Trash Talks!
On each table you will find a list of items found in several unknown individuals’ trashcans. Your task is to work
with your group in an effort to identify the owners of the garbage.
Copy the chart below into your journal, and then, using SCHEMA and EVIDENCE, make inferences about the
garbage’s owner(s), filling in the appropriate sections as you go.
Garbage Bag # ___
What I see… (Evidence)
What I know… (Schema)
My Inference
Now, think about ALL of your individual inferences above and make ONE final inference about what type of
family produced the garbage from the bag on your table. Write a description of that family in your journal.
Garbage Bag #1
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Empty canister of shaving cream
A Wendy’s menu
Empty crayon box
Broken baby food jar
Notebook paper with math problems written on it
Empty Girl Scout Cookie boxes
Garbage Bag #2
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A copy of Sports Illustrated
Empty tube of Icy Hot
Contact solution
Five similar ticket stubs
Empty water bottles
Two old, worn-out bleacher seats
Garbage Bag #3
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Empty carton of Cookie Dough ice cream
Empty box of tissues
Burnt oven mitt
Lots of one-serving TV dinner cartons
Cosmopolitan magazine
A pair of worn-out pink, house slippers
Garbage Bag #4
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A menu from Melini’s
Empty bottle of sunscreen
A broken pair of flip-flops
Classical music CD case
Luggage tags
Coffee grounds
Garbage Bag #5
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One earring
Blue and green tissue paper
A pair of blue ear buds
An empty lipstick tube
Snack-sized zip-lock bags
Pieces of a popped balloon
Garbage Bag #6
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A crossword puzzle book (completely filled-out)
Library keychain
Expired coupons
Cat litter container
Used Keurig single-serving cups
Receipt from Barnes and Noble
Garbage Bag #7
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Empty hand sanitizer bottles
Paper clips
Cough drop wrappers
Plastic spoons and forks
Empty bottle of white-out
A to-do list
Garbage Bag #8
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A popcorn bag
A photograph of Justin Beiber
Empty can of Purina wet dog food
A yellow glow-in-the-dark bracelet
Empty chicken nugget bags
A Hi-C 100% juice box