Lesson:  Think Sustainability

Grade Level:  7 – 12

Duration: 60 minutes plus follow-up lessons

Objectives:

• Students will explore sustainability problems and solutions through discussion prompts and will

 research ways they can make a difference through the choices that they make.

• Students will collaborate with a partner in which they use recycled items to create something new

that can be used which prevents something from going into a landfill.

Materials:

• Think Sustainability – Slides presentation
• TV, Smart Board or Projector and a computer
•  Student materials for taking notes: notebook or paper, pen or pencil

Teacher Preparation:

• Teacher should become familiar with sustainability and recycling.
• Check book out at the library or purchase: What Does It Mean to Be Green? By Rana DiOrio
• Teacher should review the PPT presentation and be prepared to use personal examples as he/she

presents the lesson.

• Teacher should set up and make sure the PPT works and is set up correctly.
• Vocabulary to be familiar with: sustainability, reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle, waste management,

 municipal solid waste (MSW), green

Procedure:

1. Prior to lesson: Students should be prepared with a notebook and a pen or pencil.
2. Intro: Read the short book: What Does It Mean to Be Green? By Rana DiOrio

1. This is a cute book that will grab attention of young and old.

       3.   Slides presentation:

• Have students watch and take notes about what they learn.  Some slides also ask thought

provoking questions to which various solutions might be proposed.

• Allow students several minutes to think about the problem and write down their ideas.
• Think/Pair/Share: Students will be paired with another student and given a couple minutes to

 think about the problem, share and discuss their ideas with one another.

• Open the discussion to the whole class, allowing one member from each group to share their

collective ideas, and ask questions they might have.

      4.  Upcycle Project Guide: Put students into groups of two or three and introduce the upcycle project.  

           Allow students to use computers to research and plan the upcycle project.

      5.  Exit Ticket: Students will show Upcycle Project Proposal to instructor for final approval.

      6.  Follow-up: You can plan one or several class periods to work on projects in class or allow students to

           complete them at home. After giving students time to complete their projects, students will present

           their project to the class.  They will create a digital presentation with pictures illustrating their

           procedures for creating their project. If possible, students will bring their project into the class.

      7. Additional Resource:  Battle of the Bag Documentary - Plastic bags – 44 min.  

• https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=plastic+bag+movie#action=vi

ew&id=47&vid=3117b73784682b0d94f17dacf8c5cb66