Exploring Recycling: Students Grades K-6

8/9/2019 Exploring Recycling: Students Grades K-6

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Closing The Loop Sam plerFive lessons from the curriculum on Exploring Integrated

Waste Management and Resource Conservation


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The California Integrated Waste Managemen t Board an d the California Depar tment of Edu ca-tion are offering a sam ple of our highly acclaimed integrated w aste managem ent curriculumcalled Closing the Loop: Exploring Integrated Waste Management and Resource Conservation . This isa K6 grade curriculum that w as chosen by California environmen tal educators who evaluateda w ide collection of integrated waste m anagem ent m aterials using California edu cation stan-dards and frameworks.

The Board s first ed ition ofClosing the Loop was originally pu blished by an env ironmentaledu cation organization in Ohio. CIWMB obtained permission to customize Closing the Loop as aK12 curr iculum for California. Most recently, the 2000 edition has been rew ritten into tw omod ules that target K3 and 46 grad e levels. It was again field-tested by Californ ia schoolsand revisions were mad e before it was finalized and printed .

This free sample includes five of the lessons that you will find in the complete curriculum .These lessons, like all others in Closing the Loop, are hand s-on and interdisciplinary and p rovideinstruction on a broad sp ectrum of integrated w aste managem ent concepts. This samplerincludes...

From Mod ule K3:What are N atura l Resources?

Making Recycled Paper by Hand

The Basics of Vermicomposting

And From Modu le 46:

Away to the Landfill

PackagingWhat a Waste!

Give these lessons a try. If you are interested in receiving a full Closing the Loop curriculum toincorporate into your classroom teaching strategies, contact the Integrated Waste Managem ent

Board to schedu le a workshop. Workshops are provided free of charge and all participan ts aregiven a complimentary copy of the complete curriculum. These workshops are interactive andengage teachers in hand s-on activities. Workshops can be coordinated th rough teacher in-services, district training programs, or education association conferences.

Dear Edu cators and Local Government Representatives

Were waiting to h ear from you !Here is our contact information

California Integrated Waste Management Board

Office of Integrated Environmen tal Edu cation, MS14A

P.O. Box 4025

Sacramento, CA 95812-4025

(916) 341-6769

ww w.ciwm b.ca.gov/ Schools/

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian need s to take imm ediate action toreduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can r educe demand and cut you r energycosts, see our Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov.

2001 by the California Integrated Waste Mana gemen t Board . All rights reserved . This publication, or parts thereof, may not be

reproduced without permission.


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Office of Integrated Environmental Education


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Table of Contents

Introduction to Closing the Loop i

Introduction to K3 Module 1

Unit 1/ Lesson 1: What are Natural Resources? 3

This is a broad overview of natu ral resources and identification of man mad e items made

from these resources. It utilizes journ als so it can meet multiple grad e levels. It prov ides

a good found ation for the students other studies into integrated w aste management

issues and concepts.

Unit 2/ Lesson 4: Making Recycled Paper by Hand 11This is a lesson on the concept of closing the loop by using w aste pap er to make

recycled-content p aper, thereby conserving natur al resources. This is a pop ular activity

and can be done by all grad e levels, not just K3.

Unit 3/ Lesson 1: The Basics of Vermicomposting 23

This lesson teaches stud ents how to u se worms and lun ch scraps to make rich compost.

This activity is gaining pop ularity in classrooms an d even for school-wide imp lementation.

It can d efinitely be taught to grad es K6.

Introduction to 46 Module 37

Unit 1/ Lesson 2: Away to the Landfill 39

This lesson includ es the experiment landfill in a bottle. This lesson has man y stron g

lesson concepts regard ing landfills and gives stud ents an aw areness of wh ere their

garbage goes.

Unit 2/ Lesson 4: Packaging: What a Waste! 53

This lesson is more involved in that it ha s thr ee parts to it, but it is an excellent follow-up

to Away to the Land fill or used by itself. It has strong math exercises and will get the

kids thinking abou t excess packaging and sh opp ing choices.

Note: No app end ices are included in this Sampler. You may access the complete append ix via ou rWeb site at ww w.ciwm b.ca.gov/ Schools/ Curriculum/ CTL/ default.htm. For an overview of theapp end ix, turn to the last page.

Appendix Table of Contents


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K3 Modu le, Unit 1:

Conserving Natu ral Resources

Lesson 1:

What Are Na tural Resources?i


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K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


Lesson 1:

What Are Na tural Resources?i

Introduction to Closing the Loop:

Exploring Integrat ed Wast e Management

and Resource Conservat ion

Kindergart en Through Grade Six

A Conceptual Approach with Project-Based Learning

The Closing the Loop (CTL) curr iculum is de-signed to introduce students to integrated waste

management through aw areness, und erstand-

ing, and action, and to encourage students to

add ress todays solid waste problems. Thelessons focus on becoming awar e of natu ral

resources and und erstand ing alternatives to

burying waste throu gh redu cing, reusing, and

recycling, therby conserving natu ral resources

and extending th e life of landfills.

By using CTL, teachers will be following r ecom-

mend ations from Californias newly adopted

content standard s and curricular frameworks ina conceptual, interdisciplinary, and hands-on

man ner. Through specific projects, stud ents

apply w hat they have learned in the classroom

and learn to follow certain practices in inte-

grated waste management. Some pr oject-based

lessons are serv ice-learning or iented, and in

these lessons students participate in improving

the environment in their school and commu nity

and have opp ortunities to educate others about

what they have learned.

In spring 1996, the staff at the California Inte-

grated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)

Public Education Assistance Section d ecided to

revise and update the existing Closing the Loop

curriculum. The copyright for Closing the Loop

was acquired by the CIWMB. The project

director for the 2000 edition ofClosing the Loop

was Tricia Brodd rick, and the p roject manager

was Cara Morgan. Olga Clymire, an environ-

mental education curriculum writer with the

Lake County Office of education, was hired to

make the revisions. Leslie Comnes, Edu cation

Writing Consultant, and Am ber Robinson-

Burm ester, Integrated Waste Managem entSpecialist, up da ted the App end ix. In 1998

Amber Robinson-Burm ester took over the du ties

as p roject manager.

