NCDPI – AIG Instructional Resource: Background Information
Resource Title: Impacts of Aluminum Cans
Subject Area/Grade Level (s): Math/3
Time Frame: 1-2 class periods
Common Core/Essential Standard Addressed:
Measurement and Data:
Represent and interpret data
3.MD.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent data set with several categories. Solve one- and two- step “how many
more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.
Mathematical Practices
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
4. Model with mathematics.
6. Attend to precision
7. Look for and make use of structure.
Additional Standards Addressed:
Operations and Algebraic Thinking:
Solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.
3.OA.9 Identify arithmetic patterns (including patterns in the addition table or multiplication table), and explain them using properties of
operations.
Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity: The students will explore the impacts of aluminum cans and the process of recycling. The task
requires the students to gather and graph data about aluminum can use as well as interpret the data collected. At the conclusion of the lesson,
the students develop a plan for future action in regards to recycling.
Type of Differentiation for AIGs (include all that apply):
Adaptations for AIGs:
x Content
x Process
x Enrichment
x Extension
Acceleration
Product
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs: This task requires higher level thinking such as analyzing and evaluating while focusing on
a real world problem or concern. It allows students to understand the impacts of humans on the environment.
Needed Resources/Materials
•
Computer access (to watch video)
•
Materials (if accessible)- banana, paper bag, cotton rag, wool sock, leather boot, rubber sole (of boot), tin can, aluminum can.
Sources
•
•
•
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp308-04.shtml
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L208
Javna, John. 1990. Fifty Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth. Kansas City, Mo.; Andrews & McMeel.
TEACHER NOTES: NA
NCDPI AIG Curriculum Resource Outline
STAGE ONE: ENGAGE
Draw students' attention to the items you have gathered (see list below). You might ask, What do all the items have in common? (Each of the
items will likely end up in a landfill one day.) What will happen to these items when they end up in the landfill? How long do you think they will
last there? Do they disappear/disintegrate/degrade immediately? Or will they continue to take up space in the landfill? Let students freely
discuss those questions. Ask students to think on their own about how long each of the items on the list might last when buried in a landfill and
recreate the list by writing each item in order according to how long they think it might last in a landfill. Students should start their lists with the
item they think will degrade fastest and end with the one that will last the longest. Let students share their lists and discuss what they believe to
be the correct sequence. Ask each group to come to a consensus about the correct order of the items.
At the conclusion of the discussion, reveal to students the best guesstimates of scientists, who say the following is the correct sequence:
• banana -- 3 to 4 weeks
• paper bag -- 1 month
• cotton rag -- 5 months
• wool sock -- 1 year
• leather boot -- 40 to 50 years
• rubber sole (of the boot) -- 50 to 80 years
• tin can (soup or vegetable can) -- 80 to 100 years
• aluminum can (soda pop can) -- 200 to 500 years
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
Point out the amount of time the aluminum cans take to disappear/decompose. Have the students watch the video on recycling aluminum
cans: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/stuff-happens-online-clips-recycle-when-you-can.html
Have a brief discussion about their reactions to the video.
STAGE TWO: ELABORATE
Points to emphasize: Recycling aluminum reduces energy use by 90%. Energy saved from recycling one aluminum can will run a TV for 3 hours.
Recycling one aluminum can saves the energy equivalent of one cup of gasoline. Recycling aluminum reduces air pollution by 95%. An
aluminum can takes 200-500 years to decompose.
Fifty Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth (Javna, 1990) states that a typical American uses 1,500 aluminum cans each year. How many
cans do you and your classmates ordinarily use in a day? (Alternatively, students could compile similar data for their family's use of aluminum
cans.) How could you determine this information? Students need to decide on the most appropriate way to gather and organize the data.
Additionally, students need to determine the best way to display the data. Data shouldn’t be gathered simply to make a graph. It is important
that the students interpret and analyze the data collected (sample population-class data) in order to make inferences on larger population
(average American). What can we determine about the number of cans used daily among our class? Based on our class data, what is a typical
number of cans used? On the basis of the number of cans you use daily, determine the number of cans you might use in a year. How does your
number compare with 1,500? How did your individual data compare to the overall class data?
Once data is collected and represented, students can then compose questions that can be answered by using the scaled bar graph. Example of
some possible question, “How many total cans etc….
Each recycled aluminum can saves approximately 3 hours of electricity. How many hours would be saved with 10 aluminum cans? If you want to
save 240 hours of electricity, how many cans would need to be recycled? Explain your thinking. What is the relationship between the number
of cans recycled and the number of hours of electricity saved? What strategy did you use to determine the relationship? How many hours of
electricity would you save for each of your recycled cans (typical in a day)?
STAGE THREE: EVALUATE
Aluminum cans may be recycled many times, which allows more of the metal to be used for airplanes, bicycles, and building materials. Less
energy is used. Write some things you might do to recycle or conserve aluminum. Prepare a presentation to the city council making a case for
recycling aluminum cans. Be sure to include mathematical data in your presentation. Presentations should be evaluated based on the accuracy
of the information and math included and the clarity of the argument presented.
TEACHER NOTES: NA
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project