Recycling For Kids

PBL Artifact Template

1) Driving Question (12.5 points)

1. What is recycling? How does it keep our town clean and protect future generations?

• Does the DQ warrant in-depth study?

• Yes, it requires information and a study on what recycling is and how it can help keep the town clean and how it can benefit the future generations. Indiana state standards for first grade require that “. students identify continuity and change in the different environments around them, including school and neighborhood communities, and identify individuals, events and symbols that are important to our country” (Standard 1 — History)This relates to out DQ as the environment will change in the neighborhood and school system and community and in general all around them as they become more educated on recycling and begin to become more aware of the benefits and negative effects of what happens when you do and do not recycle. The more the students become aware of the importance of recycling, the environment around them will start to change as it will become cleaner and they will become more aware of their surroundings and want to keep the environment clean.

• Is the DQ an authentic and relevant issue/problem for my students?

• The DQ is an authentic and relevant issue/problem to everyone because the health of our planet directly affects the student’s future and well being. It also is something that they can get involved in starting now, once they are educated on it and help make a difference in our ecosystem as they will collectively become more aware of their surroundings and help spread the importance of the need for recycling. The students we are teaching this lesson to are in 1st grade, making this topic even more relevant to them because if we don’t address this issue and work towards solving it, it will greatly affect their future and impact the lives of their future families as well.

• Is there more than one plausible solution to the DQ?

• Yes, there are many different ways that one can go about recycling to keep the town clean and protect future generations. There are the “Three R’s” such as reduce, reuse and recycle, which can all contribute to keeping our planet clean. For example, one person could recycle a used plastic water bottle, while another person could bring in reusable grocery bags to the store instead of using plastic shopping bags for their groceries.

• Does the DQ provide opportunities for students to evaluate, analyze, present, and defend their solutions? - Provide a brief introduction to your question as well

• Yes, our students will be able to evaluate the outcomes and effects of how recycling can help the environment and they can analyze different ways to recycle and teach their peers and classmates all about their findings. Many people don’t know how serious the benefits of recycling can be to our society, planet and future and the students will have a way to present their knowledge and defend their solutions to how we can work together and be more eco friendly.

2) Grabber (22.5 points)

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaFpv03hq-4#t=0

2. http://www.timeforkids.com/news/earth-day/87036

3. http://www.timetorecycle.org/pdf/EDUCATION/Recycling%20Fun%20Facts.pdf

4. The final grabber is a hands on activity, this will consist of different stations containing both things that could be categorized as trash, as well as things that could be categorized as recyclable. Next the students will be asked to separate each  different piece into two piles, recyclable and trash.    

• Does the story, article, video, announcement, or role play other resource hook the learner into asking more questions about the topic?

• These grabbers play a role in hooking the learner because they give statistics, have catchy music, and has a hands on activities. The students will want to ask more questions after these activities because they are not extremely descriptive but at the same time they are entertain, especially after the hands on activity because they many not always be sure which items are recyclable or not.

• Does the grabber capitalize on novelty and / or high emotion situations?

• Our grabbers capitalize on novelty as all the sources, like videos and articles we used are new and the main focus of our DQ is how recycling can help our environment in the future.

• Does the grabber establish authenticity & relevance?

• Yes, these grabbers establish authenticity and relevance as we are providing our

• students with engaging activities and resources that are fun to watch and easy to understand. They will be introduced to the topic through a fun video about what recycling is and then will be read an article about how recycling is directly impacting our earth today and will hear interesting statistics and facts, all of which are very relevant to the students as keeping our earth clean and having a healthy environment to live in can only benefit everyone, and it is something they can help with. The last grabber will allow for them to take their knowledge of the topic that they have just learned and apply it through a fun activity of sorting different items into what is trash and what can be recycled to see how much they understand and apply their knowledge to real life topics and items.

• Make sure to explain how this grabber would be used.

• The youtube video can be used to kick off the project by introducing the idea of recycling. This grabs the students attention by incorporating a catchy song and relatable experience of two children playing. The Time magazine article will be a grabber because it includes interesting facts that children would most likely be astonished by, this is also true for the document containing the fun facts about recycling. The hands on activity is especially interesting for kids because just listening to the teacher lecture can be boring and dry but actually getting to touch items and move them around will cause participation from all members of the classroom.

3) Culminating Activity (65 points)

1. Our first project is identification of a nearby landfill. As a class we will identify the closest landfill. After the class understands where it is, they will be broken off into their assigned project groups. Each group will be given a map of the state and they will place a sticker where the landfill is located and one where their town is. The information each group should give is how far away the landfill is. Next, each group will be asked to give examples of how recycling can help keep the environment keep clean. They will present this information in an imovie trailer, each group will be required to also include an example of how their community participates in recycling. Finally, each group must use their imagination and imagine what our world would be like if everyone recycled and what it would be like if recycling did not exist, this would also be presented in an imovie.

• This activity is authentic because it requires the students to have an understanding about real life proximity to landfills and it also allows them to use their imagination to come up with problem solving, and present their own findings in a movie.

• Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

• This project does allow the student to work present and defend their solution and ideas  by presenting their idea to the class in a movie and then taking their peers questions about their ideas.

• This projects requires all students to participate and collaborate with each other by putting their head together to come up with examples. Also they have to agree on what all students in the group think the world would be like if things were different than they are now.

• Project Rubric

Submission:

We will be sharing our plans through OER commons so that other teachers can benefit from the excellent ideas that you have developed here.  Only one student per group needs to create an account, but you should work on the following steps together.

1. Go to OER Commons

2. Click Register at the top right.

3. After you register, make sure you verify your email address.

4. Click on Create at the top right.

5. Click on Open Author

6. Write a short introduction at the top (and include any standards you are addressing)

7. Paste in your Driving Question, Grabber, and Culminating activity.

8. Complete the fields on the Describe tab.

9. Submit your work.

Add the link to your OER resource on the Class Materials Page of your Teacher Website.