Litter pick lessons
AimsLearn/reiterate what can go in recycling bin.
Consider if school has litter problem. Stimulate discussion to generate ideas
on how to tackle the litter situation in school.
Equipment needed
Word search sheet (1 per person)
Litter picking sticks (1 per group of 3)
Gloves (2 per group of 3)
High vis vests (1 each)
Clear sacks (1 per group)
Green/black sacks (1 per group)
Clipboards (1 per group)
Tally Sheets (1 per group)
Needles don’t touch poster (EnCams)
Squared paper (2 per group)
Lined paper (1 per group)
(Assembly pre lesson 1-foundation knowledge of subject. Setting the scene,
litter and wildlife)
Lesson 1-Litter pick preparation session
Discussion
Ask students what they learned in the assembly that they didn’t know before
today/ what they can remember from the assembly if they knew It all already.
Did you see litter on way to school this morning? If so what.
How does it make you feel? How does the amount of litter in an area make
you think about that area. E.g. lots of litter- dirty, nasty area, wouldn’t want to
live there
Explanation of what we will be doing for the next 2 lessons.
Lesson 2 will be litter pick itself, will be in groups of 3 and will swap jobs every
so often (kids get annoyed if they think only some of them will be using the
litter picker)
Person 1
The litter picker
Person 2
The scribe
Person 3
Bagger
Explain the role of the scribe.
Litter picking stick,
gloves, hi-vis vest
Clip board and audit
sheet, hi-vis vest
2 bags, one for
recyclables (clear) and
one for general waste
(green/black), gloves,
hi-vis vest
We are doing a litter pick and audit means we will be looking at what we are
finding as we go around.
The sheet has a list of items on it you may find-list the items out loud.
I want you to tally, do you all know what tally marks are (they should) as you
find each item.
On the ‘Other’ section please as well as tally write down what you are finding
e.g. bit of wood, string etc.
We will be separating the recyclables, things that could go in your black bin
from other pieces of litter.
What can go in your recycling bin at home?
Plastic bottles
Paper
Cardboard
Cans/tins
These are marked on the tally sheet and on the clear bag if you forget.
To go over what can go in the recycling bin, I have a wordsearch for you to
do.
List of items down at the bottom, if it can go in your recycling bin it will be in
one grid and if it can’t it will be in the other grid.
Once finished this, make sure the student has looked for the 3 fruit items and
then has answered questions at bottom.
Extension
(a) task-in pairs, one with the sheet face down, test each other on items and
what bin they can go in.
Person 1: sandwich bag
Person 2: green bin
Do 3 items each
(b) write a list of other items in house and which bin they should go in
Think of what you have for lunch and the waste left over-where would this go
Lesson 2-The litter pick
Give out all equip as above.
Iterate-if any glass broken or unbroken is found to leave it and call over a
member of staff.
Show the ‘needles don’t touch’ poster very unlikely you will find it today but if
you ever, in school or out of school find a needle or syringe, never touch it but
ask an adult to call the council to report it and we can come collect it.
Whilst still all together tell the class how far you want them to go in the first
instance or give out sections of the school grounds for them to cover. If
doesn’t look like much litter there then tell them to be really thorough.
Every 5/10 mins get them to swap over their tasks, make sure all get a go at
everything.
Lesson 3-The analysis
In the same groups of 3
Person 1-to draw out graph 1
Person 2- graph 2
Person 3-scribe
Firstly the group need to add up their tally marks in the margin and work out
how many of each item they found. They then need to find totals for the
number of recyclables and the number of non-recyclables before they start
the graphs to know what scale to do the graph. Stress the importance of
calculating the scale before they begin.
Graph 1
Bar graph, test names of x and y axes
Y=number of items x=name of item e.g. crisp packet, packaging for sweets
and chocolate etc.
Get students to think of a title which would explain to another student in the
school the activities what the class has done if they were to see the graph on
a display board. E.g. ‘The items we found on our litter pick of the school
grounds’.
Graph 2
Bar graph, 2 bars, the number of recyclables vs. non-recyclables.
Don’t let persons one and two colour their graphs until they have all discussed
the answers to the questions.
Person 3 to write out the following questions and answer them once their
group has discussed them.
Write out the following questions on the board (before lesson starts if
possible).
a) Do you think litter is a problem in your school?
b) Where on the school site did you find the most litter
e.g. under the hedges, stuck in the fence?
c) Where do you think the litter is coming from? (evidence to back up your
answer)
Your ‘others’ category may explain where it is coming from. E.g cigarette
ends-from outside of school
‘We think litter is coming from outside of school because we found cigarette
ends and no one spokes in school’
‘we found sweet wrappers which we are not allowed in school’
‘we found sandwich bags which probably come from packed lunches being
eaten outside’.
d) What could your class do to communicate the anti litter message to
those dropping it?
If posters-where would you put them and what would the wording/image
be of.
If a display what would be on that, how would you get people attention.
If an assembly what would be in that, how would you make it interesting to the
rest of the school watching it?
If do the litter pick outside school grounds, ensure enough staff (how many?)
and that permission has been sought in advance to take children off site.
Need to communicate the message to the whole village, how would they do
that?
If the class decide that the village needs more bins-where would they site
them, area which is most littered. Write an article to the parish newsletter?
Promote the good work you have done and school being environmentally
aware.