LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE Your Name: Mallorie Chester Title of Lesson: All About Recycling Grade: 1st STANDARDS

DS 1.4.PO.1: Communicate the results of an investigation using pictures, graphs, models. And/or words. 5.1.PO.1: Classify objects by the following observable properties: shape, texture, size, color, and weight.

LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW Students should learn about recycling and conservation from a young age so that they can develop good habits for a lifetime. Recycling is an easy way for students to make a difference, a great way to help save the earth, and can be very enjoyable for them to implement. In this lesson, students will learn about the importance of recycling. We will start by reading the book Why Should I Recycle? By Jen Green. Afterwards, there will be a class discussion where students will have a chance to talk about what they have learned through the book. Then, in partners, students will walk around the room as explorers and draw pictures of at least 3 recyclable, and 3 non-recyclable items. Afterwards, students will make a recycling poster that can be hung in their classroom or around their school, informing others why recycling is important and how they can recycle. OBJECTIVES SWBAT identify recyclable items and know the importance of recycling SWBAT communicate that natural resources are limited SWBAT identify ways to conserve resources

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION During the activity, students will explore the classroom and record recyclable and non-recyclable items they find. In addition, there will be classroom discussions for students to implement their learning, as well as time for students to make a poster summarizing everything they learned. PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE Students should know the difference between trash and recycling Students should understand what natural resources are MATERIALS Book: Why Should I Recycle? by Jen Green Poster paper (1 per pair of students) Examples of recyclable items (egg carton, cereal box, envelope, etc.) Markers, crayons or colored pencils VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS

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1. Recycle: To convert waste into reusable material. 2. Trash: Discarded matter 3. Compost: Decayed organic material used as plant fertilizer.
TEACHING PROCEDURES

1. Start by engaging students in a discussion. Ask questions: How many of you know what recycling is? (Number of hands may 2. 3. 4. 5.

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vary). Why do you think its important? (Students may say its important because it helps the earth). What do you think would happen if we stopped recycling? (Students may say the world would be overflowed with trash). Read aloud the book Why Should I Recycle? (Students should sit quietly and listen). Talk about key words and vocabulary as they come up in the book. Explain the definition after reading the word. Expand upon the book, talking about where all their trash goes. Utilize the back of the book for more definitions and examples. Have another class discussion, talking about what classifies an item as recyclable (made of cardboard, glass, plastic, etc.). Place students in partners. Have each partner take out a sheet of paper and fold it in half. On one side, have them label it as recyclable and on the other side non-recyclable. Write the start of the sentence on the board to help guide the students in their writing: _______ is recyclable because it is made of ________ (Example: A cereal box is recyclable because it is made from cardboard.). Allow students 5-10 minutes to explore the room. Each pair of partners should find at least 3 of each item. Students must draw a picture of the item, identify what it is, and write a sentence explaining why it s recyclable. Have students share their findings with the class. Record their items on the board. (Students may say we found _____ items are recyclable and _____ items are non-recyclable).

8. Give each pair of students paper to make a poster. Inform students that they are making posters to raise recycling awareness
and encourage others to recycle. Explain the directions. Each poster should include a catchy title (Example: Recycling Rocks!), pictures of at least 1 recyclable item, and 1 non-recyclable item, and a few sentences explaining what recycling is, why it is important, and how other can recycle. Place the poster example on the board so students know what theirs is supposed to look like. If time allows, let students share their posters. Hang the posters around the room or the school to encourage others to recycle, and serve as a reminder to students.

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RESOURCES Atkinson, J. (n.d.). Earth day, every day. Scholastic, Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/earth-day-everyday Recycling Detectives. http://www.askhrgreen.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Recycling-Detectives-1st-Grade.pdf WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION Provide a complete explanation of how your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking. Define the way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be included meaningfully in the lesson plan. This lesson plan connects to strategic thinking. This type of thinking gets students to think about meaning, and allows students to apply their knowledge and skills to ways of thinking that are translated into action that creates change. Students are challenged to imagine the big picture of what our world would be like in the future if we do not recycle. Recycling is a solution to reducing the amount of trash, and students are encouraged to recycle so we can save the earth. Hopefully, once this lesson is completed, students will get into the habit of reducing their waste and think of more sustainable solutions.