Science Unit Plan - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Level 4
Topic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Strand: Material World
Achievement Objective:
The Nature of Science and its
relationship to Technology:
Material World
L4 AO1: investigate and group common materials in terms of properties.
L4 AO2: investigate and explain how uses of everyday materials are
related to their physical and simple chemical properties.
L4 AO4: investigate the positive and negative effects of substances on
people and on the environment.
L4 AO3: investigate ways in which
developments in science and
technology have changes the lives
of older members of the
community or made life easier for
people with specific physical
difficulties.
Curriculum Level: 4
Duration:
5 learning experiences
List of resources and references:
Story: So What’s the Problem With Waste? (included in kit).
Materials to ‘decompose’, identification markers, hand lenses.
Examples of household and school waste.
Gloves and tongs for handling waste.
Paper making kit.
Paper and drawing materials.
Property checklist, Science Concepts, book 60: Rubbish
(p.5)
Poem: Working on Recycling (included in kit).
Planet Earth and Beyond
L4 AO4: investigate a local environmental issue and explain the reasons
for the community’s involvement.
Science Concepts
If we sort waste into groups of similar
Waste is potentially a valuable source of raw materials.
Leachate from landfills can be harmful to the environment
materials we are more likely to be able to
The supplies of some raw materials will get used up unless we
and to people.
reuse or recycle it.
find new ways to retrieve and/or conserve them.
Developing Scientific Skills and Attitudes
Focusing and Planning:
Information Gathering:
Processing and Interpreting:
Reporting:
Attitudes:
During lesson two the
Throughout the unit students will
During lesson four the students
During lesson five students
Positive regard for the environment.
students will interview an locate information about landfills,
will organise data and scientific
will present what they found
Reflection on Science in society.
elderly person about
reducing, reusing and recycling.
ideas to debate the benefits of
out about the benefits of
Critical-mindedness.
waste disposal and how it
recycling.
waste minimisation.
Flexibility.
has changed over time.
Diagnostic Assessment:
Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga
Individual brainstorm of ‘waste minimisation’. If students are having trouble
reduce = whakaiti ake
reuse = whakamahi anō
recycle = whakahou
waste =
generating ideas prompt with the words ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.
para
wash = horoi
squash = kōpenu
properties of materials = matū
decompose = pirau haere
composting = huri hei wairākau
Summative Assessment:
Skill: Focusing and Planning
Knowledge LO: Group items of waste based on physical properties.
Task: Students will plan an interview with an elderly member of the community to find out
Task: Students will use recycling codes to sort items for recycling during
how types of waste and waste disposal have changed over time.
activity four.
Criteria:
1. Students can group items of waste.
2. Students can group items of waste based on simple physical properties.
3. Students can group items of waste into sub-categories based on physical
properties.
Learning Sequence…
1
Learning Outcomes:
The students will …
Introduction: Read ‘So What’s The Problem With
Waste?’
1. Identify positive and
negative effects of
What is waste? Create a class definition.
landfills on people and
the environment.
Discussion points:
Where does waste come from? What are items of
2. Plan an interview of
waste originally made from? What are some
an elderly person about
examples of waste? Where does our waste go?
former methods of
What happens to our waste when we put it in the
waste disposal.
ground?
Criteria:
1. Students can plan questions about waste minimisation.
2. Students can plan open ended questions about waste minimisation.
3. Students can plan open ended questions about waste minimisation that reveal
differences between present actions and past actions.
2
3. Group items of waste
based on physical
properties.
Discussion Points: How was waste different in the past? Why was it different? What did
people do with things they no longer needed? How did they dispose of their waste? What
can we learn from this information? What does our waste consist of?
4. Identify physical
properties that make
items of waste useful.
5. Identify reasons for
the community’s
involvement in waste
management.
Activity: Bury It (*note that this experiment
requires time to complete).
Class to plan how they can make the experiment
fair, especially in respect to documenting change
(perhaps take photographs of samples to compare
results over time). Students to make predictions
about what will happen to each sample and the
degree of decomposition. Where do some of these
materials originate from (natural resources)? Will
materials of similar origin decompose in similar
ways? Why? Remind students that decomposition
(occurring in air, soil or water) is a type of chemical
change.
Activity: Site a Landfill.
Discuss landfills. Research positive and negative
effects of using landfills to dispose of waste. Present
results in the “Site a Landfill” activity.
Introduction: Revise main points from previous session.
In pairs or individually, plan questions to interview an elderly person about methods of
waste disposal in the past. Students will need to ask questions such as: Where did you
live? What kinds of rubbish did you have? (food, wood, bottles, paper, clothing etc). What
did you do with things you no longer needed? If you had any rubbish, what was it? What
did you do with rubbish? How have the types of rubbish you dispose of changed? Why do
you think this is? What would you like to see happen in the future with waste disposal?
Students can invite a guest speaker and interview them or conduct interviews with family
and friends in their community.
