Kimberly Spring—Gr. 2Lowell Elementary, Everett, WA

Tender Loving CareEncouragestudentstotakeanin-

terestintheirenvironmentbyhavingthem"adopt"smallareasoftheschoolgroundsfortheentireschoolyear.Dividestudentsintosmallgroups.Assigneachgroupadesig-natedarea(approximatelyninesquareyards).Haveeachgroupindicatetheboundariesofitsareawithrocks,sticks,orothernaturalmaterials.Throughouttheyear,havestudentsplanandcarryoutactivitiestoshowtheycarefortheEarth.Activitiesmayincludecleaninguplitteranddebris,plantingbulbs,placinghomemadebirdfeedersintrees,andplantinggrassorflowers.Everytimeagroupworksinitsarea,photographtheactivity.Displaythephotosonabulletinboardorinaphotoalbumentitled"WeTakeCareOfTheEarth."Attheendoftheyear,studentswillbeabletoseethatalittleextracaregoesalongwayto-wardmakingtheEarthabetterplace.

Taking Care Of The

AlittletenderlovingcarecanmakeadifferenceforourEarth.Inthisunityou'llfindpracticalideasandactivitiestoincreaseyourstudents'environmentalawarenessandtohelpstartorexpandyourownclassroomrecyclingprogram.Innotimeatall,yourstudentswillseethattheireffortsreallycanhelpimprovetheenvironment. ideas by Lori Bruce

EarthWe "Can" Do!

Americansuseabout80billionaluminumcansayear!Aluminumcanscanberecycledoverandoveragain.Usethereproducibleonpage7tointroducestudentstotheprocessofrecyclingaluminumcans.Asafollow-upactivity,setaclasscollec-tiongoal;thenhavestudentscollectaluminumcansforrecycling.Enlarge,color,andcutouttheEarthManpat-ternonpage9.Displaythecutoutwithaclassgraph(seeillustration)entitled"We'Can'Do!"Eachweekupdatethegraph;thenarrangeforanadultvolunteertotakethecanstoalocalrecyclingfacility.Whenthegoalisreached,useanyprofitsgen-eratedtopurchaserecyclingrecep-taclesorplantsforyourschool.

Mini-LandfillsCreatingamini-landfillgives

studentsafirsthandlookatthede-composingandbiodegradingofvariouskindsoftrash.Foranoutdoorlandfill,obtainpermissiontodigaone-foot-deepholeontheschoolgrounds.Havestudentsburythefollowingitems:severalleaves(fromtreesorproduce),applewedges,stripsofnewspaper,acrushedalumi-numcan,andpiecesofaStyrofoam®

meattrayandatwo-litersoftdrinkbottle.Thenmarkthemini-landfillsite.Orcreateaclassroomlandfillbyburyingsimilaritemsinalargeglassorclearplasticjarandsprin-klingthesoilwithwatereveryweek.Eachmonth,unearththecontentsofyourmini-landfill,notinganychangesinaclassjournal.Attheendoftheyear,diguptheitemsthatdidnotdecomposeandrecyclethem. N

umb

er o

f Ca

ns

Number of Weeks

250

200

150

100

50

01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Room 8'sLandfill

Katie and Tyler pick

up trash.

Ethan hangs a

bird feeder.

We"Can"Do!

Our Goal 250 cans

�

Kimberly Spring—Gr. 2Lowell Elementary, Everett, WA

Tender Loving CareEncouragestudentstotakeanin-

terestintheirenvironmentbyhavingthem"adopt"smallareasoftheschoolgroundsfortheentireschoolyear.Dividestudentsintosmallgroups.Assigneachgroupadesig-natedarea(approximatelyninesquareyards).Haveeachgroupindicatetheboundariesofitsareawithrocks,sticks,orothernaturalmaterials.Throughouttheyear,havestudentsplanandcarryoutactivitiestoshowtheycarefortheEarth.Activitiesmayincludecleaninguplitteranddebris,plantingbulbs,placinghomemadebirdfeedersintrees,andplantinggrassorflowers.Everytimeagroupworksinitsarea,photographtheactivity.Displaythephotosonabulletinboardorinaphotoalbumentitled"WeTakeCareOfTheEarth."Attheendoftheyear,studentswillbeabletoseethatalittleextracaregoesalongwayto-wardmakingtheEarthabetterplace.