The main goals for those pr eparing the 2000

edition ofClosing the Loop were to revise the

original CTL lessons to make them more ap pli-

cable to Californias content standard s andcurricular frameworks; provide additional

lessons in integrated waste man agement,especially for teachers of kinder garten th rough

grad e three; develop concepts (main ideas) for

each lesson; select children s literatur e andreference books and videos to supp ort the CTL

lessons; and includ e suggestions for p roject-

based learning. These goals were determ ined by

a group of educators, which included teachers

and representatives from the California Inte-

grated Waste Management Board and the

California Departm ent of Education. This grou p

also recommended separating the old Closing the

Loop lessons into tw o mod ules: one for teachersof kind ergarten throu gh grad e three and one for

those teaching grades four through six.

Later, it was recommend ed that the following

elements of an effective environmen tal edu ca-

tion p rogram be incorporated in the CTL units:

Using them atic instru ction

Providing op portu nities toeach lessons in builtand natural settings

Involving stud ents in lifelong learningabou t local and global issues

Engaging in ecologically respon sibleaction projects

Challenging stud ents to u se higherorder th inking pr ocesses in the context

of comm un ity issues

Using hand s-on and m inds-on activities inclassroom an d field investigations

Forty-nine teachers throu ghou t California

fieldtested the lessons in the revised version of

Closing the Loop. The goals of this field test were

to:

Verify tha t the revised Closing theLoop lessons pr ovide an en joyable and

successful learning experience for

students.

Make the lessons more app licable to thecontent and p edagogy recommend ed in the

content standard s and frameworks adopted by

the California State Board of Education.


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Identify changes and corrections thatneed to be mad e to make the curriculum

effective for classroom use.

Teachers wh o field-tested the n ew Closing the

Loop said that the lessons were easy to imp le-

ment and that their students thorough ly enjoyed

participating in the hands-on activities. They

especially liked the p roject-based lessons and thejourn al writing. Although som e lessons require

a fair amou nt of prep aration, most materials can

be reused in future lessons, making the prepara-

tion time for those lessons shorter. Recomm en-

dations by field testers and examples of stu-

dents work from th e field testers were incorpo-rated in the revised lessons. In add ition, Bill

And rew, Director of the Office of Environm ental

Education in the California Depar tment of

Education (CDE), and Gary Smith, coordinator

of several CDE environmen tal education

projects, who w as on leave from the Anah eim

Joint Unified School District, reviewed these

lessons. Also, over a dozen p rofessionals in the

integrated waste management field checked the

Background Information for the Teacher andthe Appendixes for technical accur acy.

Natash a Stillman for San Franciscos Solid WasteManagement Program has reviewed the u nits

and developed a solid waste jurisdiction-

oriented information packet. This packet

includ es local information about the closest

land fills; locations of recycling centers; available

speakers; field trip opp ortun ities; and classes,

books, and videos ava ilable to teachers living in

the San Francisco area. It is recomm ended tha t

teachers contact staff from their local solid waste

management agencies and encourage them to

develop p ackets of information concerning

integrated w aste management in their commun i-

ties. A template in Append ix G has been

designed to help gu ide the teacher to acquire

information about local integrated waste manage-

ment coordinators, facilities, and practices. For a

copy of San Franciscos Solid Waste Managem entProgram information packet, contact Natasha

Stillman, School Education Coordinator, at (415)

554-3422; or th e California Integrated Waste

Management Board s Office of Integrated Environ-mental Education at (916) 341-6769.

The staff at the California Integrated Waste

Management Board s Office of Integrated Environ-menta l Edu cation is planning to p rovide staff

development opp ortun ities for teachers. For

information, call (916) 341-6769.

It would be beneficial to those who u se thiscurriculum if the staff at the California Integrated

Waste Managemen t Board w ere kept informed of

teachers experiences with the lessons. Anydescriptions and photographs of projects that

students complete and that are sent to CIWMBs

Office of Integrated Environmental Edu cation

wou ld be consider ed for the next edition ofClosing

the Loop.

The add ress is:

P.O. Box 4025

Sacramento, CA 95812-4025

(916) 341-6769

ii


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K 3 M o d u l e


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K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


Lesson 1:

What Are Na tural Resources?1

Introduction to the K-3 Module of

Closing the Loop:

Exploring Integrated Wast e Management

and Resource Conservation

The lessons in Closing the Loop: Exploring In te-

grated W aste Management and Resource Conserva-tion encourage stud ents to be positive role

models by examining their waste management

habits and by voluntarily participating in

projects that improve their school and comm u-

nity. The lessons in Closing the Loop (CTL) create

a laboratory of learning. Students learn concepts

and explore issues concerning na tural resources

and integrated w aste management and ap ply

the concepts tohe world outside their school.

This unit was rated number one by a commit-tee of teachers who evaluated nearly 100 cur-

ricular and activity gu ides for the 1999 edition of

Environmental Education Compendium for Inte-

grated Waste Management and Used Oil.

The K-3 Mod ule of the 2000 edition ofClosing the

Loop is comp osed of five units. A tab on the

right-hand side of each right-facing p age identi-

fies the mod ule and unit num ber. Each of the

first four u nits contains five lessons, and Unit 5

is made u p of three lessons. The titles of the

un its are:

Unit 1: Conserving N atur al Resour ces

Unit 2: Redu cing, Reusing, andRecycling Classroom Waste

Unit 3: Vermicomposting

Unit 4: Proper Disposal of Waste

Unit 5: Proper Managemen t of Hou seholdHazard ous Waste

The overview of each un it contains the following

components:

The units concept(s)

Each lessons title, concep t(s), and

overview A book or a list of books required to imple-

ment each un it (and sometimes add itional

books recommend ed for the un it)

Projects that stud ents can do and examples ofclasses participating in specific projects

By using CTL, teachers will be following

recommend ations from Californias newly

adopted content standard s and from curricular

framewor ks in a conceptu al, interd isciplinary,

and h and s-on man ner. If a teacher wishes to

replace an activity described in CTL withanother activity from another curricular guide,

this can be d one easily. How ever, it is importan t

that the m ain concept of each lesson be pr e-

served, or th e lesson will no longer fulfill the

intent of its original d esign.

