Major Teaching Strategies

Throughout this unit the students have a variety of experiences activating prior
knowledge, applying new knowledge to real life and working with concrete objects both
independently and with their peers. Each day, the students are working in their table groups and
must rely on others contributions and different ideas in order to come to a conclusion. The
students are able to experience a deeper level of understanding when they are listening to other
ideas and thought processes. The classroom is extremely diverse; therefore it is extremely
important to incorporate that variety of backgrounds into the learning process where students are
able to access that knowledge and experience how it will take on different forms for different
people. By using problem-based learning, the students can experience the connection between
what we do and how it impacts the environment. When the students are given a scenario in
which they can reduce, reuse or recycle, they are able to immediately explain how that will
positively impact the environment. On the very first day the students are presented with the
problem of figuring out how long different items of trash will last in a landfill. This activity
really opens the students eyes to understand why it is so important to recycle and they reach that
realization on their own by creating a timeline of how long those items will take to decompose.
After this activity the students came up with their own idea to start recycling their plastic milk
cartons they drink each day to reduce the amount of trash they produce! This strategy became the
model for the rest of the unit in order for the learning to be in the students hands and for the
teacher to become the facilitator. The students are actively participating, discussing, presenting
and making real world applications. In this unit the students are learning through real world
examples applying what they learn to their daily lives, which develops an ownership and
responsibility for their learning.

Design For Learning

Instructor: Willis/Taylor Blair
Title: The Problem - Garbage
Grade Level: Third

Area: Science
Date: Day 1
Estimated Time: 45 min.

Standards Connection:
13.) Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goal(s):
Students will be able choose the correct definition for the vocabulary words learned as well as
identify materials that will decompose quickly and which materials will not.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls, we are going to learn three very important vocabulary words as well as
identify which items we throw away will last a long or short time in the trash.
Big Ideas:

We generate a large amount of garbage each day

Students will know our garbage ends up in a landfill
Certain pieces of garbage are not good for the environment (cannot decompose)

Key Vocabulary:
Landfill
Hazardous
Decompose
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
Using their Chrome Books, the classroom Application and Google Slides, the students
will be able to use the definition word bank to correspond and type the definition of at least two
of the three vocabulary words given.
Engagement:
Today boys and girls we are going to talk about our trash! What I want you to think
about it right now is everything you have thrown away in the past day. So, take a minute to think,
dont shout out and remember what you did yesterday, what you ate or used and what you threw
away from it. Give students time to think. Now I want you to turn and talk to your partner about
what all you remember throwing in the trash yesterday. Give students time to discuss with their
partner. Now class, Ill wait until everyones eyes are on me. Give specific praise students who

are paying attention. Good, now I am going to make a list of everything we threw away yesterday
to make a class list! Each of you will share one item you threw away; it can be big or small!
Class will go around the room telling what they remember throwing away. Teacher will make a
list of these items on the board. Now I have another very important question for you all. I want
you to think for a minute about where all of these items actually end up. Just think about it, dont
say anything yet. Give students time to think. I am going to call on someone to share what he or
she thinks. Teacher will use equity sticks to call on two or three students. Those are all good
ideas; lets find out where our trash really ends up!

Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
As we watch this video I want you to be paying attention to how much trash we produce
and where it all goes! What are we doing as we watch? Have students repeat. Good! I will be
pausing the video at important parts to be sure you are listening, I may pull your stick and call
on you to tell us what you learned so far so be sure you are following along and paying
attention! Watch video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPz5bJa9eOI
Lets stop and really think for a second, what is trash? I want you to turn and talk to your
partner about what trash is. Give students time to talk. When we do not want something
anymore, we throw it away. Normally the things we throw away are what we have leftover from
eating or the things have used up around the house like food, wrappers, paper towels or old light
bulbs. In the video we saw that our trash ends up where? Pause for students to respond. The
landfill! Everyone say landfill! Students will repeat as a class. This is one of our important words
to learn for this week! A landfill is a structure built into or on top of the ground where trash is
stored. Lets look at this picture of a landfill! Did you know that our trash ends up being stored
underground? Pause for student reactions/comments. Turn and talk to your neighbor about if
you think this is good or bad for the earth; to store trash in the ground. Teacher will add landfill
to the word wall. Who wants to share what their partner said? Have pairs share with the class.
Raise your hand if you can remember what mountain we read about the other day in the
book, The Top of the World? Call on student to share. Mt. Everest! Well today we are going to
read more about it! I want you to think back, how long did it say on average it takes someone to
hike to the top? Call on student to answer. Three weeks! Now imagine if that were you on the
mountain! Where do you think they put all of their trash as they are hiking? Turn and talk to
your partner! Give students time to discuss. We are going to read this article show it on the
projector. What is the title of the article class? Students will respond as a whole. Take a Hike,
Litterbugs so lets read to learn more about what these hikers do as they climb Everest! We are
going to popcorn read and I will call on one person to read a different section of the article!
Teacher will pull equity stick. I am going to call on someone and I want you to read the first
section with a big confident voice for us all! I want everyone following along as we read!
Teacher will model highlighting important details as the article is projected on the board. Prompt

