(Plastic Water Bottles, Google Images, 2013)
Unit Overview
The purpose of this unit is to introduce 5-8th grade students to the concept of sustainability and the part they play in closing the loop in the life cycle of a plastic bottle. Students will compare and contract tap water and bottled water. Then they will examine the life cycle of a plastic bottle including production, consumption, and disposal. Finally, they will create a project that raises awareness in the school and community about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. These topics will be explored through science, language arts, social studies, mathematics, and art. Throughout this lesson we will encourage students to use the four ways of thinking; futures, values, systems, and strategic thinking. These ways of thinking are defined on Arizona State University's Sustainability Science Education for Teachers website.
DAY 1 - Tap water vs. Bottled Water
( Science & Values and Systems Thinking)
The objective for today is to get students thinking about why bottled water is so popular and why tap water has such a bad reputation. Open the lesson by taking a quick survey of who drinks tap water and who drinks bottled water most often. Record the data to be compared to the taste test results. Ask students if there are different occasions when they drink one over the other. Ask students why they prefer one over the other. The most common answer should be the taste and/or cost. Ask them if they would be able to tell the difference between the two in a taste test. Ask them to make some predictions. This challenge should elicit some excitement and create optimal engagement. Conduct the taste test. Be sure that samples are distributed in identical containers. Record the data and compare to the data collected from the initial survey. Specifically compare the number of students who originally chose bottled water to those who selected tap water as tasting better. Discuss with your students what they think the data means and if their predictions were correct. Homework could include creating line graphs and/or bar charts to better examine the data. Have them include one specific observation and if it proves or disproves their original prediction.
DAY 2 - Plastic Bottle Production
(Language Arts and Systems & Futures Thinking)
The objective for today is to introduce the life cycle of a plastic bottle and then focus specifically on the production phase. Begin by reviewing the homework from Day 1, focusing on the use of water bottles in the classroom. Explain that we will now examine the life cycle of a plastic water bottle to see what kind of effects it has on the environment. Read The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle by Alison Inches and Pete Whitehead, which follows the diary of a spunky plastic bottle as he journeys from the refinery plant, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a garbage can, and ultimately to a recycling plant where he is reborn as a fleece jacket. Ask students to identify the parts of the life cycle presented in the story while recording the answers on the board. Help them to draw a diagram of the life cycle that identifies the production, consumption, and disposal phases. (Please refer to the Teacher and Student Resources tab to familiarize yourself with this information, if necessary.) Make sure that the disposal phase provides options for landfill and recycle. This will help the students to better visualize and comprehend the concept of "closing the loop". This should be referred to throughout the rest of the unit.
Introduce the concept of sustainability "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Lemonick, 2009). Have students discuss what this means to them. Ask them how the life cycle of a plastic bottle relates to the concept of sustainability. Show the "Back2Tap School Video". This video has a pop quiz embedded in it; be sure to slow down and pause to allow students ample time to answer the questions. At the end of the video ask them again, how the life cycle of a plastic bottle relates to the concept of sustainability. Have them identify the specific steps in the production phase and discuss how they relate to sustainability. This can be done in partners, individually, or in small groups. Bring the class back together to share answers. Note: The production phase is a great place to review natural resources and their connection to the concept of sustainability.
For homework, handout reusable shopping totes to each student with instructions to collect every beverage container they use from now until the next day's consumption and waste lesson.
Introduce the concept of sustainability "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Lemonick, 2009). Have students discuss what this means to them. Ask them how the life cycle of a plastic bottle relates to the concept of sustainability. Show the "Back2Tap School Video". This video has a pop quiz embedded in it; be sure to slow down and pause to allow students ample time to answer the questions. At the end of the video ask them again, how the life cycle of a plastic bottle relates to the concept of sustainability. Have them identify the specific steps in the production phase and discuss how they relate to sustainability. This can be done in partners, individually, or in small groups. Bring the class back together to share answers. Note: The production phase is a great place to review natural resources and their connection to the concept of sustainability.
For homework, handout reusable shopping totes to each student with instructions to collect every beverage container they use from now until the next day's consumption and waste lesson.
DAY 3 - Plastic Bottle Consumption and Waste
(Mathematics , Science and Language Arts & Futures and Systems Thinking)
The objective for today is to help students recognize the amount of plastic bottles they use in a day and their disposal habits. Begin by handing out the Steps in the Life Cycle of a Disposable Plastic Water Bottle worksheet to be completed in small groups, partners, or individually. This will serve as a review of the yesterday's lesson. Explain that we will be exploring the consumption phase, as well as the trash part of the disposal phase. Hand out the Beverage Container Survey to each student. They will use the beverage containers they collected since yesterday's lesson to complete this survey. For the recycled or trashed section have the student mark which one they would have done if they had not collected the container for this assignment. The collected data can be used to create a graph or chart, and/or to calculate fractions, decimals, and/or percentages to compare and contrast the type of container to the disposal method.
Today we will also begin examining the trash portion of the disposal phase. Begin by asking students what they think happens to plastic bottles when they are thrown away, not recycled. Share some of the facts about how many plastic bottles are consumed and recycled. I would suggest using parts of this "Plastic Bottles" lesson plan. The reading samples and assessments are very relevant to today's lesson. At the very least, I would suggest using the videos, PowerPoint quiz, and Handout 2: Exit Card. Although this lesson plan is designed for 5th grade, specifically, it is easy to modify it for 6th-8th grade, also.