Activity: Household Waste Composition
Discuss importance of hygiene, wearing gloves and using tongs to handle waste. What are
some properties we can use to group the waste? Brainstorm ideas. Can we use the
properties of one group to create further subcategories? Create a list with major and sub
categories of waste (to be used later).
Rather than use a landfill, what can we do to make landfills unnecessary? Reduce what we
throw out.
How can we reduce waste? In small groups or pairs pick one item and brainstorm possible
ways it could have been reduced in the first place. Share results.
How can we reduce waste in our class and school? Students to create measures for
reducing waste in their classroom and school.
Formative Assessment:
I will be looking for …
Learning Outcomes:
Definitions of waste.
Ability to make experiment ‘fair’ and ability to make
predictions. Positive and negative effects of landfills
on the land/environment and people.
Decomposition is a type of chemical change.
Different perspectives in the ‘Site a Landfill’ activity.
Learning Sequence …
3
The students will …
Introduction: Revise list of properties
the class created in previous lesson.
1. Identify positive and
negative effects of
landfills on people and
the environment.
If we can’t reduce the waste we make,
what would be the next best thing to
do with it? Reuse it over and over
again.
2. Plan an interview of
an elderly person about
former methods of
waste disposal.
Reusing means using a product over
and over again in its original form
(note: do not confuse with recycling
which is to change a product into
something new and usually involves a
chemical change).
3. Group items of waste
based on physical
properties.
4. Identify physical
properties that make
items of waste useful.
5. Identify reasons for
the community’s
involvement in waste
management.
Activity: Disposable/Durable
What properties make an item
reusable? In small groups brainstorm
properties of a single item (eg glass
bottle, plastic container, cardboard
box, plastic bag, handkerchief, zip lock
bag etc). Identify the useful properties
and suggest ways it can be reused.
Share results.
How can we reuse items in our
classroom or school? Students to
create measures for reusing items in
their classroom and school.
Students can formulate questions in relation to waste and consider that it might have been
different in the past.
Reducing waste is the best method for waste minimisation.
Identify properties of materials.
Suggest practical solutions for action.
4
Introduction: ‘Working on Recycling’ poem.
Define recycling. Why should we recycle?
Students to investigate and research how materials are grouped for
recycling.
Discussion Points and Investigation Questions: What materials could be
grouped together for treatment? Are the codes linked to physical
properties? What properties do the groupings have in common? Are all
products made from just one kind of material? What kind of
subcategories are there? What natural resources are some of these
materials made from?
Sort a collection of recyclable products based on information gathered
and physical properties. Prepare products for recycling.
Activity: Paper Making
Compare the recycled paper and the original paper. What properties
have changed? What properties have remained the same? Students
could suggest fair tests to determine how properties have changed (eg
hardness, flexibility, texture, colour, strength).
Discussion Points: What are some other examples of recycled products?
How have the physical properties changed? What difficulties may people
face with objects made up of more than one material (composite items)?
Activity: Debate
Teacher to record reasons for and against recycling.
What can we do as a class and school to help minimise waste by
recycling? Students to create measures for recycling items in their
classroom and school.
5
Introduction:
Summarise/brainstorm main
ideas of waste minimisation
learnt so far.
Activity: From Origin To
Recycle
Discussion Points: What can
we do with the knowledge we
have gained in this unit?
Encourage students to think
about their homes and
community. Why should
other people care about
minimising waste? What
might happen in the future if
we don’t take action now?
Activity: Why Minimise
Waste?
(Assessment activity). Share
posters/newspaper articles.
Publish newspaper articles in
school and community
newsletters. Display posters
around the school and the
local community.
Formative Assessment:
I will be looking for …
Some properties of materials make
them suitable for reuse.
Difference between reusing and
recycling.
Students can suggest practical
solutions for action.
Recycling codes are based on properties.
Recycling often results in chemical change.
Recycling is an important part of waste minimisation.
Students can suggest practical solutions for action.
Summarise what they have
learned.
Identify methods of
minimising waste.
Identify issues such as landfill
space, saving resources and
energy, reducing pollution,
increasing production
efficiency, cost reduction,
community health and wellbeing.
Social Studies Unit Plan - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Level 4
Topic:
Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle
Level:
4
Strand:
Place and Environment
Resources and Economic Activity
Duration:
4 learning experiences
Concepts:
Resources
Sustainability
Cooperation
Consumption
Achievement Objectives:
Resources and Economic Activities
L4 AO1: how and why people view and use
resources differently and the consequences of
this.
Supporting Objective:
Place and Environment
L4 AO1: how places reflect past interaction of
people with the environment.
Process Achievement Objective:
Social Decision Making: make choices about
possible action and justify this choice.
Aim: Social Studies education aims to enable students to participate in a changing society as
informed, confident, and responsible citizens.
This unit meets this aim by: teaching the students about their role in looking after the
environment by participating in reducing waste, reusing resources and recycling products.