students questions as we read together to check for understanding and be sure students are
following along. What do you think happens to this trash that is left on the mountain? Turn and
talk to your partner about what you think. Have partners share with class. These hikers are
littering which means the trash will not end up in a landfill. This trash could be hazardous to the
animals on the mountain and even the environment as a whole! What do you think I mean when I
say hazardous? Pause for students to think and respond. This is another one of our important
words to learn for this week! It means that whatever it is describing that item is harmful to living
things. It is what to living things? Pause for student response. Harmful! Right! Is food we eat
hazardous? Wait for students to respond. Now, what about sunlight? Wait for students to
respond. No, we need sunlight to survive and so does the rest of the environment. What about
spraying bug spray into your mouth - is that hazardous? Wait for students to respond. Yes! There
are a lot of chemicals in bug spray and it could make you sick if you swallow it. It is hazardous
because is it what to your body? Pause for students to respond. Harmful! Good!
Boys and girls, when trash is sent to the landfill it takes different amounts of time to
decompose, does anyone know what that word means? Call on students to share their thinking.
Lets break down the word to help us figure out the meaning. We know that compose means
what? Call on student to share. To make, or composed means made of! So lets look at our prefix
De-. If we add that prefix to the beginning what do you think the new definition would be? Turn
and talk to your partner! Give students time to discuss. Call on student to share. The prefix De
tells us it is the removal. So, to remove what the object is made up of - to break down the object.
Now you are going to see which items decompose quicker than others!
II. Opportunity for Practice:
Now I have brought with me some pieces of trash that we would normally throw away.
Teacher will have items laid out on the front table. What do I have here? Teacher will hold up the
first item: a banana peel . Have students shout out what it is. As I show you each item you all are
going to past it around to gently feel it and observe it. Please show me that you can hold these
items responsibly, otherwise I will have to take them away and we wont be able to do our fun
activity. Teacher will hold up each item and have students tell what it is and then past it around
for them to observe. The rest of the items include: a soda can, cotton rag, a glass bottle, paper
bag, a plastic milk jug, a Styrofoam cup, and a wool sock. Now I am going to divide you into
pairs. Each pair is going to get one piece of trash I want you to write down observations - what
it feels like, smells like etc. Then you will have to discuss with your partner how long you think it
would take for that item to decompose. Who can remind us what our word decompose means?
Call on students to share their thinking. Decompose means to be broken down until it disappears,
so if I left this plastic bottle outside on the ground - how long do you think it would take (days,
weeks, months or even years?) for it to completely dissolve or disappear? Think about if it gets
stepped on, rained on, will the sun melt it? These are all things to think about when guessing
how long it would take for it to decompose. Think about a piece of toilet paper left outside or in
a tree. After a while it disappears - can someone explain why they think it just disappears? Have
student(s) share. With your item I want you to write down your observations in your science

notebook. Give students time to make observations. Alright boys and girls come back together
and one person from each pair will come up to the front showing your item and explain to the
class what you discovered and what your prediction is. Students will stay standing at the front as
they present. We are going to move you all in order from longest time to disintegrate to shortest
time to disintegrate. Students will stand in sequential order of how long it will take for the items
to disintegrate. Make not eon the board of the order the students stood in. Once all the students
have presented, teacher will share the real results. Lets find out if your predictions were correct!
Teacher will reveal the actual time for each item to disintegrate and have students move to their
new order. How does out new order compare to the order we started with. Call on students to
make observations.
III. Assessment:
Now we are going to avoid using paper that we might throw away later and instead use
our chrome books to see if we can remember what we learned today! I want everything cleared
off of your desk except for your Chrome books! I have shared with each of you through
Classroom a slideshow presentation that you are able to edit! Teacher will project the slides on
the board. You will use this definition word bank to type the definition next to the word that it is
describing! All you need to do is type the exact definition given to you next to the correct
vocabulary word! Teacher will work in small group with ELL students after to be sure they
understood the definitions. Teacher will instantly have the results through the Classroom
application and be able to go over the results right after, so the students can understand what they
made a mistake on and learn from it for the future.
IV. Closure:
Today we learned about trash and where exactly it goes and what happens to it! Who can
quickly remind us where our trash goes? Have student respond. The landfill, who can tell us
what a landfill is? Have student respond. Yes! This is one of our vocabulary words! A structure
built into or on top of the ground where trash is stored. And what about our other word we
learned today, hazardous, what does that word mean? Call on student to respond. Good, a word
describing a substance that is harmful to living things! Now do all things disappear at the same
rate after they are thrown away? Wait for students to respond. No! Certain things are not able to
disintegrate at all and that is why is so important for us to do what with those items? Give
students opportunity to respond. Reduce, Reuse or Recycle! Great and that is what we will learn
more about this whole week!

Resources:
Banana peel, soda can, cotton rag, glass bottle, paper bag, plastic milk jug, Styrofoam
cup, tin can and a wool sock.

Take a Hike, Litterbugs Article

Landfill example
Projector
Word Wall and Notecards
Chrome Books
Google slides assessment
Recycle Webquest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPz5bJa9eOI

Extensions and /or Accommodations:

Extension:
Students will collaborate with the class/interview their peers to develop a way for the
whole class to get involved to find a solution to not producing so much trash - that we
could implement for the week.
Ex) Creating a bin to collect all plastic milk cartons the students drink each day.
Each day students have the opportunity to work on Recycle City Webquest! (see
technology)
Re-teaching:
Students will join teacher at small group table to re-read Take a Hike article pulling out
important details and addressing misunderstandings. Students will retake quiz with
teacher - working together. In small group review which pieces of trash would last the
longest in a landfill, then have students put the items in order from shortest amount of
time to longest amount of time (without teachers help).
Data analysis:
14 of the 17 students scored a one hundred percent identifying the correct word with the
correct definition. Two of the three students who did not score a one hundred only omitted one
word (did not answer) and one student was only able to identify one word with its correct
definition. The overall success of the assessment could have been credited to the multiple times
we went over examples and made real life connections to the words for example with hazardous
provided examples and non examples and students could pick out which was/wasnt hazardous.
The decomposing exercise was a main focus of the lesson in which they had to do a problem
based learning activity, which developed a deeper understanding. The landfill was the first topic
discussed which the entire lesson derived form which made it easy for students to connect with.