The California State Board of Educationscontent stand ards from the following documents

were used in the CTL lessons:

Science Content Standards, Grades K-12,

Pre-pu blication Version, August 26, 1999

English-Language Arts Content Standards forCalifornia Public Schools, Kindergarten

Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Califor-

nia Depa rtmen t of Education, 1998

Mathematics Content Standards for CaliforniaPublic Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade

Twelve. Sacramento: California Departm ent of

Education, 1999

Note that only a pr epu blication version of the

Science Content Standar ds w as available at the

time that this curriculum was written. How ever,

all cited science content standard s have been

adop ted by the California State Board of Edu ca-

tion.

The following state frameworks a re also cited in

the CTL lessons:

Science Framework for California Public Schools,Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, 1990

History-Social Science Framework for CaliforniaPublic Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade

Twelve, 1988

The Visual and Performing A rts Framework forCalifornia Public Schools, Kindergarten Through

Grade Twelve, 1996

It is recomm end ed that Un it 1 on natu ral re-

sources be taugh t first, so studen ts can get

background information on natural r esources

and w hy they are imp ortant and so that stud ents

can und erstand the connection between inte-

grated waste man agement and the conservation

of natural resources. This unit sets the stage for

und erstanding why redu cing, reusing, and

recycling are so importan t.


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CLOSING THE LOOP

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


Ideally, the five un its in the K-3 Modu le should

be taught in the order presented. Within the

un its, the lessons shou ld also be taught in the

order presented. However, it is und erstood that

some teachers p refer to select lessons to incorpo-

rate in their curriculum; therefore, an attempt

was mad e to make each lesson stand on its own

(althou gh sometimes connections to other

lessons are su ggested).

Each lesson prov ides step-by-step instructions

on how to implemen t the activities in the lesson.

More experienced teachers may choose not to

follow th is lengthier explanation of the activities.

Instead, they can use the overview of each un it

as an ou tline of what they will have their

stud ents do in each lesson. They might wish to

develop their own activities with the lessonsconcepts in mind . As needed , they can review

the instructions specified in the lessons and u se

parts of these instructions when developing

their own instr uctional strategies.

In the K-3 Modu le, it has been suggested that

certain activities be condu cted with childr en in

kindergarten and first grade, while other

activities will be mor e app ropriate for older

students in grades two and three. The teacher

can best jud ge wh ich activities will provide th e

most m eaningful experiences for his or her

students.

Whenever possible, the authors recommended

that reused materials be used in the lessons. It is

also imp ortant for teachers to mod el reducing,reusing, and recycling classroom m aterials,

including buying products made from recycled

materials. In most lessons, wh en teachers

develop a list with their students, they have the

option of writing the list on a chalkboar d or on

butcher paper. How ever, if a list needs to be

kept and used again in future lessons, the

butcher paper provides a more permanent

alternative and eliminates the p ossibility that the

contents will be erased. It is recommen ded th at

both sides of the butcher pap er be used for

writing, and th en the pap er can be used in art

projects, comp osted (or vermicomposted), or

recycled.

It is highly recomm end ed that the teacher

encourage stud ents to participate in a variety of

projects. A project is a task or p roblem that

usually groups of stud ents work on to sup ple-

ment and ap ply what they have learned in the

classroom. Allow stud ents to plan and d esign

their projects.

In this curriculum stud ents have op portun ities

to engage in m any d ifferent types of projects.

Some projects are relatively simple, such as

making n ote cards out of recycled p aper to give

as gifts or decorating card board boxes for

gathering items tha t can be reused in the class-

room and for those that can be recycled. Other

projects are mu ch more involved, such as

maintaining a vermicomposting bin in the

classroom or p resenting a p lay to other classes

about the importan ce of natu ral resources. And

still others will take large amoun ts of time an d

ded ication, such as planting seed lings, shr ubs,

and wildflowers on the school campu s or in a

nearby p ark or participating in a coastal cleanup

of litter.

Examp les of projects and classes participating in

some of the p rojects are listed in th e Overviewfor each un it. For more information on pr oject-

based learning , see Tips for Implemen tingProjects. Also, the Autod esk Foun da tionprovides information for edu cators inter ested in

project-based learning. The Founda tionswebsite is http:/ / www.autodesk.com/ founda-

tion.

Make pu blic what your class is doing w hen

implementing Closing the Loop and pu blicize

some of its recommend ed pr ojects. Have

students d esign presentation p anels, submit

photograph s and news articles to local newspa-

pers, tape conversations w ith students abou t

their projects, videotape br ainstorming sessions,

and show students work d uring the schools

open house.

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Lesso n 1: What Are N atural Resources?

Lesso n s Co n cept

Natural resources are things that come from natu re, such as p lants, animals, soil,

minerals, energy sou rces (e.g., sun light, fossil fuels), air, and wa ter. These natu ral

resources are used to meet the needs of all living th ings, includ ing peop le.

PURPOSE

Students will learn about natural resources and

the products people make from these resources.

Stud ents also prep are for the u nit by making

journals.

OVERVIEW

In this lesson studen ts will:

Make journals.

Observe mod els of categories of natura lresources.

Identify natura l resources on the schoolground s, record them on a chart, and describe

them in th eir jour nals.

Determine natural resources used to m ake

various items on the school groun ds and in the

classroom.

Compare items mad e from d ifferent naturalresources.

CORRELATION S TO ca l if o r n ia s

CON TEN T STAN DARDS AN D

FRAM EWO RKS

Students work together to identify thenatu ral resources used to m ake objects outside

and inside the classroom.

