Kelly Arrington
March 2014
the CEED
THE CENTER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT DESIGN
Trash vs. Composting vs. Recycling
Grade Level
Kindergarten
Subject
Objective(s):
- TSW give examples of items that can be
composted. Ex. Banana peel, bread, tissue, etc.
- TSW give examples of items that can be
recycled. Ex. Paper, plastic bottle, soda can, etc.
- TSW differentiate between biodegradable and
non-biodegradable items by explaining which
items will or will not decay throughout time.
- TSW predict what would happen if we did not
compost or recycle.
- TSW compost and recycle within the classroom,
their homes, and in the community.
Materials Needed
Per Class of 30
and
Prior Knowledge

Ways to
differentiate this
lesson plan

Science
SOL Addressed:
Science K.10: The student will investigate and understand that
materials can be reused, recycled, and conserved. Key concepts
include:
a) materials and objects can be used over and over again;
b) everyday materials can be recycled
Common Core Standards:
K-ESS3-3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of
humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the
local environment.
5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter
among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for
monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
-Active Board
Prior Knowledge:
-Individual Science Journals
-We use materials from the earth
-Pencils
every single day, each have their own
-C.E.E.D. Dashboard & Website Gallery
properties and are made in different
-Three recycling bins
ways.
-Compost Bin/ Center
-Students will need a basic
-Recyclable Items (from around the classroom,
understanding that some items can
school, or write a letter and have parents send
be reused, while others cannot.
items in.)
-Students should know that reusing,
-Food/ biodegradable items
reducing, and recycling is a way to
-Picture cut-outs of both compostable and
help our Earth.
recyclable items.
-Four large poster boards
EXTENSION for Higher Level Learner
-Students will document similar activities they do in their homes or in the community.
-Students will write and illustrate a journal entry about what they could do with the recyclable
items.
-Students will pair up and make predictions about what would/could happen if recycling was
not an option.
MODIFICATIONS
-If a compost bin is not attainable, the class can go on a “field-trip” outside and dig a hole in
order to show decomposing effects. Class should bury compostable items and re-dig in 1-2
weeks.
-If students cannot yet write sentences, have teacher record their thoughts for them one-onone or altogether as a class.
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Anticipatory Set: How will the
teacher introduce the lesson
to the students?
Teacher will come into
classroom tired from carrying
a huge bag of “trash” she
found lying around the school.
Introduction/
Anticipatory Set
Questions to ask students:
 Why do people liter?
Why shouldn’t we liter?
 Why do you think I
decided to pick this
trash up? Would you?
Why or why not?
 What should we do
with this bag of trash?
What happens to
trash? Are there
options rather than
simply taking it to the
dump?
Introduction:
Vocabulary Terms: Reuse, Reduce/ Conserve, Recycle, Compost,
Biodegradable, Non-biodegradable
First the teacher will bring out the objects from the trash bag one
by one and show students. The teacher will begin to construct a list
of the names of items on the active board. (Ex. Banana peel, milk
bottle, piece of bread, soda can, wire, apple, tissue, piece of paper,
etc)
The teacher will explain that there are two types of trash listed:
biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Explain that biodegradable
trash can easily decay, while the other types of trash will not.
Predictions: Ask students to predict which objects listed will decay
and circle those items on the board.
Discussion Questions:
 What does decay mean? Why does it matter if some trash
is able to decay and some trash is not? Should this fact
change the way we “take out our trash?”
 What makes you think _____ is biodegradable? Why isn’t
_____ biodegradable? What is the difference in these two
items?
 If non-biodegradable items cannot decay, what happens to
them? What happens to the items that can decay?
Day One:
Guided Practice
1. Teacher will explain to students that biodegradable items can be “recycled” naturally through
a process called composting. What is recycling? Does anyone know? Teacher will listen to
student answers and facilitate student discussion. What can we recycle? Move on to explain
that composting is a way for nature to recycle biodegradable items, like the ones the students
made predictions about.
2. As a class, use student participants to prepare the compost bin. Explain that when composting
takes place, usually only biodegradable items are put in the soil, but because we aren’t 100%
sure which trash items will decay, we will experiment with all the trash items. Have students
mix soil, grass clippings, and spray water into compost bin. Next, have students take turns
adding both biodegradable and non-biodegradable items to compost bin (banana peel, apple,
bread, tissue, plastic bottle, wire, soda can, etc).
3. Brainstorm as a class what will happen to the compost bin within the next week. Will the
items stay as they are? Will they disappear? Which ones will decay? What does decay look
like? What will happen to the items we predicted as non-biodegradable?
(Have student volunteers mix and spray compost bin with water daily for the next one-two weeks:
one week will be a good start for decaying while two weeks will be in the middle of the decaying
process).
Day Two:
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1. After one to two weeks, gather as a class and observe and explore the class compost bin.
Allow students to participate in an open discussion of their observations. What has taken
place over the time the items were composting? Which items have/ or are starting to decay?
How can you tell? Are some of the items exactly as they were left? Why didn’t they change?
What does this mean?
2. Re-visit the predictions the class made before the composting experiment. Discuss if the
predictions were correct. Have students “log” the outcome of the composting experiment by
labeling one page as “Can Decay” and another page as “Can’t Decay” and drawing pictures of
corresponding items under their correct label.
