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Earth Day (4th)

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

Lesson 1:

From Unit Three 'Rs' to Environmental Stewardship: Earth Day (4th)

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! A Guide to Protecting Our Planet; Cause/Effect; Literary Response
PHIL:	Common Good; Environmental Stewardship; LEAGUE Event Lesson: Earth Day; 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.

LEAGUE Coaches: After teaching this lesson, please complete a short evaluation.
LEAGUE Learning Link(s)
Post Service Reflection

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.)

LEAGUE 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 "LEAGUE Learning Links” provide ten quick and easy 5-minute mini-lessons to help promote The LEAGUE’s vision and scheduled events in your classroom. You can choose from among these mini-lessons and use as many of them as you would like 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 ones, time, talents, and treasures for the common good) and to promote those philanthropic acts that have been identified as supporting The LEAGUE events. These mini-lessons will also help ensure a deeper understanding of character traits, civic engagement, and promote student leadership. It is recommended that students be encouraged to play as much of a role as possible and appropriate in presenting these lessons to their classmates.

READ: Do you like to play basketball? Soccer? These are two games that require moving a ball from one end of a rectangular field to the other. In the game of basketball you can only move the ball by passing or dribbling. Kicking the ball is not allowed. In the game of soccer you can only move the ball by passing or kicking the ball. Dribbling the ball with your hands is not allowed. While the goal to move the ball from one end of the rectangular field to the other is the same for both games, there are different ways to reach a goal.

DISCUSS: What is the goal of our Earth Day Event? Is there only one way to achieve that goal? Why is it important to have a variety of ways to reach our goal?
READ: Brianna lived next door to Mrs. Ambrose. Mrs. Ambrose had a beautiful rose garden. Brianna often talked to Mrs. Ambrose as she worked in her garden. One day Brianna noticed Mrs. Ambrose was cutting some of her roses. She wondered why Mrs. Ambrose would do that. The roses looked so pretty on the bushes. Mrs. Ambrose explained. “Sometimes the roses I cut are starting to die. Sometimes there are just too many little roses on one branch. Not all of them will get enough plant food to grow. If the roses grow too big they can break the branch. And sometimes I just like to put some roses in a vase. They make my kitchen table so pretty.”

DISCUSS: Mrs. Ambrose had four different reasons for cutting her roses. What are some of the reasons why someone might choose to be involved in our Earth Day Event? Is there any one reason that is better than another? Why or why not? What could we say to our classmates who have reasons for not getting involved in our Event?
READ: Mr. Erins is an art teacher at Somewhereville Elementary School. Everyone likes him. Occasionally, he brings some of his own artwork to school to show the students. One day he showed the class a beautiful painting of horses running wild on the prairie. Everyone thought it was beautiful. Then he did something really strange: He threw globs of paint at the painting. He even used a paint spray can to paint symbols and words over his painting. Everyone in class gasped. They could not believe what they were seeing. Why would anyone want to destroy such a beautiful painting like this? Mr. Erins explained that sometimes people put graffiti on buildings and beautiful outdoor artwork. And no knows why they do it. The students were upset and sad that anyone would do this on purpose. They all agreed that this was something they would never do.

DISCUSS: Would you agree that our world is like a beautiful painting? What are some ways we put graffiti on our world? Does this upset you and make you sad? How will our Earth Day Event help to clean up our world and make it beautiful again? Why is it important to do this?
READ: One-year-old Karen put her bottle in the bathtub. Two-year-old Eric put a piece of plastic in his mouth. Three-year-old Jessica put pennies in the toaster. Six-year-old Barry threw a half-eaten banana on the ground. Twelve-year-old Brandon dropped his sandwich wrapper on the ground and left it there. Twenty-five-year old Jessica threw a gum wrapper out her car window. Forty-four-year-old Brian left a plastic water bottle on the bench in the park. All these people put or left things where they didn’t belong.

DISCUSS: Do you think everyone who puts or leaves things where they don’t belong knows that they don’t belong there? Why is it important that we put things where they belong? What are we doing for Earth Day to help keep our school (community) neat and clean? Why is this important?
READ: We use an umbrella to keep us dry in the rain. We use sunscreen to protect us from sunburn. We wear a life jacket to keep us safe in the water. We wear coats, hats, and mittens to protect us from the cold and keep us warm. We do many things to keep ourselves comfortable and safe. Sometimes we need to be reminded to take our umbrella, to put on sunscreen, and to wear our life jackets, coats, hats, and mittens.