- Properties of materials can be

observed, measured, and predicted. As a basis

for u nderstand ing this concept, stud ents know:

objects can be described in term s of the materi-

als they are made of and their physical proper-

ties.(Science Content Standards, Grades K12;Kind ergarten; Physical Science, Stand ard 1a)

- Hu mans use air,fresh w ater, soil, minerals, fossil fuels, and

other sour ces of energy that comes from the

Earth. (Science Framework, page 97)

- Students collect informationabout objects and events in their environ-

ment. (TheCalifornia M athematics AcademicContent Standards for Grades K12; Kindergar -

ten; Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability,

Standard 1)

- To p articipate effectively insociety, studen ts need to: Develop person al

skills. . . grou p in teraction skills (and). . .

social and political p articipation skills.(HistorySocial Science Framework, page 24)

Studen ts describe in their journals somenatural resources outside and inside of the

classroom and determine the natural re-

sources used to make certain p rodu cts.

(Using the Grad e 1 writing strategiesoutlined in the p revious standard , stud ents

write br ief descriptions of a r eal object,

person , place, or event u sing sensory

details.California Language Arts: Reading,Writing, Listening, and Speaking Content

Standards for Grades K12; Grade 1; Writing

App lications, Stand ard 2.2)

SCIEN TIFIC TH IN KIN GPROCESSES:

observing, communicating, comparing,

classifying

TIM E:

4560 minu tes to pr epare for the lesson; 60minu tes to implemen t the lesson

VOCABULARY:

crude oil, fossil fuels, icon, minerals, natural

resources, organisms

Unit1

3

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


K3 Modu le, Unit 1:

What Are Na tural Resources?


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CLOSING THE LOOP

Pr epa r a t i o n

1. Read the Backgroun d Informa tion for

the Teacher at the end of this lesson.

2. Obtain u sed pap er (blank on one side)for studen ts to use for journ als.(Sources of used pap er includ e printers,real esta te offices, schools office orclassrooms, and p arents.)

3. Start collecting clean classroom tr ashto u se for Lesson 3 (noth ing toxic orpoten tially dan gerous; no food that canget spoiled). Keep it in a box or bag.

Make sure to notify the custodian ofyour p lan. Try to includ e paper towels,candy wrappers, short pencils, smallpieces of chalk, bent p aper clips, pap erused on one side and used on bothsides, alum inum can or tray, plasticcontainer, milk carton, polystyrenemeat tray, dried-up markers and gluesticks, nuts w ith har d sh ells, and freshorange peels.

4. Make a copy of the Natural ResourcesChart for each pair of stud ents.(page L18-x)

M a t e r i a l s

Items that can represent d ifferent categoriesof natural resources:

Potted p lant (to represent trees andother plants)

Stuffed animal (to represent animals)Bag of soil (to represent soil)

Rock (to represent minerals)

Molasses or chocolate syru p (torepresent cru de oil, a fossil fuel

wh ich is an energy sou rce)

Empty jar and a jar full of water (to

represent air and water)

A pocket folder for each stud ent (If youplan to have stud ents make their

own journ als, see One Way to Make

Your O wn Journ al in this lesson.)A copy of the Natural Resources Chartfor each p air of stud ents

Clipboar d (Heavy card board cut to 9" x 12" canbe used as a clipboard , and a large paper clip

can keep the paper on the cardboard.)

A file folder for each studen t for the Assessmen t Portfolio (If possible, use reu sed on es orthose made from recycled materials.)

Optiona l: a file box to keep the AssessmentPortfolios

PRE-ACTIVITY QUESTION S

A. Tell stud ents that th ey will each m ake a

journ al. In the journal they w ill write and

draw information about what they are study

ing. Stud ents should know that people write

and draw in journals to record observations,

thoughts, ideas, and information about certain

topics.

B. Provide a pocket folder and ten sheets of paperto each stud ent. (If you d o not have access to

pocket folders, stud ents can make their own

folders by following the d irections on OneWay to Make Your Own Journ al.) To modelconserving paper, distribute p aper that was

used on one side.

C. Ask students to d raw or describe in their

journals something that comes from nature.

D. Ask stud ents to share the entries from their

journ als as you w rite their respon ses on the

chalkboard.E. Ask stud ents what they know about the word

natural and the word resources. Encourage

them to create a class definition ofnatural

resources.

PROCEDURE

A. Show the following items, each rep resenting a

category of natu ral resources: potted plant,

stuffed anim al, soil, rock, and molasses (to

represent crud e oil, an energy source).

Tell stud ents that th ings that come fromnatu re are called natural resources. Natural

resources are things that all living things

need in ord er to live.

Help studen ts iden tify each category ofnatu ral resources as you list them on th e

chalkboard: p lants, animals, soil, minerals

(rocks), energy sources (sunlight; fossil fuels,

such as crud e oil).

Ask stud ents what else they cant live withou t.Lead th em to say water and air.

B. Ask students to draw an icon for each of the

seven categories of natural r esources. (Note:

Help them w rite a definition for icon and

includ e it in their journals.) This can be d one in

groups of seven, with each student draw ing

one icon and w riting the category that the icon

represents. (See the examp le below for ideas

for icons.)

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K3 Modu le, Unit 1:



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C. Provide a copy of the Natural ResourcesChart for each pair of stud ents. Note thatstud ents w ill focus on five categories of

natu ral resources, because these are the ones

most often used by people to make things

(in ad dition to air and w ater, wh ich we

usually use in the manufacturing process of

prod ucts): plants, an imals, soil, minerals,

and crude oil (from fossil fuels in th e

category of energy sou rces).

Describe how to complete the chart.

Stud ents should write or draw w hat theysee that comes from the natu ral resources

listed on their charts.

In preparation for a trip outside theclassroom, ask each pa ir of stud ents to

bring a Natural Resources Chart, pencil,and a clipboard . (A clipboard can be m ade

out of stiff cardboard .)

