I can reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Lesson
Grade K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Try Gynzy for free
Created for Gynzy by: Kazandra Estorque

General
Students will learn the importance of decreasing waste through conservation. Through this, they will learn about the magnitude of trash/waste and how wasting these materials negatively impacts the environment, animals, and people

Students will also learn about how to conserve these materials through the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle method. The definition and impact of each of the 3 R’s will be presented.

Standards
NGSS: K-ESS3-3

Learning objective
Students will be able to name ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and reach out to others.

Introduction
Students will be introduced to the concept of waste, particularly the waste of paper, plastic, glass, and metal. Facts and pictures relating to American trash production will support students' understanding of waste.

Instruction
Activity 1 - Reduce: On one side, students will be presented with multiple single-use items. On the other side, students will be presented with sustainable alternatives. They will be asked to match the single-use item to its sustainable alternative using the line tool.

Activity 2 - Reuse: Students will be presented with common paper/plastic/metal/glass items. They will be asked to think of ways to reuse these items. (Both practical and creative answers are encouraged.)

Activity 3 - Recycle: Students will look at a graphic organizer with 3 boxes: Trash, Recycling, and common paper/plastic/metal/glass items. They will be asked to drag the items to the correct box.

Activity 4 - Teaching/Encouraging others to use the 3 R’s: Students will work out multiple scenarios in which someone presents a behavior or statement that is not aligned with the 3 R’s. They will be asked in open-ended questions how they would respond.

Closing
Students will recall what they learned about the 3 R's with a few open-ended questions:

- Why is waste bad for our planet?
- How can we make less waste?
- Which R are you most excited to practice?

Lastly, students will be asked to create a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle classroom pledge by listing 3 ways the class will observe the 3 R’s.