Recycled Plastic? Fantastic!
There are ways to save money and use recycled materials to build a garden for food.
There are seed starter kits at Target sold for $1. There are ways to create the same
concept with daily waste.
Objective
To become aware of the impact that a human’s daily consumption will make on our
environment.
1. To become consciously aware of your current recycling habits.
2. To learn the importance of planting seeds for a garden.
3. To learn about how greenhouses and hothouses are used to grow plants.
4. To learn how to construct and maintain a hothouse and greenhouse out of
your recycled plastics.
Materials
For this project you will need:
All recyclable plastics that you use during a one-week period. I chose yogurt
cups, water bottles, saran wrap, plastic baggies, an old dry cleaning bag, and
various produce packages.
Composted soil or potting soil, I chose to purchase some vermicultured
coffee grounds from the local coffee shop, Heine Brothers, various seeds (I
use the ones my students brought from home. We then wet and place the
seeds in baggies, then we tape to the window for observation), sharp scissors
or exacto knife, recycled wire hangers, plant labels (popsicle sticks), packing
tape, masking tape, lots of recycled newspaper, various styles of graphing &
chart paper, permanent markers, ball of yarn, sharpened pencils, and some
curious young minds.
A variety of level appropriate reading materials, my favorites are listed
below. I like to create several book baskets that are reading level appropriate
to my classroom reading level color-coding. I also suggest showing my how
to demonstrations before offering each brain storming session.
A (well thought) placement of students broken down into five stations of no
more than four students. I like to include a strong variety of different
personalities that will challenge the students to learn conscious cooperation
in small group planning.
A well thought place to put the hot houses during sunny hours and a
watering can for the daily drink. A thermometer for recording purposes and
a few magnifying glasses are neat observational tools.
MY LESSON PLAN IDEAS LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
FRIDAY: (pre-assessment) Introduce lesson to the students during the
afternoon meeting. Ask each child to store all of their plastic containers &
such through the week in a plastic bag at their desk. Read a book about
recycling and ask the children if, how, and why they recycle at home. Send a
letter home to the at-home educators introducing the project, suggestions for
additional education & at home reading to do with the kiddos, and a request
that a variety of suggested recyclables be contributed to the class by
MONDAY. I have even suggested that the family visit their local recycling
center for a guided tour of the plant.
MONDAY: As children are handing in their folders, collect the donated
recyclables. During the morning meeting ask students if they learned
anything about recycling and our planet’s current state of waste. Read a
suggested book from the basket for both morning and afternoon circle times,
and write the plot and moral of the story on the weekly wall. Add new words
to word wall, while making ‘recycle’ the challenge on the weekly spelling.
TUESDAY: Challenge the students to find one fact about recycling. Have them
write a 5-sentence paragraph to read in front of the class. The paragraph will
contain an introductory sentence, three sentences backing up the main idea,
and the conclusion of the paragraph. (Quickly remind the class of the
hamburger paragraph visual, and offer suggestions for the meat patty
subject)
WEDNESDAY: Prepare 5 stations with 4 students in each. Cover the stations
with newspaper and have the children don their art smocks. Review the
exploratory stations rules before beginning directions. Have the children do
the focus stretch, respond to my nonverbal listen only cues, and man their
station. Directions are read and questions answered about steps and
procedure. Children will cut their plastic bottles in half and cut circles in the
2 liters, then place them on the art shelf for Thursday and Friday projects.
Yogurt cups are cleaned out, and dirt is distributed to all recycled plastic
cups. The newly sprouted seeds (from the previous baggie on the window
seed exploration) are planted and labeled, water is added, and the cups are
placed on the window sill. Stations are cleaned and children make sure their
plants are easily identified. (I used child designed popsicle sticks labeled in
sharpie)
THURSDAY: Stations are reset and children gather their plastic bottles that
have been cut in half. Have the children remove the plastic top and circulate
with a nail & hammer, poking a solid hole through the lid. Have the children
return the lid to the top bottle and have them place a small piece of yarn
through the hole. Fill the top half of the bottle with dirt and plant a seed. Talk
to the students about how the planter will work and what things are needed
for a seed to grow. Add water to the bottom half of the bottle and have the
students carefully place the two together. Have them use sharpies to write
the name of the seed on some masking tape along with their name. Place the
finished product in the windowsill and have the students clean up their area.
At the end of the day ask the students to think of a way they may track the
growth of their seed. Show a variety of calendars and symbols used in the
farmer’s almanac. Show possible tracking patterns on grid paper. Help the
class begin the process of brain storming ideas about websites to research at
home. (I write down the suggestions in a cluster diagram and leave it up near
the class computer for future reference)
FRIDAY: Introduce hot houses and the logic behind using them. Show
photographs of how hot houses are used for growing tomatoes during the
winter seasons and how using this method promotes quicker growth for the
seed. Have the children work in groups to plan and design a hot house for
their plants. This would be a good time to have parents or older students
volunteer to help children brainstorm plans as a cooperative project. Model
the use of bending wire hangers into shape and planting the posts into a
larger potted planter. Wrap dry cleaning bags around the wire and tape off.
Model figuring how to properly cover all seed cups, yet easily remove the top
to water and measure plant growth. Place the hot houses in a sunny spot
outside the classroom and have the children return to their groups to begin
their signs. Have children write out what they have learned from making the
hot house and how their recycled creation is helping to give back to the earth.
WEEKEND HOMEWORK: (post assessment practice) The students have to
recap their hot house construction to a family member. They will need to
follow up on their research for their planned method of plant growth
documentation. The student will create a template and write a quick plan for
how it is to be used. The student will present their findings to me for
approval during Monday’s math exploration. Add daily observation and
recording to the children’s daily routine for math and science times. Have the
children bring success stories to the daily meetings on the rug and add
predictions to the morning weather report.
LIST OF SUGGESTED READING MATERIALS
1.
HOW TO VIDEO
This is a video demonstration of how to create the recycled projects. These videos
are great tools for visual and audio learners, so please feel free to use them as a
quick ‘how to’.
NEW VOCABULARY WORDS TO ADD TO THE WORD WALL
These words are identified in the featured weekly readings and commonly used
when discussing recycling and hothouse methodology. In the past I have introduced
this lesson to my students during the Earth Day lessons and create a front hall
display where each new term is written on a piece of trash and added to the pile
often. By the end of the lesson there is a strong visual display as to how much of our
daily intake is going to landfills and dumps.
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED EXTENSION IDEAS...
Standards:
The lessons that I have created are set to meet important standards in each subject
area. If you are interested in having me modify this assignment to meet any grade or
subject area, as well as providing detailed modification information and teaching
methods. Send me an email with your information and I will custom modify this
lesson and return the email to you.
Grade level: K-8
Subject area: Science, Literacy, Math, Art, Humanities, and Handwriting.