Lead students outside.

Note: The answers in italics are possible stu-

dents answ ers and might n ot reflect a correct

answer. Help stud ents identify things that are p art

of nature. Trees, rocks, soil.

Ask them w hat natu ral resources they see(or feel, in th e case of air). Plants, animals

(people), minerals, crude oil (asphalt), air

Ask students what they see that peoplehave made from n atur al resources. For

example, What do you see that is madefrom a plant?A wooden bench is made fromwood from a plant . What do you see that ismad e from minerals, such as rocks and

steel?The building, the road, the polessupporting the swing.

Select one item on the school ground s andhelp students complete their charts.

Lead stud ents on a walk on the schoolgroun ds to look for natu ral resources and

help them to comp lete their charts.

D. Back in the classroom, ask stud ents to w rite

or dr aw the following in their journ als:

1. I saw

2. is part of nature.

3. One thing that I saw that was mad e by

peop le is

4. The natur al resource or resources from

which this thing w as made is

E. Ask stud ents to share their journ al entries.Then discuss some ways that natural

resources are used by p eople.

DI SCUSSI ON / QU ESTION S

A. Have students locate in the classroom

objects made from natu ral resources. Ask

students from w hich category of natural

resources this object was made.

B. Ask stud ents to review their original class

definition of natu ral resources and ask

whether they w ish to change any of the

word s to make the meaning more clear and

accurate.

C. Discuss with students:

Which items that were seen indoors andoutd oors were different but came from the

same natural resource?Buildings and the

sidewalk; desks and bench

Which items that were seen indoors andoutd oors were similar but came from

different na tural resources? Wooden bench

and plastic bench

Note: In Lesson 2, studen ts will learn m ore

about ways p eople use natural resources.

Appl i ca t i o n

A. As a class, make a d raw ing (mur al) linking

an item in the classroom to the natu ral

resource that was used to m ake this item;

e.g., wood en chairplant.

B. Ask students to draw or write in their

journals what they learned about n aturalresources.

C. Ask stud ents to share their journ al entries.

Homew ork Assignment: Ask students to

select an item at home and to be prepared to

tell the class the following day wh at the item

is and wh at natu ral resource or resources it

came from.

D. Ask students to share their homework

assignment.

Unit1

5

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


K3 Modu le, Unit 1:

What Are Na tural Resources?


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CLOSING THE LOOP

Submitted by Beth ONeal, kindergarten and first-grade

teacher, Marguerite H ahn Elementary School, Cotati

Rohnert Park Unified School District.

Submitted by Debby Carter, kindergarten and first-grade

teacher, Coyote Valley Elementary School, Midd letown

Unified School District.

E. In add ition to journals, it is recomm ended

that students make an Assessment Portfo-lio to keep samp les of their work from eachlesson or unit. This will pr ovide an au thentic

assessment of performance-based

student work.

1. Introdu ce the idea of a p ortfolio. Explain

that a p ortfolio contains information th atillustrates a students work. Discuss the

following reason s for a stud ent to select

items to be placed in a p ortfolio:

It is the students best work du ring thelesson or u nit.

It represents something that the stud entlearned.

It represents something that was challenging to the stud ent.

It is something that took a long time and

effort to complete.

It was something the stud ent greatlyimproved up on. (The student could

submit before an d after examplesof work.)

2. Provide a file folder to each studen t.

Ask each studen t to write his or hernam e on the tab of the file folder. (You

might need to help the younger students

with th is task.)

Ask students to select products

(drawings or writings) from their journals.

Have stud ents answer the followingquestions verbally about the work they

selected (could be sha red w ith the class

if the stud ents agree to do so):

- Why did you choose this piece to

includ e in your p ortfolio?

- Why is this your best work (draw ing,

writing, project)?

- What did you learn from this work?

- If you ever did this pr oject (or other

work) again, what would you d o

differently?

Note: It is recommended that a file box be

provided to keep the stud entsAssessmentPortfolios.

Note: Stud ents can select examples of work from

their journ als and from any p rojects that they

completed at the end of each lesson. Or, instead

of selecting a p roduct from each lesson, stud ents

can select one or tw o from the en tire unit, once

the un it has been completed.

Ex t en si o n

Make a class list of things in the room according

to the natu ral resources from which they wer e

mad e. Graph th ings in the room by categories of

natu ral resources. Discuss:

What is the most common natural

resource used in the classroom?

Why is it the most common natu ralresource used?

6

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:



17/83

Students Page

Natural Resources Chart

Nam e s: Date :

Natural re sou rce Obje c t m ade by pe ople

Plants

Animals

Soi l

Minerals

Energy sources

(fossi l fuels ,

l ike crude o i l )

Unit1

7

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


K3 Modu le, Unit 1:

What Are N atural Resources?


18/83

CLOSING THE LOOP

On e Wa y t o M a k e Yo u r Ow n Jo u r n a l

Su ppl ies N eed ed

___ 12" X 18" tagboard or construction paper (two

sheets for each studen t)

___ Stapler

___ Three-hole paper pun ch and bra ss fasteners

(three for each stu den t). If these are not

available, the pages can be stapled.

___ Lined and u nlined p aper (15 sheets per

stud ent: 5 lined and 10 un lined )To mod el

reusing, use pap er that has been used on

one side.

Di r ect i o n s

1. Distribute two sheets of 12" X 18" tagboard or

construction p aper to each stud ent.

2. Have stud ents make their journals by d oing

the following (see illustrations below):

Fold on e sheet of tagboard or constructionpaper in half lengthwise.

Slide one sheet of paper into th e foldedsheet.

With th e folder open , staple the left sideand the right side of the folded sheet onto

the un folded sheet, as close to the edge as

possible. The folded sheet will make

pockets on the inside and ou tside of the

front cover.

Fold the entire journal cover in half so it

closes like a book.