Reflection:

This lesson went very well overall. The students loved working together and making real
life connections to what they throw away and what happens to it after it is taken by the garbage
truck. The students were amazed when we revealed how long it actually takes each item to
decompose at a landfill, which really struck the cord with them as to why it is so important for us
to recycle! I was fun to see the students recognize that we dont want those items to last that long
just from throwing them away without even thinking! The students even came up with the idea to
keep all their milk cartons for a week in one bag to see how much they use and then recycle that!
The rest of the week the students took responsibility to be sure they were recycling what they
use. One way to improve for the future would be to give the students a tangible task to complete
while watching the video. I had questions I would ask the class as I paused the video at certain
times, but to have something more involved for each individual student to complete while
watching would provide a more quality learning experience rather than just watching.

Design For Learning

Instructor: Willis/Taylor Blair

Title: Reduce
Grade Level: Third

Area: Science
Date: Day 2
Estimated Time: 45 min.

Standards Connection:
13.) Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goal(s):
Students will be able to form a solution when given a scenario that involves how the
students could limit/reduce the amount of items used. Students will be able to explain the
correlation between reducing what we use and the reduction of what is produced.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls we are going to learn how to limit the amount of things we use each day.
You will be able to figure out how you can best reduce the amount of items you use each day.
Big Ideas:
Reducing the amount of paper and plastic we use helps eliminate trash
We cant always recycle things so reducing the amount of what we use helps
Key Vocabulary:
Reduce
Pulp
Natural Resources
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
When given a Plicker quiz (3 questions regarding scenarios on how to reduce what is being
used), students will answer 2 out of the 3 questions correctly.
Engagement:
Ok, by show of hands, how many of you go grocery shopping with your family? And how
many of you enjoy grocery shopping? Turn and talk to your partner about a time you went
grocery shopping - what was it like, did you enjoy it, what all did you see at the store and what
did you buy? Give students time to talk about their experiences and then have a few share with
the class. When you leave the store do you leave caring each individual item in your hands?
Pause for student reaction. No, of course not, we have to have bags to carry our groceries!
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:

Alright boys and girls I want you all to look up here! What is this that I am holding in my
hand? Pause for students to respond. A grocery bag! Good! Teacher will pass plastic bag around.
I want you to feel the bag and pass it to the next person. Now what kind of bag am I holding?
Allow students to respond. A paper bag! Good. Paper bags are also used to carry groceries in!
Teacher will have students pass the paper bag around for them to feel. Now what is this final kind
of bag I have in my hand? Allow students to think and respond. A cloth or fabric bag! Teacher
will pass the fabric bag around for the students to feel. Teacher will write three-column chart on
the board, Plastic, paper and fabric. Ok, lets describe each kind of bag! Shout out some words
that describe the plastic bag! Teacher will write down students responses and repeat for all three
bags. Now my final most important question is Drum roll please pause for dramatic effect.
Which of these bags would I most likely be able to still use to carry my groceries in by the time I
am 70 years old? Give students time to think. Turn and talk to your partner about what you
think! After students share with their partner call on students to share their thinking! Teacher will
demonstrate how easy it is to tear the plastic and paper bags. Sometimes when I shop I throw
these plastic bags away right after I empty them. But with this fabric bag, I can REDUCE the
amount of plastic bags I would throw away by REUSING this fabric bag every time I go to the
grocery store! Now, by the time I am 70 even if I saved these paper bags to use every time I went,
they would probably rip after using them so much. So our word for today is: REDUCE! We can
limit the amount of trash we would throw away by using less! So what exactly do you think
reduce means? Turn and talk to your partner about what you think. Teacher will call on students
to share their thinking. Reduce means to use less of something. Lets think about numbers for a
second, when I give you the number 10 and tell you to reduce the number by 3, what do you get?
Pause for students to respond, yes, 7. Is 7 a bigger or smaller number than 10? Pause for
students to respond. Smaller right? The number is less, we made less. When we can avoid
making garbage in the first place, we are reducing the amount of waste. Lets take a minute and
read a quick article about what it takes to make something we use a lot and throw away a lot!
What do you think it might be? We definitely use a lot of it here at school! Have students guess.
Paper! Were going to learn more about all that goes into making paper! We are going to read
an article titled, How paper is made as a class. Who would like to begin reading for us? Call
on students to read each section or have students popcorn read. Stopping at the word Pulp. Now
this is an important word we need to learn! Pulp is moistened fibers of wood used to make
paper! Lets be sure to put that on our word wall! Have students continue reading. Do you think
this is an easy process to create paper? Wait for students to respond. There is a lot that goes into
making paper. Now, when food and other products we use everyday are made, it takes energy,
water, natural gas, minerals found in soil which are all what we call Natural resources. This is
another very important vocabulary term for us to learn! Natural resources are resources that
occur within the environment in their original and natural form, undisturbed by humanity. They
are formed naturally, but we use them to create products. So we want to save these natural
resources because once we use them it takes a very long time for more to develop. Who knows of
something we can do to with our trash to help keep our natural resources safe instead of having
to use them so much? Discuss what students think. And what is a natural resource that is used

