/tabid/57/Default.aspx

Recycling basics for the home is a web page that gives homeowners ideas on how to help the environment. 

http://eartheasy.com/live_recycling.htm 

Three great ways to eliminate waste and protect the environment.

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/explore/reduce/index.htm

This link will take you to "whyville.net". Once you create an account you will be able to participate on many games including the recycling game. 

http://j.whyville.net/smmk/cafeteria/trashGame?room=15

Prezi tutorial

Sliderocket tutorial

Spicynodes tutorial

Vocabulary of Instruction:

 natural resources

 man-made resources

 conserving

 conservation

 reuse

 recycle

 reduce

 repurpose

 paper

 plastic

 metal

 preserve

Student Work

Standards

1. Read and analyze the scenario and situation.
Check your understanding of the scenario. Don't be tempted to start thinking about potential solutions or to start looking for information. 

1. List your personal understanding, ideas or hunches.

 With your team use all the information available in the scenario to list everything that you know about recycling. You do not have to conduct any research yet. Just use the information given and write the facts that you already know about recycling.

With your team, make a list about what you do not know and would like to learn. List all the questions you will need to answer to solve the problem.  

4. List what needs to be done.
"What should we do?" List actions to be taken, e.g., question an expert, conduct research, go to a board meeting about topic. List possible actions. 

5. Develop a problem statement.

You will be responsible for thinking and choosing one of the questions to solve the problem.  A problem statement should come from your analysis of what you know. In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe what it is that your group is trying to solve, produce, respond to, or find out. The problem statement may have to be revised as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation.

Use all the resources available (Internet, library, etc) to research about the problem/topic and find a solution.

7. Present Findings

Students will present findings using one of the following Web2.O programs. The presentation is going to be graded based on the rubric.

sliderocket

spicynodes

prezi

Rubric for presentation:

MyRubricRecycling.doc  

TEKS:

2.7 Earth and space. The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials. The student is expected to:

2.7C Distinguish between natural and manmade resources.

Scientific Process TEKS:

2.1 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student conducts classroom and   outdoor investigations following home and school safety procedures. The student is expected to:

2.1C Identify and demonstrate how to use, conserve, and dispose of natural resources and materials such as conserving water and reuse or recycling of paper, plastic, and metal.

2.2 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student develops abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry in classroom and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to:

2.2D Record and organize data using pictures, numbers, and words.

2.4 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses age-appropriate tools and models to investigate the natural world. The student is expected to:

2.4A Collect, record, and compare information using tools, including computers, hand lenses, rulers, primary balances, plastic beakers, magnets, collecting nets, notebooks, and safety goggles; timing devices, including clocks and

stopwatches; weather instruments, such as thermometers, wind vanes, and rain gauges; and materials to support observations of habitats of organisms such as terrariums and aquariums.

2.4B Measure and compare organisms and objects using non-standard units that approximate metric units.

Resources:

google.com/images

http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/science-paper.html

http://earth911.com/recycling/paper/paper-recycling-at-school/

http://www.enviroliteracy.org/teachers-index.php

http://www.tceq.texas.gov/p2/P2Recycle/recycling.html