3. A. If you have brass brads, pun ch three

holes in the left mar gin with a three-hole

punch. (See Folder A.) Place the brass

fasteners through the back of the folder

and throu gh the lined and un lined pages

but not throu gh the front cover. This will

make the front cover easier to open.

B. If you d o not have brass brad s, staple

the journal pages to the journal cover.

(See Folder B.)

8

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:



19/83

Ba ck gr o u n d In f o r m a t io nFo r Th e Tea ch er

Natu ral resources are things that come from

nature (the natural environment) and are the

living and nonliving components that supp ort

life on Earth. They can be classified into sevencategories: plants, animals, soil, minerals,

energy sou rces (e.g., sunlight, fossil fuels), air,

and w ater.

All prod ucts that we use everyd ay come from

Earths natural resources, which provide theraw m aterial for the p rodu cts that p eople

make. For example, iron ore is the raw material

in the n atura l resources category, mineral, and

peop le use iron ore to m ake steel. Steel is used

to make cars, app liances, and man y other

prod ucts. Trees are natu ral resources classified

as plants, and p eople use trees for lumber tobuild hou ses and other structures; they also use

a trees pulp to make paper.

This un it introd uces studen ts to different

categories of natu ral resources and ways some

natural resources are used by p eople to make a

variety of produ cts (which often end up in a

landfill). Since natu ral resou rces are requ ired

by all living things, human s are also totally

dependent on natural resources, such as air,

water, plants, and an imals, for their sur vival.

In this un it, natu ral resources are classified into

seven categories, which ar e briefly d escribedbelow. The category of energy sources can be

further subd ivided into su nlight, fossil fuels,

and other energy sour ces (e.g., wind , hyd ro-

power). Ways that people d epend on these

categories of natural resou rces are furth er

described in Lesson 2.

PLANTSPlants are living th ings that canprod uce their own food. Trees, shru bs, grasses,

seaweed , and some microscopic algae are

examples of plants. Green plants prod uce

oxygen. They also prod uce food for animals

that eat plants.

ANIMALSMost animals can be defined asliving things that rely on other organ isms for

food. Animals have a nervous system and can

usu ally move on their own. Examples of types

of animals are: mam mals (includes hu man s),

birds, reptiles, amp hibians, fish, and inverte-

brates, such as insects, spiders, and worm s.

Some microscopic living things are also classi-

fied as anima ls.

SOILSoil is a mixture of minerals fromweathered rock and decaying plant and animal

matter. It also consists of microscop ic living

things, such as bacteria and fungi. Most plantsthat live on land need soil in w hich to grow,

and soil provides water and nutrients to plants.

Many an imals live on or in soil.

MINERALSMinerals are natur ally occurringsubstances that originally came from rock, such

as phosphorou s, bauxite, iron, salt, gold, silver,

copp er, and potassium . Many minerals are

essential for the healthy grow th of plants and

animals, and plants absorb minerals that are

dissolved in wa ter. Animals mu st obtain

needed minerals by eating plants or by eating

other animals that have eaten p lantsAIRAnimals need oxygen in air to breathe,and plants use carbon dioxide in air in the

process of photosyn thesis. The gases ar e

recycled th rough plants and animals.

WATERPlants use water when m anufactur -ing their food, and anima ls dr ink or absorb

water to m aintain bod ily functions. Some

animals live in w ater, and some use it as a place

from wh ich to get food, to seek protection, or to

cool off. Fresh water on land is replenished by

the w ater cycle and is essential to all living

things.

En er g y So u r ces SunlightThe energy derived from sun lightis used by green plants for photosyn thesis.

Sun light also pow ers the water cycle by evapo-

rating w ater from land and surface water. Note

that sunlight is not add ressed in this unit,because the lessons focus on the connections

among natural resources, manufactured items,

and solid waste.

Fossil FuelsFossil fuels includ e crud e oil,coal, and natu ral gas. The fossil fuels w e areusing now originated from partially decayed

plants and an imals that lived millions of years

ago. In th is unit students ar e introduced to

crud e oil. The crud e oil that w e are presently

using came from marine p lankton tha t lived

millions of years ago. These marine plants d ied,

and through time and tremendous pressure

and heat created by layers of rock that trapp ed

the plants, crude oil was formed .

Unit1

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K3 Modu le, Unit 1:


K3 Modu le, Unit 1:

What Are N atural Resources?


20/83

CLOSING THE LOOP

Other Energy SourcesOther energy sourcesinclude wind, h ydrop ower, geothermal, and

tidal energy. These are not ad dr essed in

Closing the Loop.

NOTES

At the Solar Com mu nity Hou sing Association, Homestead CO-OP, children look for

examples of natural resources and objects that people mad e from natur al resources.

Note: For information an d activities on renew -

able and non renew able natural resources, see 46 Modu le, Unit 1, Lesson 4.

10

K3 Modu le, Unit 1:



21/83

K3 Modu le, Unit 2: Redu cing, Reusing,

and Recycling Classroom Waste

Lesson 4:

Making Recycled Paper by Han d11

Lesso n 4: Making RecycledPaper by Hand

Lesso n s Co n cept s

Waste paper can be made into recycled p aper in order to conserve trees and space inlandfills.

Buying prod ucts made from recycled materials continues a cycle that conservesnatural resources.

PURPOSEStud ents will learn how to m ake recycledpap er. Stud ents will also identify how bu yingrecycled p rodu cts closes the loop.

OVERVIEWIn this lesson studen ts will:

Listen to descript ions an d conclude tha t

most paper is made from trees.

Observe var ious t ypes of paper with a

magn ifying lens.

Use var ious st eps involved in r ecycling

wastepa per by mak ing their own r ecycled

paper in t he classr oom.

Make plant ers out of recycled paper an d

plant seeds or seedlings.

Look for the symbol on pr oducts th at

indicat es th e product is made from

recycled ma ter ial.

Discuss h ow closing th e loop benefits

th e environmen t an d people.