for making paper? Call on student(s) to answer. TREES! Trees are one of many Natural
resources that are used to make products that we use each day! Why are trees so important to
us? Turn and talk to your partner about why trees are so important to us. Call on students to
share after giving them time to discuss. Trees help us breathe, they give us shade, we can climb
them! So we need to save our trees by doing what? Give students opportunity to respond. Using
less paper! That way less trees have to be used! We can reduce the amount of paper we use, so
that less trees have to be cut down to make MORE paper! So all this week we are going to learn
more about how we can save our natural resources by finding different ways to REDUCE,
REUSE and RECYCLE what we use and our garbage!
II. Opportunity for Practice:
Now you all are going to work in table groups for this next activity! Lets review how we
are going to work well together in groups! Have students explain how you work well together as
a team and how it would look if you worked poorly together as a team. I want group one to act
out how you should work as a team and group two to act out how you shouldnt act when
working as a team. Students will demonstrate. Ok who describe what they saw from group two
how we shouldnt act. Have students explain. And who can describe what group one did? Have
students explain. And which group are we going to model ourselves after? Have students
respond. Group one! I am going to be watching how you all work together and who is working
quietly! Now here is what you are going to do! I am going to give each table group a question
that requires you to figure out how you are going to reduce waste. You are going to work
together to come up with a solution. Teacher will walk around to help groups and promote
higher-level thinking. Once they are all done each group will share their scenario with the class
and how they came up with a solution!
Scenarios
How could you reduce the amount of water you use each day?
How could you reduce the amount of paper plates you use?
How you reduce the amount of paper you use at school?
Do you think you can reduce waste by drinking out of the same glass or by using a different
paper cup every time you drink water?
How could you reduce the amount of plastic cups and paper plates you use?
III. Assessment:
Now boys and girls I want you to clear off your desks and have nothing out expect your
Plicker card. You all are going to do the best you can to answer these questions about how to
reduce what we use! I will read the scenario to you and once everyone has answered we will
discuss your answers and you can explain your thinking process then we will move on to the next
question!
IV. Closure:

Alright I want you to turn to your partner and tell them something new you learned
today! Give students time to discuss. Who would like to share what their partner learned to
today? Have students share. Thank you for sharing! We learned that reducing the amount of
materials we use would ultimately reduce the amount of resources it takes to make those items!
Who can raise their hand and remind us all what reduce means? Call on student(s) to share.
Great! Reduce means to use less of something. Who can give us an example of reducing the
amount of something you use? Allow students to share. An easy way to reduce the amount of
paper we use is to use the front and back of those pieces of paper! And when paper is made what
are those moistened fibers of wood called that are used to make paper? Give me thumbs up if
you know! Once the majority of the class has their thumb up, have the class announce it together.
Pulp! Very good!

Resources:
How Paper is Made article
Equity sticks
Plastic, fabric and paper grocery bags
Projector
Scenario/question cards for each table group
Word wall and notecards
Plicker cards
Recycle Webquest - Chrome Books
Extensions and /or Accommodations:
Extension:
Students will work independently or in groups of two. Using their Chrome Books
students will research different natural resources and how they are used to create new
materials. Students will take notes in their science journals and present their research to
the class.
Each day students have the opportunity to work on Recycle City Webquest! (see
technology)
Re-teaching:
In small group re-read How Paper is Made Article have students discuss with
partner the process of how paper is made. Prompt the students with questions How can we have an impact on the amount of trees that are used to make paper?
Present students with scenario of how we can reduce the amount of plastic bags
we use when we grocery shop.

Data Analysis:

Question 1: The class scored a 100% on this question. After answering I had the students discuss
at their table groups how fabric bags can reduce the amount of bags used. Each table had the
opportunity to share and the students were able to provide a deeper understanding of WHY fabric
bags. The students did very well in their discussions and were able to explain that fabric bags last
longer than plastic.
Question 2: 90% of the students answered correctly. The two students who answered incorrectly
were my ELL students. After pulling the students aside afterward to discuss their answers they
were able to answer correctly, assuming they were not clear on what the question was asking.
Students discussed at their table groups HOW using the front and back of the paper reduces the
amount used. Students were discussing that using the front and back means you only use one
piece of paper instead of two.
Question 3: 95% of the students answered correctly, again one of my ELL students answered B
and explained that by drinking bottled water you do not have to get water from the sink. The
misconception was addressed by explaining that bottled water is still water being used and even
worse comes in plastic, which uses up our natural resources. The students again discussed in
their groups HOW turning off the faucet will reduce water usage. The discussions were clear turning off the faucet when you dont need the water will keep you from using what you do not
need.
Reflection:
The students loved discussing times they have been to the grocery store, which allowed them to
access their real world connections of what we were learning. The students really learn so much
more when they are working together in their groups, however they do not enjoy working
together, which creates a problem. Each time the students have to work in groups we discuss
how we can work well together and the importance of working together. After the students were
finished in their groups they were able to see the importance of working together, but it is always
a struggle in the beginning when they first start working together. For the future I will continue
to have the students remind the class of how we can work well together how we should not act as
we work in groups. This simple reminder helps the students to understand the importance of
working well with others and treating others with respect. Also, as we discuss as a class the
students love to engage in conversation and share their experiences, which is a wonderful
addition to the content and individual application.

Design For Learning

Instructor: Willis/Taylor Blair

Title: Reuse
Grade Level: Third

Area: Science
Date: Day 3
Estimated Time: 45 min.

Standards Connection:
13.) Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goal(s): Students will be able identify how to reuse a specific item and explain the
benefits of reusing items.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls we are going to learn what it means to reuse different items, and how that
will help the environment!
Big Ideas:

Reuse means to use something again for the same purpose or a new purpose
Reusing helps eliminate excessive production of items that require natural
resources to make

Key Vocabulary:
Production/product
Reuse
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
When given an exit slip, students will be able to write down one item they could reuse
and describe at least one way to reuse that item.
Engagement:
Alright boys and girls, by show of hands how many of you have siblings? Pause for
students to respond. Now by show of hands, who has older siblings? Pause for students to
respond. Ok you can put your hands down, and who has younger siblings? Pause for students to
respond. I have two older sisters and growing up I NEVER got new clothes. I always got my
sisters hand me downs. Who can tell us what hand me downs are? Pause for students to respond.
I always wore the clothes my sisters had grown out of. I want you to turn and talk to your
partner about whether or not you have had to wear hand me downs from your siblings or if your
younger siblings wear your hand me downs. Give students time to discuss with their partner.
Teacher will use equity sticks to call on students to share.