Note: Have students continue collecting as many plastic bottles as they can. These bottles will be used on Day 5.
Today we will also begin examining the trash portion of the disposal phase. Begin by asking students what they think happens to plastic bottles when they are thrown away, not recycled. Share some of the facts about how many plastic bottles are consumed and recycled. I would suggest using parts of this "Plastic Bottles" lesson plan. The reading samples and assessments are very relevant to today's lesson. At the very least, I would suggest using the videos, PowerPoint quiz, and Handout 2: Exit Card. Although this lesson plan is designed for 5th grade, specifically, it is easy to modify it for 6th-8th grade, also.
Note: Have students continue collecting as many plastic bottles as they can. These bottles will be used on Day 5.
DAY 4 - Plastic Bottle Disposal - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
(Social Studies and Language Arts & Systems, Values, and Strategic Thinking)
The objective for today is to examine the concept of "reduce, reuse, recycle" and how it "closes the loop". Begin by reviewing the product life cycle, focusing specifically on the disposal phase. Ask students to share what they think "closing the loop" might refer to and how it is related to the life cycle of a plastic bottle. Ask students to define "reduce", "reuse", and "recycle", and provide examples of each. Show the videos and photos of the Bottle Schools from the Inspiration Green website. Ask the students if this is an example of reducing, reusing, or recycling. Discuss reusing plastic bottles. Read the New York Times article about the proposed water bottle ban at the Grand Canyon. Discuss how students feel about the ban of water bottles. Ask them what some alternatives to plastic bottles might be. Show the "Recycling Empty Plastic Bottles" video. I would expect that many students were not aware plastic bottles could be recycled into clothing. Discuss other products plastic bottles could be recycled into. Discuss how this all relates to sustainability.
As a wrap-up activity, students will write a reflection response to the following prompt found on page 8 of the "Plastic Bottles" lesson plan;
Hand out the Recycling Facts, Games and Crafts modified workbook. This workbook contains several informative activities about recycling many materials; be sure to only include the pages related to plastics. Although this workbook is designed for younger students, it is a good extension activity to help students with vocabulary and the big ideas. This is to be completed as homework.
Note: Continue collecting plastic bottles to be used on Day 5.
As a wrap-up activity, students will write a reflection response to the following prompt found on page 8 of the "Plastic Bottles" lesson plan;
- Explain your position about bottled water. Should there be a ban or no ban on bottled water in your community?
- Describe how your lifestyle might change if plastic bottles and containers were no longer available.
Hand out the Recycling Facts, Games and Crafts modified workbook. This workbook contains several informative activities about recycling many materials; be sure to only include the pages related to plastics. Although this workbook is designed for younger students, it is a good extension activity to help students with vocabulary and the big ideas. This is to be completed as homework.
Note: Continue collecting plastic bottles to be used on Day 5.
DAY 5 - Creating Awareness
(Art, Language Arts, and Social Studies, & Systems, Values, Strategic, and Futures Thinking)
The objective for today is for students to take everything they have learned in his unit to create an awareness project to be displayed somewhere in the school and/or community. Review the product life cycle and its connection to sustainability. You could even re-read the book from Day 2. Show the "Plastic Bottle Awareness" video in which PSU students create a giant plastic bottle made of plastic bottles to be displayed, along with other facts and statistics, on their campus to create awareness. This video will show students how creativity plays a part in creating awareness. Have students break into small groups or pairs to create an awareness project out of the collected plastic bottles and any other materials you may feel are helpful. I would suggest using as many re-purposed or recycled materials as possible, in order to illustrate sustainable practices. Students should include as many facts/statistics as possible. These facts and statistics can be collected from the resources on the previous tab. It would also be a good idea to have to students include the graphs/charts from Day 1 and Day 3 to show the sustainable practices of the class. (Note: Be sure to recycle or reuse any left over bottles.)
As a wrap-up activity, students will answer the following questions to reflect upon the lesson. At this point it is important to have students take a stance on their own part in sustainable practices.
o Define sustainability in your own words.
o What is the life cycle of a plastic bottle?
o What is the most sustainable way to dispose of a plastic bottle?
o What is the most sustainable use of a plastic bottle?
o What actions can you take to spread awareness of the sustainable use and disposal of plastic bottles in your school and community?
o Do you think sustainable practices are worthwhile or a waste of time? Explain.
Below is a full lesson plan for today's activity or you can click HERE to download the Word document.
This lesson plan is designed for 6th grade, but can be modified for 5th-8th grades.
As a wrap-up activity, students will answer the following questions to reflect upon the lesson. At this point it is important to have students take a stance on their own part in sustainable practices.
o Define sustainability in your own words.
o What is the life cycle of a plastic bottle?
o What is the most sustainable way to dispose of a plastic bottle?
o What is the most sustainable use of a plastic bottle?
o What actions can you take to spread awareness of the sustainable use and disposal of plastic bottles in your school and community?
o Do you think sustainable practices are worthwhile or a waste of time? Explain.
Below is a full lesson plan for today's activity or you can click HERE to download the Word document.
This lesson plan is designed for 6th grade, but can be modified for 5th-8th grades.