Day Three:
1. Revisit science logs from previous day. Have students discuss what they have learned about
composting by leading a series of questions: What did we learn from doing the composting
experiment? Why would we want trash to decay rather than throwing it away? What is
decaying? Give feedback and allow students to bounce answers off of each other. Continue
questioning until a student brings up that composting is nature’s way of recycling. What does
recycling mean? How does nature recycle? If composting is nature’s way of recycling? How
can we recycle?
2. Have students look at their science logs and tell about which items they think can be recycled
in a way other than composting. Why do we need to go further than just composting? How
does this help the Earth? What happens when WE recycle? Lead students in discussion by
looking at their “Can’t Decay” page in their science logs. What do these items have in
common?
3. On the active board, visit the website www.starfall.com/earthday. Have students come up
one at a time to separate the recyclable items into their correct recycling bins.
4. Discuss the difference in composting and recycling ourselves. Why are both equally
important?
Day Four:
1. The teacher will have a trash bag filled with both biodegradable and non-biodegradable
items. At the front of the room there will be a trashcan, the compost bin, and three recycling
bins labeled: aluminum, plastic, paper. Students will come to the front, pull out an item from
the bag, and choose its proper place with the help from classmates. (Students will be tempted
to throw items into trashcan first, but remind them that is the LAST resort!)
2. When all the items have been separated into their proper places, show the class the trashcan
vs. a trashcan from a regular school day (less trash). Lead students in a class discussion. Why is
there less trash? Why is this a good thing? Where does trash go vs. compost and recyclables?
3. Discuss what happens to the items in the recycling bins. Explain how these items are broken
down and made new. Use the CEED Website Gallery and Data Dashboard
(http://ceed.frco.k12.va.us/gallery) to show students real life examples of ways that items can
be recycled: tires for the sidewalk, blue jeans for the sound insulation, etc. Explain that even
our compost could be used to help plant on the green roof. Allow for students to give other
examples they may be able to think of for objects being recycled.
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Parans Futura – “Preparing for the Future”
Day Four Continued:
1. Students will be put into groups at their tables and given a variety of picture cut outs and a
poster board divided into sections: compost| recycle: aluminum, plastic, paper. Cut outs will
include both biodegradable and non-biodegradable items. Students will also receive one
blank piece of paper in which they are to draw any “trash” item. Together students will work
together to sort through both the teacher given pictures and the student drawn pictures.
2. The teacher should walk around room to observe students work and question their choices in
where to place the objects. Challenge the students to make them prove they are right in their
sorting.
Day Four Continued:
When finished with the independent practice, students will write two sentences in their journals
reflecting on what they have learned about composting and recycling during this unit.
Independent
Practice
Closure (Summary
of Lesson)
CEED Building
Application/
Sensor Data
Assessment
Lead students in a discussion, going back to the very first day of this unit. Why did we put all the
items in the compost bin? What did we learn from this? What can this show us about our Earth
and about what happens when people liter? Why is composting helpful for the Earth? In what
ways can we recycle aluminum? Plastic? Paper? Discuss ways we can continue helping the Earth
by composting and recycling in our classrooms, homes, and community.
Discuss what happens to the items in the recycling bins. Explain how these items are broken down and
made new. Use the CEED Website Gallery and Data Dashboard (http://ceed.frco.k12.va.us/gallery) to
show students real life examples of ways that items can be recycled: tires for the sidewalk, blue jeans
for the sound insulation, etc. Explain that even our compost could be used to help plant on the green
roof. Allow for students to give other examples they may be able to think of for objects being
recycled.
Formative Assessment: Observe to see that all students are participating in class activities
and learning through the hands on experiences.
Summative and Overall Assessment: Students will be given a handout with pictures of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable items. Students are to circle all items that can decay in
a compost bin with a brown crayon and circle all the items that need to be recycled by
humans with a green crayon. At the bottom, students should write one sentence about how
any of the recyclable objects can be used again one day.
INQUIRY LEARNING RESEARCH PROCESS GUIDELINES
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The following table is just one guideline to use for developing your own inquiry materials. The seven
steps in the Learning Research Process include not only how people learn but also how research is conducted. The
heart of the design, the three-stage learning cycle of exploration, concept invention or formation, and application
is embedded in the middle. In addition to these three stages, this design takes into account that learners need to
be motivated to spend the time required for understanding complex subjects and that learners need to build this
new knowledge onto prior knowledge. These are similar to the 5E and 7E learning models.
The Learning-Research Process
Steps in the LearningResearch Process
7E Equivalent
Component of the Activity
1. Identify a need to learn.
Engage
An issue that excites and interests is presented. An
answer to the question Why? is given. Learning
objectives and success criteria are defined.
2. Connect to prior
understandings.
Elicit
A question or issue is raised, and student explanations
or predictions are sought. Prerequisite material and
understanding is identified.
3. Explore
Explore
A model or task is provided, and resource material is
identified. Students explore the model or task in
response to critical-thinking questions.
4. Concept invention,
introduction, and
formation
Explain
Critical-thinking questions lead to the identification of
concepts, and understanding is developed.
Skill exercises involved straightforward application of
the knowledge.
5. Practice applying
knowledge.
6. Apply knowledge in
new contexts.
Elaborate and Extend
Problems and extended problems require synthesis
and transference of concepts.
7. Reflect on the process
Evaluate
Problem solutions and answers to questions are
validated and integrated with concepts. Learning and
performance are assess
Hanson, D. (2006). POGIL Instructor’s Guide to Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning. Lisle, IL: Pacific Crest
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Parans Futura – “Preparing for the Future”