Learning Design:
I.
Teaching:
I want us to take a minute to think about why our siblings or ourselves would wear hand
me downs? Why wouldnt we just buy more clothes? Think for a minute and when you have an
idea raise your hand. Give students think time and have students share their thoughts. Teacher
will write down what students say on the board. These are all great reasons why we REUSE
clothes! Yesterday we talked about why it is important to limit what we use! And that is because
it takes up a lot of our natural resources to make products. And today we are going to learn
about why it is so important to reuse what we do use! Who can give me a definition of reuse?
Have students respond. Good reuse specifically means to use something again either for the
same purpose or for a new purpose! Thats another word we need to remember this week so I am
going to add that to our word wall! And how can reusing things help conserve natural
resources? Much like reducing what we use. Turn and talk to your partner about how reusing
things can help the environment. Gives students time to think and have them share with the class.
It is important to reuse because we talked about limiting what we use yesterday, but sometimes
there are things we HAVE to use and when we do use products or different items we can reuse
them instead of throwing them away. When we reuse we dont have to buy more which reduces
the amount of items being produced which results in the conservation of our natural resources!
You see how it is a chain of events? Every little bit helps! Ok, who can think of other things
besides clothes that we reuse? Call on students to share and the teacher will write down student
responses on the board. Those are all great things we can reuse! Teacher will add some items
that students did not say. Now we are going to read together an article called Reuse It from a
website called Kids Health dot org. We are going to read the article together as a class and then
discuss what we learned! Call on students to read different sections of the article or have them
popcorn read. Now I want you to turn and talk to your partner about what you learned from this
article! I will be coming around to hear as well what you learned! After about two minutes
teacher will bring students back together. What was the main item in the beginning of the article
that was talked about being reused? Teacher will pull equity stick to call on student(s). A play
basketball goal! If we threw that away, it would take so long for it to disintegrate in a landfill remember think back to how long we said it would take a plastic object to disappear in a
landfill! By giving the toy to another family, that means they do not have to buy one which means
another one does not have to be made form our natural resources! Lets look back at this word produce. Who can read that sentence for me? Call on student to read that sentence. Who thinks
they know what the word produce means? Call on student to share their thinking. So if we reuse
the basketball goal and give it to someone who can use it that means the people who make the
toy will not have to produce another! Another form of the word is production which is the
process of the basketball begin made! Everyone say production! Have students repeat. Lets add
that to our word wall! Meaning to make something new!
II. Opportunity for Practice:

Now you all are going to work in table groups for this next activity! Lets review how we
are going to work well together in groups! Have students explain how you work well together as
a team and how it would look if you worked poorly together as a team. I want group one to act
out how you should work as a team and group two to act out how you shouldnt act when
working as a team. Students will demonstrate. Ok who describe what they saw from group two
how we shouldnt act. Have students explain. And who can describe what group one did? Have
students explain. And which group are we going to model ourselves after? Have students
respond. Group one! I am going to be watching how you all work together and who is working
quietly! Now here is what you are going to do! I am going to give each table group and item to
work with! As a team you all are going to come up with a way that you will ruse that item! You
will all record in your science notebooks: what you will reuse it for, how you will reuse it and
how this will benefit the environment - or why it is a good idea to reuse the item the way you
want to reuse it. You all will have seven to ten minutes to work together and then once you are
done each group will present their item to the class and tell how they are going to reuse it!
Students will work in groups and teacher will help start the groups discussions and provide
questions to help them begin and guide their thinking process. At the end each group will share
with the class as the teacher addresses questions or comments from the students.
III. Assessment:
Now boys and girls I want you to clear off your desks and have nothing out expect your
pencil! I am going to give you an exit slip. This slip is your ticket to move on to the next part of
our day! You can only work on your own you cannot ask your neighbor for help. I am going to
ask you one question and you will write down your answer on the slip! I want you to think of one
item at your house. It can be anything. I want you to write down how could reuse that item for
something else. You could reuse for the same purpose or you could reuse it for a new purpose!
Once you are finished you may hand me your exit slip! For my ELL students I will meet with
them individually at the small group table and have them explain to me using their words how
they could reuse their item.
IV. Closure:
Alright class what was our big word we learned to day? Have students respond. REUSE!
Good! I actually want to show you something I reused! Here I have a milk carton that I created
into a bird feeder! So lets go outside and hang it up by our window! Class will go outside to
hang the bird feeder. Who thinks this was a good idea? Have students who answered explain! I
could have reused the jug to refill water or many different things, but this way I made something
that would help another being! This way the birds can benefit and the environment can benefit
from what I reused!
Resources:
Five items for each table group (sock, milk carton, tissue box, Tupperware, paper bag)

Projector
Equity sticks
Slips for exit ticket
Reuse It Article
Word Wall and Notecards
Recycle Webquest - Chrome Books

Extensions and /or Accommodations:

Extension:
Students will work in groups to take their ideas of how they could reuse their given item
and actually create that object and present it to the class. Students will reflect on the
process in their science journals. (What did you make? What is it made of/what all did
you use to make it? How can you use it? Etc.)
- Each day students have the opportunity to work on Recycle City Webquest! (see
technology)
Re-teaching:
Students will join teacher at small group table to reread Reuse It article with students. Have
students share with teach/partner about a time when they reused an item at their house or at
school.
Data Analysis:
Fourteen of twenty students were able to identify one item to use and describe a way to reuse that
specific item. Three of the six students were only able to identify an item to reuse only without
an explanation of how to reuse it and the other three were able to identify an item and tried to
explain a way to reuse it, but were unsuccessful as their thoughts were incomplete and did not
relate to the item stated.
Reflection:
Having the concrete objects for the students to see and identify ways to reuse them was a
success. The students enjoyed being creative and thinking of ideas and ways to reuse the items
they were given. I was very impressed with what the students came up with - including ways to
reuse the item that I had not even thought of! Another key part to this lesson was allowing the
students time to present what they came up with. The students stayed on task because they knew
they were expected to share in front of the class. The students took ownership of their ideas and
were proud of what they came up with as a team!