Taking Care Of The

AlittletenderlovingcarecanmakeadifferenceforourEarth.Inthisunityou'llfindpracticalideasandactivitiestoincreaseyourstudents'environmentalawarenessandtohelpstartorexpandyourownclassroomrecyclingprogram.Innotimeatall,yourstudentswillseethattheireffortsreallycanhelpimprovetheenvironment. ideas by Lori Bruce

EarthWe "Can" Do!

Americansuseabout80billionaluminumcansayear!Aluminumcanscanberecycledoverandoveragain.Usethereproducibleonpage7tointroducestudentstotheprocessofrecyclingaluminumcans.Asafollow-upactivity,setaclasscollec-tiongoal;thenhavestudentscollectaluminumcansforrecycling.Enlarge,color,andcutouttheEarthManpat-ternonpage9.Displaythecutoutwithaclassgraph(seeillustration)entitled"We'Can'Do!"Eachweekupdatethegraph;thenarrangeforanadultvolunteertotakethecanstoalocalrecyclingfacility.Whenthegoalisreached,useanyprofitsgen-eratedtopurchaserecyclingrecep-taclesorplantsforyourschool.

Mini-LandfillsCreatingamini-landfillgives

studentsafirsthandlookatthede-composingandbiodegradingofvariouskindsoftrash.Foranoutdoorlandfill,obtainpermissiontodigaone-foot-deepholeontheschoolgrounds.Havestudentsburythefollowingitems:severalleaves(fromtreesorproduce),applewedges,stripsofnewspaper,acrushedalumi-numcan,andpiecesofaStyrofoam®

meattrayandatwo-litersoftdrinkbottle.Thenmarkthemini-landfillsite.Orcreateaclassroomlandfillbyburyingsimilaritemsinalargeglassorclearplasticjarandsprin-klingthesoilwithwatereveryweek.Eachmonth,unearththecontentsofyourmini-landfill,notinganychangesinaclassjournal.Attheendoftheyear,diguptheitemsthatdidnotdecomposeandrecyclethem. N

umb

er o

f Ca

ns

Number of Weeks

250

200

150

100

50

01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Room 8'sLandfill

Katie and Tyler pick

up trash.

Ethan hangs a

bird feeder.

We"Can"Do!

Our Goal 250 cans

�

Save Our TreesEveryweekAmericansthrowaway

theequivalentofabout500,000treesintheformofnewsprint.Butrecyclingnewspaperscanhelpsavetrees.Toreducetheamountofnewspaperthatisthrownaway,startaclass-roomnewspaperrecyclingcenter.(Beforehavingstudentsbringinnewspapers,checkyourlocalfirecodetoseeifthepapersyoucollectmustbekeptinspecialcontainers.)

Tocreateamotivationaldisplay,enlarge,color,andcutouttheEarthManpatternonpage9.DisplayEarthManalongwithalargetreecutoutbearingthecaption"We'reSavingTrees!"Havestudentshelpyousetaclassgoal.Eachweekupdatethedisplay;thenhaveanadultvolunteertakethenewspaperstoarecyclingcenter.Whentheclassgoalisreached,havestudentsmaketheirownversionofrecycledpaperbyfollowingthedirectionsin 50Simple Things Kids Can Do To SaveThe Earth (EarthworksGroup).

Stamping OutStyrofoam®

Polystyrenefoam,orStyrofoam®,iscompletelynonbiodegradable.Foamproductsburiedinalandfilltodaywillstillbethere500yearsfromnow!HavestudentsbringinavarietyofStyrofoamcontainers.Displaytheitems;then,asagroup,brainstormalternativeitemsthatcouldbeusedinplaceofeachofthecontainers.Asafollow-upactivity,duplicatestudentcopiesofthe"EarthGram"telegramonpage9.Asksomestudentstowriteandsendtelegramstocompa-nieswhichuseStyrofoampackaging,encouragingthemtoconsideralternativepackaging.Otherstudentsmaysendtelegramstocompaniesthatalreadyusealternativepackag-ing,expressinggratitudefortheirenvironmentalawareness."TelegramforBurgerWorld!"