CORRELATI ON S TO CALIFORN I AS

CON TEN T STAN DARDS AN D

FRAM EWORKS AN D TO TH E

BEN CH M ARKS FOR SCI EN CE LI TERACY

Students compar e similarities and

differen ces in types of pap er, includingthose made from recycled fibers, after

th ey observe these with a ma gnifying

lens.

- Magn ifiers h elp people see th ings

th ey could n ot see without th em. (Bench-

m arks for S cience Literacy, page 111)

Students work in groups to make re-

cycled paper. They read directions.

- Many materials can be recycled

and u sed again, sometim es in

differen t form s. (Benchm arks for

S cience Li teracy, page 119)

- Several steps are usually involved

in ma king th ings. (Benchm arks for

S cience Li teracy, page 188)

- To participate effectively in society,

stu dents need to: Develop personal

skills . . . group intera ction skills

. . . (and) social a nd political

participation skills. (History

S ocial S cience Fram ework, page 24)

- Stu dents k now about letter s,

words, an d sounds, and t hey apply

th eir knowledge in readin g simple

sent ences. (California L anguage

Arts: Reading, Writing, Listening,

and S peaking Content Stan dards

for Grades K12 ; Kindergart en;

Readin g: Word Analysis, F luen cy,

and Systemat ic Vocabulary

Development , Standa rd 1.0)

- Stu dents creat e original ar tworks

based on personal experiences or

resp onses. (Visual an d Perform ing

Arts Fram ework; Visual Art:

Creat ive Expression Component,

Goal 4, page 101)

Students dr aw and wr ite descriptions of

how to ma ke r ecycled paper.

- Scientific progress is made by askingmeaningful questions and conducting carefulinvestigations. As a basis for und erstand ingthis concept . . . stud ents w ill: dr aw p ictur esthat correctly portray at least some featur es ofthe thing being described. (Science ContentStandards, Grades K12; Grad e 1; Investiga tionand Experimentation, Standard 4a)



Unit2


22/83

CLOSING THE LOOP

K3 Module, Unit 2: Reducing, Reusing,

and Recycling Classroom Waste12

- . . . write or d raw descriptions of asequence of steps, events, and observations.(Science Content Standards, Grades K12; Grade2; Investigation and Experimentation, Stan-dard 4d)

SCIEN TIFIC TH IN KIN GPROCESSES:observing, communicating, comparing,

ordering

TIM E:60 minu tes to prepare for the lesson and toprep are the pap er pu lp; 4560 minu tes perday for two d ays to implement the lesson,plus 30 minu tes three days later (or wheneverthe recycled paper in the p lanter is dry) to

plant seeds

VOCABULARY:closing the loop, conserve, pulp , pulpslurry, virgin pap er

Pr epa r a t i o nNote: It is recommend ed tha t only Part I-A,Making a Paper Planter be completed bystudents in kindergarten and grade one; and

both Part I-A, Making a Pap er Planter andPart I-B, Making Recycled Paper be comp letedwith students in grades two and three.

____1. Read the Background Information for

the Teacher at the end of this lesson.____2. The day before you p lan to do this

lesson, have each stud ent prepare to m ake

a pap er planter by tearing two full pages of

new spap er into one-half to one inch pieces.

Fill buckets or pans w ith one part n ewspa-

per p ieces and th ree parts w ater. Let the

mixture sit overnight. The new spaper

pieces will be soft and ready to be pu lped

the next morning.

Note: By soaking the m ixture overnigh t, ablender will not be needed for making th e pap er

planter. Then th e blender can be u sed solely forthe activity of making recycled pap er. Foryounger stud ents (in kindergarten and firstgrad e), a blender will not be necessary, and youwill not need to comp lete Preparation #2and 3.

____3. Either m ake one transp arency of, or

make a copy and consider laminating,

Steps to Make Recycled Pap er (page L4

14x). (If you a re using tw o blend ers, you

will need to make tw o copies of the

Steps.)

____4. Make a transparency of Closing the

Loop: The Meaning of Recycling Symbols

(page L416x).

____5. Obtain enough w indow screen to cut

several rectangles, approximately 8 inches

by 10 inches. Most hard ware stores will

donate p ieces of old screen. You can also

buy a roll and share with other teachers.

Cut th e wind ow screen into rectangles

app roximately 8 inches by 10 inches.

(Larger or sm aller sizes of screen can

also be used.) Place duct tape around

the cut screen to cover rough edges and

to make the ed ges stiffer. If you h ave

access to half-inch wood str ips to u se for

framing the screen, staple the screen

onto the wood.

M ATERIALS

For Pre-Activity Qu estions____The bookBe a Friend to Trees by Patricia

Lauber or a similar book that describes

the fact that trees are cut an d their wood

pulp is used to make paper

____Samp le of various p aper, some of

wh ich is m ade from recycled fibers (for

examp le: chipboard (cereal box), mad e

from recycled fibers; magazine (coated

with clay); newsprint (most newsp apers

will note their pap er has recycled

content); white office paper (if available,

obtain some mad e from recycled fibers);

construction pap er. Also if available,

provide an examp le of recycled p aper

made by stud ents.

____Magnifying lens (one for each p air of

students)

____If available, a microscop e

For Part I-A, Making a Paper Planter

____Small milk carton s (6-ounce size),

rinsed and top cut out; or yogurt con-

tainers, one for each student

____A few stacks of newsp apers

____Seeds to p lant in the pap er plan ter.

Some nurseries will donate seeds.

Consider p lanting n ative wildflowers or

radishes (that stud ents could eat).

____App roximately one cup of soil for each

paper planter

For Part I-B, Making Recycled Paper


23/83



Lesson 4:


____Severa l 8 inch by 10 inch p ieces of windowscreen

____Duct tap e or w ooden frames for eachscreen

____Scissors

____Two or more two-gallon p lastic dishp ans

____Two or m ore large slotted sp oons (d e-

pending on the number of dishpans)

____One or tw o blenders (to speed u p the

process, obtain a ratio of one blend er for

up to three plastic dishpans)

____A copy of Steps to Make Recycled

Paper for each blender

____Scraps of wh ite and colored p aper

____Several towels or sp onges (or ad d itional

newsp aper for removing excess water)

Note: If stud ents plan to wr ite on their recycled

pap er, consider add ing some liquid fabricstarch to keep the ink from sp reading.

