Interdisciplinary Project Based Learning - Recycling
BY: Arek, Lance, Kelsey, Sarah, and Chelsee
- Bayside High
Grade: 10-12
This Interdisciplinary Project Based Learning is a cross-curricular project developed around
recycling. Recycling is an important action to help keep our environment and communities
healthy. Through this project students will research various aspects of recycling and create an
action plan for their community.
This project was developed around 5 subject areas: Math, Health, Business, Music, and English.
See below for an overview of which aspects of the project each subject is responsible for and
which objectives will covered for each of these subjects.
In this project students will first decide what topics within recycling they feel are important. They
will then use those topics to collect data. Some examples of topics are: who recycles (i.e.: age,
gender, etc.), what types of materials are most recycled, how much people recycle, and so on.
Students will create a questionnaire and perform a census at school. With this data they will then
analyze the central tendency and standard deviation. Students will then compare this data to the
Stats Canada Census for their city. Next, students will research what other provinces are doing to
foster healthy communities. They will create an interview, incorporating the topics they collected
data on in their own community, and contact three other provinces to gain information about their
recycling statistics and programs. With this information, the students will then decide what a
possible action plan could be to make their own community healthier with recycling programs.
The students will then create a persuasive script to convey the statistics and persuade the audience
to adopt their suggested recycling program. They will create either a commercial using iMovie or a
podcast relating the statistics they found to a plan they wish to promote for recycling. The students
will also use garage band to create a music piece to help evoke emotion and persuade their
audience. And finally, the students will write a proposal for the implementation of the recycling
program they have decided on, using both the statistics to back up their statements as well as the
persuasive technique they've learned in English, and submit this to some authority of their choice,
such as a newspaper, the city council, and government representative, etc.
The contributions that each subject will make to the project, as well as the skills students will
learn/use, are summarized here:
Math:
Students choose important topics to collect data, create a questionnaire insuring that all questions
are valid and consistent, and will decide on a sample from their school. The students will perform
a census at school using the questionnaire to collect data on who recycles, what is recycled, etc.
They will compile the statistics, analyze the data for central tendency and standard deviation, and
create charts with data. Students will compare this data to the Census for their city from stats
Canada as well as from the other provinces they interviewed.
Health:
Students will learn about making communities healthy. They will look at what there own
community is doing to create a healthy environment, as well as communicate with other provinces
to find out what other communities are doing to keep their community healthy with respect to
recycling. They will contact other provinces to collect data by interview. It is important here that
students gain skills beyond caring about their own wellness of self to caring about wellness of the
community.
Business:
Students will create a commercial or podcast, It is important the students here gain skills in putting
together, proposing, and developing a presentation. More specifically, students will gain
experience in the following areas of creating a production:
 preproduction (writing)
 creating
 postproduction (editing)
 presentation
Music:
Students will think about and research various musical genres and the effect they have on people’s
emotions. They will choose what type of music piece would be effective in evoking emotions
around the theme of recycling. They will then create this music piece with Garage Band and use
this in their production to help persuade their audience.
English:
Students here will learn how to clarify their position, prepare an argument, and speak to convince
audience. Specifically, they will learn techniques in writing to persuade an audience. They will
also examine moral ethical issues related to persuasion (honesty, moral standards). Students will
gain skills in speaking clearly and communicating clearly and effectively. They will write a script
as well as proposal to persuade different audiences to subscribe to their beliefs about effective
recycling programs.
Here is a point form summary of this project:
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Students will think of topics within recycling that they would like to collect data on.
They will perform a census at school to collect data.
Research Stats Canada for city data.
Create an interview based on these topics and contact 3 provinces to collect data.
They will analyze this data with respect to central tendency, standard deviations, etc., and
compare data and recycling programs to their community.
Compile their research – create a script to prepare arguments and convince audience.
Create an imovie or podcast using data collected, implications for healthy communities,
and suggestions for programs.
Incorporate music to evoke emotion and persuade audience.
Prepare a proposal based on their research and suggestions for programs the community
could implement – Choose a place (i.e. newspapers, magazines, city politicians to send this
proposal)
The Objectives that are expected to be covered by the end of this assignment:
Business Education:
Under Communication Production Technology:
 To work as a team member in production stage activities in video, audio, or multimedia.
 To produce a video, audio, or multimedia production.
 Students will create a proposal and "pitch" it to another individual or group. Perhaps the
English part is taking this on? I don't know.
ELA A30: Canadian Voices And Perspectives (Sample Unit: Diverse Landscapes and
Peoples)
Speaking
Students will:
 Recognize and adjust verbal and nonverbal presentation elements (i.e., appropriate
articulation, pronunciation, volume, tempo, pitch, stress, gestures, eye contact, facial
expression, and poise) effectively and in keeping with purpose, audience needs, and
individual cultural and linguistic background
 Speak fluently and confidently in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and
audiences (FO)
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speak to inform and persuade
deliver an explanatory presentation, supplemented with diagrams, charts,
illustrations, or demonstration
Critically review their own oral presentations for content, organization, delivery,
style, and audience response.
Listening
Students will:
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Practice the behaviors of effective listeners (FO)
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respond personally, critically, creatively, and empathetically
evaluate ideas critically
Listen effectively in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes (FO)
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listen for personal pleasure and aesthetic satisfaction
listen to understand and learn
assess the overall effectiveness of discussions, presentations, meetings, and
speeches
Outline an oral presentation heard.