Code Name of Plastic Abbreviation Common Items

1 polyethylene terephthalate PET soft-drink bottles,peanut butter jars

2 high-density polyethylene HDPE milk jugs, buttertubs, detergentbottles

3 polyvinyl chloride PVC water, shampoo, andcooking oil bottles

4 low-density polyethylene LDPE plastic grocery bags,some plastic wraps

5 polypropylene plastic bottle caps,straws, and lids

6 polystyrene yogurt containers,Styrofoam® products

Plastic TacticsManytypesofplasticscannowberecycled.Tomakeidentifyingdifferent

typeseasier,numbersareimprintedonthebottomsofmanyplasticcon-tainers.Eachnumberrepresentsadifferenttypeofplastic.Havestudentscontributeplasticitemssuchastwo-litersoftdrinkbottles;milkjugs;peanutbutterjars;butterandmargarinetubs;anddetergent,shampoo,andcookingoilbottles.Thenhavestudentssorttheplasticcontainersusingthenumberimprints.Refertothechartshowntoidentifythetypesofplasticcollected.Checklocalrecyclingcenterstodeterminewhichtypesofplasticareacceptedforrecyclinginyourarea.Recyclewhatyoucan,savingthenonrecyclableplasticstouseforarts-and-craftsprojectsandstorageofclassroommaterials.

300250200150100500

Pam Crane

2HDPE Our Goal

300newspapers

The Ream TeamThepaperthatfourpeopleuseinayearweighsaboutasmuchasabigcar!

StudentscanreducetheamountofpapertheyuseatschoolbybecomingmembersofEarthMan'sReamTeam.Havestudentsbrainstormalistofwaystoreducetheamountofpapertheyuse,suchascompletingseveralassignmentsonthesamesheetofpaperorusingthebackofeachsheetofpaperbeforethrowingitaway.ThenhavestudentscreatetheirownReamTeamposters.

Tocreateaposter,duplicateonwhiteconstructionpaperacopyoftheEarthManpattern(page9)foreachstudent.HaveeachstudentcolorandcutouthisEarthManpattern,beforemountingitontheunprintedsideofacerealboxpanel.Havehimaddapaper-recyclingsloganorreminder,thendisplayhisposterinaprominentplace.AmessagefromEarthManwillhelpeveryoneremembertothinktwicebeforethrowingawaypaper.

Toy-Consumer SavvyStudentsareoftenenticedto

purchasetoysbecauseofattractivepackagingandadvertising.Havestudentsbrainstormalistoftoystheyrecentlyreceivedasgifts,boughtwiththeirallowances,orareconsideringbuying.Discussthetoysandtheirpackaging.Isthetoypackagedinunnecessarymaterials?Whathappenstothepackagingmaterialsafterthetoyisopened?Isthetoydurable?Isitspackagemisleading?Afterthediscussion,brainstormalistofthingssmartjuniorconsumersshouldconsiderbeforebuyingtoys.

Toencouragestudentstorecycletheirtoys,holdatoytrade.Haveeachchildbringinatoyhenolongerwantsoruses.Displaythetoysonatable.Placeeachchild'snameinacontainer;thenrandomlydrawoutthenames.Whenhisnameis

drawn,alloweachchildtoselecta"new"toyfromthetable.

Trash BustersTohelpreducetheamountoftrash

yourclasscreatesintheschoolcafeteria,sponsorclass"trash-buster"days.Onthesedays,havestudentsdrinkmilkwithoutusingstrawsanduseclothnapkinsinstead

ofpaperones.Tocreateasetofclothnapkins,havestudentsfringe

12"squaresoflightlycolored,cottonfabric.Ifdesired,usefabriccrayonstodecoratethenapkinswithrecyclingmessagesandillustrations.Foreachstudentwhowishestowriteames-sageonhisnapkin,havethestudentwritehismessageonaseparatesheetofpaper.Tracethewordsonthe back sideofthepaperwithfabriccrayon,andironthisinvertedletteringontothenapkin.Aftereachuse,haveaparentvolunteerwashthenapkinsandreturnthemtoschool.Otherclassesmayfollowyourlead,and,withalittlehelpfromthecafeteriamanager,youmayevenbeabletosponsorschoolwide,trash-busterdays!

Friends Of The EarthCaringfortheEarthisanongoing

project.Priortothefirstdayofeachmonth,duplicateacopyoftheFriendOfTheEarthCalendaronpage8.Fillintheupcomingmonthanddatesbeforeduplicatingacopyforeachstudent.Haveeachstudenttakehiscalendarhomeandfillitinusingthecode.Attheendofeachmonth,havestudentsreturntheircalendarsanddiscussthethingstheydidtohelpsavetheEarth.Torecognizeeachstudent'scontributions,duplicateandfilloutacopyoftheFriendOfTheEarthawardonpage9foreachstudent.

Useonlyonepapertowel.

Usebothsidesof yourpaper!

Don't forget!

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