Curated OER
Waste Management
Students set up a recycling program in their school. They first estimate the kinds and amount of trash generated and brainstorm ways to reuse the recyclables and create flyers explaining how their program will work at the school.
Curated OER
Christmas Potpourri Hangers
Students create a potpourri hanger. In this Christmas craft lesson, students reuse materials to make a Christmas potpourri hangar for the tree or for a gift.
Curated OER
The Flat Stanley Project
Students read the book Flat Stanley. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students participate in earth-friendly activities based upon the book. This lesson includes ideas such as using recycled paper to make a "paper pal."
Curated OER
3 Holiday Projects
Students explore the concept of reusing and recycling everyday materials and make holiday-oriented decorations and gift wrapping. Letters containing environmental issues are composed and sent to political and corporate decision-makers.
Curated OER
Dumptown Game
Students engage in an interactive play scenario. They are the new managers of a fictional city and live in a place where nothing is recycled. Students are faced with various problems that need to be solved. They work together to propose...
Curated OER
Com-Post With Us?
Students discuss the importance of reducing, recycling and reusing materials to help the environment. As a class, they create a worm bin and observe how it turns material in to compost. They use the internet to research the...
Curated OER
Create, Design, and Invent with Plastic
Students explore creative ways to reuse materials. In this ecology/art lesson, students create artwork using trash. Students view examples of folk art from around the world that used waste products as a main component.
Curated OER
Adaptive Reuse
Students identify historic buildings in their community that have been adaptively reused. Through "adopting" a building, they will study how recycling of buildings is an environmentally and economically sound practice for communities.
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Reduce and Reuse
Students conduct a lunch waste audit by recording each item they throw away at lunch. They graph class lunch waste. They use this information to devise a plan of action to reduce lunch waste. There is also an activity to make paper.
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Lunchroom Trash
Students explore the amount of waste produced by humans. In this ecology lesson, students predict which lunch bag and its contents will produce the most waste. Leftover material is examined, amounts are recorded, and a bar graph is...
Curated OER
Owls: Top of a Food Chain
Although written for middle schoolers, there is no reason that a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader could not also learn about food chains through the dissection of owl pellets. After you introduce the topic, learners complete an owl research...
California Academy of Science
Where Do I Put My Trash?
Where does the trash go after you put it in the garbage can? The class discusses sustainability, recycling, compost, and landfills as they play as fun relay game. In teams, they race to be the fastest group to successfully sort their...
Curated OER
To Rot or Not!
Students discover that composting helps reduce landfill waste and is good for the soil. They explore the techniques of composting through a variety of media, art activities and hands-on experience.
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily that...
Curated OER
Trash Flash Through Time
Students describe ways in which solid waste was disposed in the past and the present. They survey an older citizen about his/her solid waste disposal methods. They discover solid waste practices from long ago.
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Environmental Fair
Students investigate environmental issues. In this environmental lesson, students find an object that is considered trash and make something useful out of it. Students present their creative project.
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Carbon Footprint Estimator
Students discover what a Carbon Footprint represents. In this sustainable lifestyle lesson, students determine their Carbon Footprint as an individual and as a class. Students use a the Internet to calculate how many earths it would take...
Curated OER
Earth Kids: Kindergarteners Taking Care of the Earth
Students explore a variety of ways of how to care for the environment in the nine lessons of this unit. They observe how to be responsible "Earth Kids."
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The Effects of Trash and Garbage On the Environment
Students recognize the importance of solid waste management. In this science lesson plan, students analyze individual solid waste management habits as they enhance their knowledge of solid waste disposal and the recycling process.
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Think Before You Toss
Students sort a variety of trash items and determine thier sorting decisions.
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Not In My Backyard: Siting A Resource Recovery Facility
Students role play a town meeting in which a new resource facility could be built. They have time to question each other after all sides have presented.
Curated OER
Salt Marsh in a Pan
Students create a model of a salt marsh to discover the impact of pollution and human activities on water-based habitats including bays and the ocean. They recognize the relationship between natural and developed areas. Students impact...
University of Southern California
Mastering Microbes
Small but mighty! Learners explore the role of microbes in a healthy ecosystem. An engaging lesson asks pupils to design an aquaponics system that demonstrates that healthy microbes are necessary to maintain the ecosystem.
Curated OER
Trash Or Treasure
High schoolers investigate the concept of garbage and define how it may be useful for people. The consumption of products is estimated to predict the annual volume of garbage for a household. Then students attempt to create a treasure...