Writing
Students will:
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Recognize writing as a constructive and recursive process (FO)
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Practice the behaviors of effective writers (FO)
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use what is known as the writing process
write introductions that engage interest, focus the thoughts of the readers, and
establish the mood and tone of compositions
develop compositions with explicit thesis statements
use a variety of methods of development and, when appropriate, incorporate
research material smoothly and effectively into compositions
write conclusions appropriate to the overall intent
analyze and evaluate their own and others’ writing for ideas, organization, sentence
clarity, word choice, and mechanics
Write fluently and confidently for a variety of purposes and audiences (FO)
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write an editorial and letter to the editor
present point of view in a personal essay
Representing and Viewing
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Create appropriate nonverbal aids and visual images to enhance communication (FO)
 present information on a topic with class members in a planned and focused group
session using a variety of audio-visual strategies
 communicate thoughts, ideas, and feelings using two or more media
 deliver a multimedia presentation for a specific audience and purpose
Recognize nonverbal aids and visual representations as tools for communicating and
learning (FO)
 anticipate a message and set a purpose for viewing
 seek and check understanding by making connections, and by making and
confirming predictions and inferences
Practice the behaviors of effective viewers (FO)
 respond personally, critically, and creatively to visuals, films, and multimedia
presentations
 identify the purposes, intended audiences, messages, and points of view of visuals,
films/videos, and multimedia presentations
 evaluate critically information obtained from viewing visuals, films/videos, and
multimedia presentations
ELA B10
-Same Objectives as A30 (above) but incorporated with the following unit on Rights and
Responsibilities rather than Canadian Diversity:
Unit Overview
This sample unit invites students to explore the issue of equality related to the sub-themes of
inequalities, judging and misjudging people and their actions, rights and responsibilities, racial
tensions, and justice and fairness.
Students are encouraged to respond personally and to analyze critically the ideas and issues that
face our society. They explore fact and opinion, symbolism, stereotyping, propaganda, and bias in
language, literature, and the mass media. They have opportunities to craft their ideas and responses
in paragraphs and essays, to analyze their own listening behaviors, and to practice formal and
informal speech activities.
COMMUNICATION STUDIES 20
Purposes
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to convince students of the importance of effective communication in all aspects of their
lives
to encourage students to see the benefits of being able to speak persuasively in various
situations
to provide students with opportunities to practice speaking persuasively
Foundational Objectives
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recognize the importance of effective communication in various situations
recognize that communication is a multi-faceted process
recognize that communication involves problem solving and decision making
recognize that speech is an important tool for thinking, learning, and communication
practice the behaviors of effective speakers
speak clearly and confidently in a variety of situations
recognize listening as an active, constructive process
recognize reading as an active, constructive process
enhance spoken and written presentations with appropriate visual, audio, multimedia, and
other aids
Specific Learning Objectives
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recognize the importance of effective communication in one's personal life
select and apply appropriate methods of communication in various experiences
recognize the role of culture in communication
approach communication experiences (both sending and receiving) as active, thinking
participants
solve problems and make decisions as part of the communication process
consider various types of reasoning
consider various appeals to an audience
consider the communicator's moral and ethical responsibilities
speak to persuade, demonstrate, or entertain
reflect on performance and activities for the purpose of self-assessment
Suggested Topics
Bringing about Change
Persuasive Goals
Organizing a Persuasive Speech
Persuasive Strategies
Critical Listening
Math A30 Concept B: Data Analysis
Foundational Objectives:
To demonstrate developed skills and understanding in collecting and displaying a set of data for a
given situation
To provide reasonable explanations of the interpretation of a set of data
Learning Objectives:
B.1 To list and describe the methods used to collect data.
B.2 To obtain data for real-world situations by using simulations (such as Monte Carlo
simulations).
B.3 To review the methods for determining the measures of central tendency.
Math B30 Concept B: Data Analysis
Foundational Objectives:
To determine the standard deviation of a set of data and to utilize the standard deviation in
analyzing that set of data. To develop skill in interpreting data through the use of z-scores.
Learning Objectives:
B.1 To describe and illustrate normal and skewed distributions using real-world examples.
B.2 To calculate the standard deviation of a set of data.
Note: There are two statistical standard deviations; one calculated for a sample and one calculated
for a population. The teacher might wish to make students aware that these two methods exist; but
for purposes of this course, only the standard deviation for a population will be used (where the
divisor is simply n).
B.3 To utilize the standard deviation to interpret data represented by a normal distribution.
Music
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Module Five: 2. Create Arts Expressions that refer to images, symbols, experiences,
objects or events drawn from popular culture.
 Create compositions that incorporate ideas related to popular culture.
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Module Four: 1. Increase their understanding of the language, techniques and creative
process of film and video art forms.
Students will: be able to compose a short jingle given a specific theme that best
personifies pictures and music.
Resources:
Links to Stats Canada Recycling Lessons that can be used as a resource to help students collect
and organize their data:
http://www19.statcan.gc.ca/02/02_051-eng.htm
http://www19.statcan.gc.ca/02/02_049-eng.htm