DISCUSS: What are we doing for our Earth Day Event that might help keep our world more comfortable and safe? Why is our Earth Day Event a good way to “remind” everyone that we need to do what we can?
READ: On Monday our school playground was pretty trashed. There was an art fair there on Saturday, and Sunday was a very breezy day. Most of the trash from the fair had blown against the fence. My friend and I could see Mr. Arens, our school custodian, picking up the trash along the fence. His barrel was getting pretty full. Our class had decided to plant flowers along the fence as our Earth Day Event project this year. Picking up trash wasn’t part of our project, but we asked our teacher if we could help Mr. Arens pick up the trash. She seemed happy that we asked and said “yes.”

DISCUSS: Why do think these two students offered to help Mr. Arens even though it was not a planned part of their Earth Day project this year? Why do you think the teacher seemed happy that they offered to help? What are some things we could do during our Earth Day Event that are not part of our class’s plan for this year?
READ: In the land of Toroso lived the mythical people of Lantis. Travelers to this land saw beautiful flowers and bushes. They saw tall trees. And they commented on how clean the streets and alleyways were. It all seemed like a magical fairy tale land. Everything looked perfect. ”It would be so nice to live here,” visitors often said. Little did they know that every night just before dark the people of Toroso went into the streets and picked up trash. They weeded the flower gardens. They watered the trees. Because they did this every night, things always looked “perfect” during the day.

DISCUSS: Did the land of Toroso look perfect because of magic or because of the hard work of the people of Lantis? If we want to make our environment look better, what has to happen? What “magic” do we have to perform during our Earth Day Event that could cause visitors to say, “It would be so nice to live here”?
READ: Cassie doesn’t like bananas. Her father broke his arm when he slipped on a banana peel someone had carelessly dropped on the ground.

Andrew doesn’t like bubble gum. The veterinarian said that Shadow, Andrew’s pet cat, got sick after eating some bubble gum that someone had thrown on the ground.

Mr. Rodriquez’s class does not like seeing trash on the playground. When it is their class’s assigned day to pick up the litter on the playground during recess, it takes so much time they don’t have time left to play.

Mr. Covey doesn’t like cigarettes. They are bad for people’s health, and people throw their cigarette butts into his flower bed.

DISCUSS: There are lots of reasons people don’t like litter. Cassie, Andrew, Mr. Rodriquez’s class, and Mr. Covey had their reasons. Can you think of other reasons people might not like litter? What are some things we can do during our Earth Day Event to help clean up and make things more beautiful?
READ: One day Derrick was riding his bike to school. He noticed that someone had dropped a bottle on the sidewalk. Glass was everywhere. Derrick thought about stopping to pick it up, but he rode his bike around the broken glass. He wanted to get to school early so he could play with his friends. When the bell rang, everyone went inside. The teacher announced that Amy’s mother had called. Amy had to go to the hospital for stitches. On the way to school, Amy had fallen on some broken glass on the sidewalk. Derrick felt really sad.

DISCUSS: Why do you think Derrick felt really sad? What do you think could have happened if Derrick had removed the glass from the sidewalk? What could we do during our Earth Day Event to help make things better and safer for others?
READ: Kristi caught a snowflake on her mitten. Her mother had always told her that she was unique like a snowflake. That meant Kristi was not like any one else. Kristi turned to her friends. “I’m unique,” she told them.

“We’re all unique,” one friend said.

Kristi agreed. “We look different, and we have different talents. I think that makes us stronger as a team. Each of us can do what we do best.”

Kristi’s friends were quiet for a minute. Then one friend said, “What shall we do, team?”

“Who wants to build a snowman?” asked Kristi. The friends got right to work.

DISCUSS: We are all unique. No two of us are exactly alike. Sometimes we disagree because we have different ideas about how to get things done, but our team is stronger and more creative because of all our different ideas and talents. Even though we are all different, why is it important that we all work together on our Earth Day Event?

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.

Extension:

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.

Post Service 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 event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE: Have the students write a paragraph about their personal Event experience using this prompt, or something similar: “This Event 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 LEAGUE Event 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 Event. 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 Event activity. On one side of a triangle have them draw a picture of what they did during the Event and on the reverse side write a brief description. On the square, have them list what they think were the affects/effects of the Event 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 and Piloted by:

Heather deKoning
New York City
P.S.132 The Conselyea
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
  In School



  At Home



  In the Community

Academic Standards:

State:

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.

Unit Contents:

Overview:Three 'Rs' to Environmental Stewardship: Earth Day (4th) Summary

Lessons:

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