Reuse It!
Sometimes people call ours a "throw away society." That means
that we're a little too willing to throw away old stuff and buy new

stuff. Many times, even if you no longer need something,

someone else just might. For instance, if your baby brother
outgrows his plastic basketball hoop, why not give it to another
family who has a little kid? That's one less plastic basketball set
that they need to buy. It's also one less large plastic toy that
needs to be produced, packaged, and shipped to the toy store.
Here are some additional ways to reuse the stuff you have:
Use rechargeable batteries for your handheld computer
games, MP3 players, cell phones, and digital cameras.
Choose reusable travel cups instead of disposable paper or
plastic cups.
Take your own bags preferably reusable ones when you
go to the grocery store.
Drink tap water instead of buying bottled water. If you don't
like how your tap water tastes, a low-cost filtration system
could make a difference. Get a reusable water bottle so you
can take it with you.
Organize a swap among your friends. What can you swap?
Books, toys, even clothes. It's a way for everyone to get
something new without spending any money and without
throwing a bunch of stuff away. Set aside some items for
your swap when you're cleaning your room!
Design For Learning
Instructor: Willis/Taylor Blair
Title: Recycle
Grade Level: Third
Standards Connection:

Area: Science
Date: Day 4
Estimated Time: 45 min.

13.) Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goal(s):
Students will be able to identify the property of a specific item (Paper, plastic, aluminum
or glass).
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls we are going to learn about four different kinds of items that can be
recycled! We will find out what items are plastic, which are glass, which are aluminum and
which are paper!
Big Ideas:

There are only certain kinds of items that we can recycle - we cannot recycle
everything
Paper, Plastic, Aluminum and Glass are the most common items we recycle

Key Vocabulary:
Recycle
Ore
Cullet
Compost
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
Using the Kahoot application students will score at least a 75% when given a series of
eight different questions where students will choose from two options to decide which is the
stated type of item (either glass, aluminum, paper or plastic).
Engagement:
I am going to give each of you an item! And up at the front of the room are four boxes
labeled Paper, Plastic Aluminum and Glass. I want to see if you can figure out which box
your item goes in! Once you have your item think about where it might go. When I tell you to,
you can go put it in the box you think it belongs! Now this is just for fun, do the best you can to
make a decision!
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
First, lets learn what each of these items are! I know a lot of you might already know, but
lets see! Teacher will hold up each item (paper, aluminum/tin, plastic and glass). Alright, lets

see if our items ended up where they belong! Lets start with our Paper box! As I pull out an item
I want you all to raise your hand once you think you know if it belongs there or not! If I call on
you, you can explain why or why not you think it belongs there! Class will participate and the
teacher will repeat the process for each box. What do you all think we were just doing? While we
were sorting the different items into the boxes? Pause for students to respond. We were
Recycling! And that folks is our third and final big word we are learning this week! Everyone say
Recycle! Have students repeat. Great! Who thinks they can tell the class what it means to
recycle? Give students the opportunity to share with the class! Recycling means we take our
aluminum, paper, plastic or glass or other materials and send them to be remade into new
products. So we take what we dont need anymore and instead of throwing it into the garbage we
can RECYCLE it to be made into something new! We recycle used materials so that they can be
made into new materials! Lets watch this quick video to really see how the process works! As we
watch the video teacher will write down Ore and Cullet on the board as they are said in the
video. Lets talk about two important words we heard in this video! The first is Ore, everyone say
ore! Have students repeat. Explain to students while writing the definition on the board. An ore
is a mineral that can be taken out of different kinds of metals and sold for money. Ores are used
to create many different things! Call on multiple different students to restate what an ore is. Our
other important word we heard in the video is Cullet, everyone say cullet! Have students repeat.
Cullet is a mound of pieces of crushed glass that are added to other materials in order to make
new glass. What is a cullet? Call on multiple different students to restate what a cullet is. These
are both very important words we can add to our word wall! These words are used to describe
what is happening the recycling process. The items we recycle are made into new items by using
multiple different processes depending on what the item is! Tomorrow we are going to learn
more about how these items are made into new objects, but for today we are just going to learn
more about identifying what we can recycle. Teacher will get out anchor chart with title
Recycling Donts - Now one main rule is that we cannot put food into our recycling bin. So, if
you come across an item you think you could recycle and it has food on it cannot be what class?
Have them say recycled! Now lets think back to the other day when we predicted what would
happen to our trash items in the landfill! Why do you think the banana peel would be the easiest
to decompose? Have students share their thinking. Food we can throw away we call Organic
waste, everyone say organic waste! Have students repeat! Natural things that come from the
earth especially fruits and vegetables when they are thrown away that is called compost.
Everyone say compost! Have students repeat! Compost is decomposing organic waste used for
fertilizing the soil! When the food decomposes back into the ground it is good for the soil - it gets
the nutrients from the food! Great! Another dont is that when you recycle paper what do you
think would happen if a staple was in the paper? Have students predict what might happen.
When we recycle paper there can be no paperclips or staples in the paper otherwise it wont be
able to be recycled! Finally, some people think a dont is that you cannot recycle broken glass,
but you can! If glass is broken it still can be what class? Have them say recycled! Great! Keep
Recycle donts anchor chart on the board for students to reference!