Settings:
Perspectives:
Essential Learning About New Zealand:
New Zealand
Current Issues
The physical environment of New Zealand and how people
Global
Future
interact with the landscape.
Changing patterns of resource and land use.
Learning Intentions:
Children will demonstrate knowledge when they:
Define the word resource.
Identify different values people may attach to waste
products.
Describe different ways in which people can use waste
as a resource.
Explain why people’s views about waste have changed
over time.
Explain how a landfill reflects the views and actions of
people in the past.
Learning Intentions:
Make decisions on possible action for minimising waste.
Explain how their actions will contribute to minimising
waste.
Resources:
Paper and drawing materials.
Apple and knife
Story: So What’s The Problem With Waste? (included in kit)
Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga
reduce = whakaiti ake
reuse = whakamahi anō
recycle = whakahou
waste = para
Learning Outcomes:
Learning Sequence… 1
Introduction: Activity: If the
2
Introduction: Review brainstorm from
Assessment Activity: Peer assessment during the activity
‘The 3R’s at School’.
Criteria: Describe different ways in which people can use
waste as a resource.
1. Student can describe waste.
2. Student can describe waste in general as a resource.
3. Student can describe at least one resource that can be
gained from waste.
Assessment Activity: the final activity of creating some
guidelines for a wallet card and the accompanying flyer
Criteria: Make decisions on possible action for minimising
waste. Explain how their actions will contribute to
minimising waste.
1. Student can suggest an action for minimising waste.
2. Student can act to minimise waste.
3. Student can explain how their action contributes to
minimising waste.
resource = rawa
work together/as one = o te mahi ngatahi
3
Introduction: Read ‘So
4
The students will …
Earth Were an Apple.
yesterday.
1. Define the word
resource.
Define the word resource.
What is a resource? Where
do they come from?
How did people use resources in the
past? How has this changed now?
2. Identify different values
people may attach to
waste products.
3. Describe different ways
in which people can use
waste as a resource.
4. Explain why people’s
views about waste have
changed over time.
5. Explain how a landfill
reflects the views and
actions of people in the
past.
6. Make decisions on
possible action for
minimising waste.
7. Explain how their
actions will contribute to
minimising waste.
Formative Assessment: I
will be looking for …
Activity: Everything Comes
From the Earth.
Discussion Points: What are
renewable resources? What
are some non-renewable
resources? Why should we
care if a resource is renewable
or non-renewable?
Activity: Natural Resources
Questionnaire.
When we throw things away
are we throwing away
resources? Brainstorm this
statement and keep results
for next session.
Definitions of a resource.
Everything that is made
comes from an organic source
at some point.
Our resources are diminishing
as some are non-renewable.
Waste can still be a resource.
In pairs or individually, plan questions to
interview an elderly person about
resources and methods of waste disposal
in the past. Students will need to ask
questions such as: Where did you live?
What kinds of waste did you have? (food,
wood, bottles, paper, clothing etc). What
did you do with things you no longer
needed? If you had any rubbish, what
was it? What did you do with rubbish?
How have the types of rubbish you
dispose of changed?
Why do you think this is? How have
peoples views of waste and waste
disposal changed over time? What would
you like to see happen in the future with
waste disposal? How do you feel about
landfills now?
Think, pair share the following questions.
Why have peoples views about waste
changed over time? How does a landfill
reflect views of people in the past? What
are those views?
In the past there was less waste as
people were more self-sufficient and
relied less on mass produced and
packaged products.
People also were not always aware of the
negative impacts of using landfills to
dispose of waste.
What’s the Problem With
Waste?’
Introduction:
has? game.
One man’s trash is another
man’s treasure – discuss this
statement. What are some
ways different people may
think about waste? Why
might people think differently
about what is useful and what
is not? What implications
does this have for our future?
How could we be thinking
about our waste?
Activity: Other Ways to
Handle Waste.
Discussion Points: What are
the 3R’s? Why are they
important for minimising
waste? Are the 3R’s the
same thing? Create
definitions for reduce, reuse
and recycle.
Activity: The 3R’s at School
People have different views as
to what constitutes waste.
Waste can be transformed
into valuable resources.
Waste products can usually
be reused or recycled.
The best way to minimise
waste is to reduce it place.
I have, who
Create a list of guidelines and
questions they can ask
themselves when they are
buying products or throwing
them out. Create a little
pocket card they can use and
give away to others. For
example: Can I reduce the
waste from this in any way?
Can this be reused? Can this
be recycled? What other uses
does it have? Should I have
bought something with less
wrapping? Do I need that
plastic bag? Do I know of
someone else who could use it?
Create a small flyer to
accompany the wallet card that
explains how this will help to
minimise waste.
Students are deciding on
actions that can be taken.
Students can link their action
to how it can minimise waste.
In order to work well everyone
must act together but
individuals can make a
difference.