II. Opportunity for Practice:

Now that you know more about what we can recycle you all are going to work in your
table groups to separate these items and organize them into their right bags to recycle them. I
am going to hand out to each table group a list of items to be recycle with a description and
picture of each item! On the other paper are four different bags that they can be recycled into!
You are going to read the descriptions of each item and look at the pictures and decide which
bag it needs to be placed in! You will cut out the pictures and glue them onto the bag it belongs
with! Now this is very important so listen up! Be sure to read the descriptions because some
items might look like they belong in a bag, but some do NOT! Leave the items aside that you
would think you would need to throw away according to our Recycling Donts! Are we ready?
Teacher will answer any questions. Okay, go! Teacher will walk around to help groups and
answer any questions. Teacher will review with the class, which item belongs where and which
items belong in the trash.
III. Assessment:
Now boys and girls I want you to clear off your desks and have nothing out expect your
Chrome Books. Do not open your CB yet, keep it closed on your desk until I see that everyone
has their space clear is ready for our fun activity! Teacher waits until students are ready. I want
you all to open your CBs and sign into Kahoot! Once everyone is signed in then we can get
started! Okay we are all logged in and ready to go! Listen carefully for instructions. Two
pictures are going to appear on the screen for each question. You are going to choose which item
is either plastic, aluminum, paper or glass depending on the questions. I will describe each
picture so that you are sure what each one is. Once we are finished we will go through each
questions together identifying the properties and you will discuss HOW you know what each item
is made of.
IV. Closure:
Alright you all did very well today and now you can put your Chrome books up! I am
going to wait until everyones area is clean, CBs are up and eyes are on me. Teacher waits until
students are ready. Okay who can raise their hand and tell the class what our third big R word
was that we learned about today? Call on student to share. RECYCLE! Very good and what are
the four different kinds of items we talked about that we can recycle? Call on four different
students to say one type. Good! Plastic, aluminum, paper and glass! Very good class and
tomorrow we will earn more about the Process of how things are made into new items!
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh4F3sZNLqA
Projector
Recyclable items (enough for each student)
Boxes labeled (Plastic, Paper, Aluminum, Glass)

 Assorting Worksheets
Anchor chart
Chrome Books and Kahoot application
Word Wall and Notecards
Recycle Webquest
Extensions and /or Accommodations:
Extension:
Rocky Ridge does not recycle. Work by yourself or with a partner to develop a persuasive
argument/writing piece to convince our principal to start recycling at the school. (If time
allows - Students could possibly visit other classrooms to interview or have additional
feedback/proposals. Students could also present their argument to the classes and have
each class sign a petition before presenting their persuasive writing lettter/presentation to
the principal)
Each day students have the opportunity to work on Recycle City Webquest! (see
technology)
Re-teaching:
In small group teacher and students will read Recycle That! on Book Flix together pausing at
each item and discussing the different properties of each. Review Recycle Donts anchor chart.
Data Analysis: From the beginning of the lesson when the students were presented with the
problem (having to identify the proper bins to place each item) the students did very well
identifying which material belonged where. However there were a good amount of students who
did not understand. After the assessment each student scored a 100% identifying the correct item
as being made of the said material/property. The students had adequate amount of time with
observing, feeling and identifying the materials as well as applying prior knowledge to help them
with this assessment. It was crucial for these students to master this concept before moving on to
the next day and they did!
Reflection: At first this lesson seemed to be more a review for the class, but as we continued I
realized the importance of really digging deeper to be sure all the students knew and understood
the importance of being able to identify what the materials are made of. We were able to make
our connection make to the first day of how long the items last in a landfill and why we must
know how to identify these items in order to dispose of them properly (recycling).
Design For Learning
Instructor: Willis/Taylor Blair
Title: Recycle Process
Grade Level: Third

Area: Science
Date: Day 5
Estimated Time: 45 min.

Standards Connection:
13.) Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goal(s):
Students will determine the similarities and differences between the two processes of recycling
paper and glass by using a Venn diagram
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls you will use a Venn diagram to help you organize your thoughts on
the similarities and differences of recycling paper and recycling glass!
Big Ideas:
There are different processes that are required to make different used materials
into new materials
There are some similarities in how these materials are recycled to make new
materials.
Key Vocabulary:
Review Cullet
Review Pulp
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
When given a Venn diagram, students will be able to fill in at least two of the three
similarities/differences in each section.
Engagement:
Lets look around the room, how many boys do we have in the class? Pause for students to
think and respond. 11, yes! And how many girls? Pause for students to think and respond. Now
student A and I are both girls, but I am older! So we are similar in the fact that we are both girls,
BUT we are different because I am much older! I want you to turn and talk to your partner to
find out in what ways you both are similar. Pause for students to discuss with their partner. Who
would like to share some similarities between you and your partner? Students will share. Now I
want you to turn and talk to the same partner and talk about how you two might be different!
Pause for students to discuss with their partner. Who would like to share some differences
between you and your partner? Students will share. Very good! Today we are going to learn
about the similarities and differences between the recycling processes of Paper and Glass!
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:

Let me ask you all a question. Do you think everything we recycle including all the
different materials like plastic, glass, aluminum, paper etc. get recycled the same way? Do you
think the process of how they are made into new material is the same for each item? By show of
hands how many of you think the process of having all the old materials made into new material
is the same for everything we recycle? Pause for students to think and respond. And how many of
you think the process is different for the way plastic, glass, paper and all those different
materials are recycled into new materials? Pause for students to think and respond. Well today
we are going to find out! A couple of days ago we read about what it takes to make paper! Who
can remind us of the word we learned that means moistened fibers of woods that are used to
make paper? Pause for students to think and respond. Pulp! Very good! And where does this
wood come from? Pause for students to think and respond. Trees! Yes! So we have seen how
paper is made form trees, lets watch this quick video of how paper is made from old recycled
paper!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohv9y8Bi3fU
Ok, shout out some of the things you noticed that went into recycling the paper! Teacher will
write down on the board what students say! So we know paper is made from pulp! Paper can
only be recycled four to six times because each time the fibers in the paper become weaker and
thinner which does not give us durable paper we need. Once we have our pulp it is made into a
paste to be dried to become paper! Very good! Now lets compare what we learned about the
paper recycling process to what we will see in this next video of recycling glass!
Lets watch the process of how used pieces of glass or glass bottles are recycled into new
glass! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua3taTBm2bM
Alright lets shout out some of the things you saw as we watched how glass is recycled. Pause for
students to think and respond. Teacher will write student responses on the board as they share.
Ok we learned that glass can be recycled over, and over and over and over again! Glass also is
burned and melted before it can be created into new pieces of glass. And Finally, we already
know that the pieces of glass that are broken into small pieces are called what? Pause for
students to think and respond. Cullet! Now that we have learned more about the two different
processes, we are going to compare them! What are some similarities between the two
processes? Pause for students to think and respond. Teacher will write down students responses
as they share. The most important similarities are that they both have a step where the impurities
or contaminates are taken out before they are made into new material! They take out what does
not belong! Both paper recycling and glass recycling require the used materials to be made into
tiny pieces in order to create a new material. And finally the last important similarity is that they
are both used materials that are made into new material! Which is the definition of our word
Pause for students to think and respond. Everyone? Recycle! Now lets move on to try and
organize this information better!
II. Opportunity for Practice:
To help us have a better visual of the similarities and differences between these three
processes of recycling we are going to fill out a Venn diagram together! Who knows what a Venn

diagram is? If a student knows, have them share. A Venn diagram looks like this - with two
circles joined together to form three spaces! Why do you all think there are three spaces? Have
student(s) share. The first space is to describe the process of Paper being recycled. The third
space is to describe the process of glass being recycled and so what do you think the middle
space with describe? Turn and talk to your partner about what you think might go in that middle
space where they both connected. Give students time to think and call on students to share.
Great! This middle space is where we can write how the two processes are similar! Just how we
talked about how each of you are different but you all have some similarities. So if we were using
a Venn diagram for Student A and Student B we would write in their circles their differences and
in the middle we would write their similarities. And that is what we are going to do to help us
understand the processes of recycling paper and glass.
So lets look at our list we made after we learned more about the process! What will we put in the
Paper circle that is different from glass? Pause for students to think and respond. We know it is
made from pulp, very good! And lets think of two more details we can put in this section of our
diagram. Pause for students to think and respond. Pulp is made from shredding up and crushing
the paper and creating a paste! Lets record that! Now what is one more detail about the paper
recycling process? Pause for students to think and respond. Paper can only be recycled about
four to six times. And what will we fill in for our Glass circle that is different from paper
recycling? Pause for students to think and respond. The pieces of glass are called cullet! What
would be another? Pause for students to think and respond. Glass can be recycled over and over
and over again! And finally our last one would be what class? Pause for students to think and
respond. In order to create new glass the cullet has to be melted by the fire! Now what will we
will in for our similarity section where the two circles meet? Pause for students to think and
respond. Both paper and glass have to be made into small tiny pieces before they are made into
new material! They both start as old and used and turn into something new! And finally they
both have to be checked for contaminants to be removed! Very good!
Now you all are going to fill out your own Venn diagram by yourself! We have worked
together to organize our similarities and differences and now I want to see how much you
know/learned!
III. Assessment:
You all are going to get a blank Venn diagram and fill it in on your own! There should be
no talking while you are filling out your Venn diagram, you must work independently. Once you
have your paper you may begin. (Remediation for lower level learners - students will be given
short descriptions to choose from to place into the correct spaces).
IV. Closure:
Alright boys and girls what materials did we learn about and the process in which they
are recycled? Give me thumbs up when you know! Class will respond at once. Paper and glass!
Very good! And are the two processes of recycling the exact same? Pause for student response.
No! They are different! Who can raise their hand and tell the class how they are different. Have

student share with the class - teacher will add in missing information. And how are they the
same? Who can tell us? Have student share with the class - teacher will add in missing
information. And what tool did we use today to help us organize our information to help us see
clearly what those similarities and differences are? Give me thumbs up when you know what the
name of the tool we used is. Class will respond at once. A Venn diagram! Very good! You all did
such a wonderful job today participating and working hard! Thank you fro being awesome
learners!
Resources:
Word Wall
Recycling process videos
Equity sticks
Venn diagrams

Anchor chart
Recycle Webquest - Chrome Books
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1mFymbRmv4

Extensions and /or Accommodations:

Extension:
Students will develop an idea/plan for how they will implement or use their project made
from used materials. The students will video themselves using their project in every day
life and share with the class.
Each day students have the opportunity to work on Recycle City Webquest! (see
technology)
Re-teaching:
In small group teacher will have students re-watch the recycling process videos. Teacher
will give each student the identity of glass or paper. The students will pair off and discuss
their similarities and differences.
Data Analysis: Each student was able fill in at least one similarity and two differences in the
Venn diagram. Due to lack of time the assessment was rushed and therefore the next day as a
class we reviewed the Venn diagram together and the students worked in table groups to
complete a blank Venn diagram.
Reflection: This lesson was very well paired with the reading/writing lesson for that week which
was to use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast characters from two different biographies.
This prior knowledge helped the students tremendously to focus on the content rather than
getting caught up in the logistics of how to use a Venn diagram.