Optional:

____An em broidery hoop , a wood en p icture

frame, large cookie cutters, and / or a

coffee can (with both en ds rem oved) to be

used as frames for a screen

____Leaves, flowers, potp our ri, and / or food

coloring (to add to the recycled pap er that

stud ents are making)

For Part II, Buying Recycled Products

____An example of the sym bol that ind icates

that a p rod uct is made from recycled

mater ial from a cereal box or other prod -

uct

____The transp arency, Closing th e Loop:

The Meaning of Recycling Symbols

found on p age 70

Optional:

____The v ideo, Kids Talking Trash

____A video on h ow p aper is made (see

Resources)

For Appli cation

____The bookWhere Does the Garbage Go? by

Paul Showers

PRE-ACTIVI TY QU ESTIO N SA. The day before making the p aper p lanter,

soak a mixture of newspaper and water

overn ight. (See Prep aration #1.) Discuss

wh at will happen to the newsp aper that is

Unit2

soaked overnight. The paper will break up; it

will turn white; it will turn mushy; its ink

will get in the water.

B. Read to stu den ts pages 510 and 3032 fromthe bookBe a Friend to Trees by Patricia

Lauber (could be substituted by anotherbook on the sam e topic). Discuss:

From what m aterial is most paper ma de?

Wood What category of nat ur al resources

is wood? Plants (Students learn ed this in

the K3 Module, Unit 1.)

What ar e some other ways tha t plants a re

important? T hey provid e food an d sh elter

to wildlife; people eat plants; people use

wood from t rees for lum ber to build houses

and furniture.

Who and wha t depends on trees and other

plant s to survive?people, w ildlif e

What can we do to conserve (use fewer or

avoid wasteful use of) trees? Use fewer

thin gs ma de from trees; reuse things m ade

from tr ees; recycle th in gs m ad e from trees.

C. Provide samp les of pieces of pap er mad efrom recycled fibers and from non-recycled

fibers (virgin materials). Distribut e magnifying lenses.

Have students examine t he various types

of paper wit h t heir m agnifying lenses to

identify similarities a nd differences.

If available, allow stu dents to view paper

fibers t hr ough a microscope.

D. Discuss with students: What do you see when you look a t t he

paper t hr ough a m agnifying glass?Bits of

stuf f; fibers

What differences did you see between

paper ma de with r ecycled fibers and n on-

recycled fibers ? You can see the recycled

pieces in th e recycled pa per.

How do you know if something is made

from recycled ma ter ials?It says so on t he

box. (This inform at ion is usu ally printed

on the box or cont ainer an d includes th eth ree-arr ow symbol. See example in Part

II.)

What insect m akes paper? Th e paper wasp

PROCEDUREA. For Part I-A, Making a Paper Planter and

Part I-B, Making Recycled Paper do thefollowing:

Separ at e the class into groups of thr ee or

four students.

Two groups will ma ke r ecycled pa per,


24/83

CLOSING THE LOOP



while all oth er groups will be making

paper planters.

If you have two blenders, you can have

four groups work on t he r ecycled paper

while the other groups work on th eir paper

planters.

Students who complete their planter can

cut an d/or t ear scrap pa per int o a con-

tainer while waiting their tur n to makethe recycled paper.

Part I-A, Making a Paper Planter

Note: The mixture for the pap er planter was tobe prepared th e day before.

B. Provide new spapers (to be spread in the

wor k area), a small milk carton (with th e

top cut) or yogu rt container for each grou p.

Note: For younger students you will need todemonstrate how to make a pap er planter.

1. Stir the pulp mixture (which has been

soaking overnight) in each bu cket or pa n

un til it looks like mu sh. (Soaking a nd

stirr ing breaks t he fibers down int o a form

th at can be bonded together a gain to form

recycled pa per.)

2. Have students:

Take a h an dful of the pulp mixtur e. (They

should squeeze as mu ch water out of th e

pulp a s possible back into th e bucket or

dishpan.)

Use dr y pieces of newspaper to rem ove the

excess water. (This step is very importan t,

or the paper plant er will ta ke too long to

dry.)

Use a sm all milk car ton or oth er cont ainer

an d mold the pulp inside the carton. The

pulp should be about one-fourth inch th ick.

Use a dditional pieces of newspaper to

rem ove the excess water inside the pa per

mold.

C.Allow the p lanters to dry completely

(about th ree days) inside th e carton. Youmight set these out in the sun light for a few

hour s each d ay.

Once the paper plant ers are dry:

Take the h andma de paper planters out of

th e milk car tons. The milk car tons can be

reused or also used as plant ers.

Pr ovide soil and plant seeds in t he plant -

ers. If th e seeds ar e from na tive wildflow-

ers, once they matur e, students can ta ke

th ese home or plant t hem on th e school

grounds. If ra dish seeds were planted,

students can wait until the radishes are

large enough to eat. Then a salad tha t

includes th e radishes can be ma de for the

whole class.

Note: When p lanting the seedlings, place theentire pap er planter with the p lant in theground . The pap er planter will decompose.

Project Idea: With the class, plant seedlings,shrubs, and/ or wildflowers on the schoolcampu s or in a near by pa rk. The U.S. ForestService, the California Departm ent of Forestry,

and some timber compan ies and nu rseries willoften donate to schools seedlings from n ativetrees and oth er plants. If seedlings are to beplanted on the school grounds or in other p artsof the comm unity, it is recommend ed that thespecies of the seedlings be appr opriate for theexisting soil and weather conditions wher e they

will be planted. This will ensur e a greatersurvival rate for the plants.

Part I-B, Making Recycled Paper

Note: For younger students, prepare the pu lpslurry in ad vance. For safety reasons, do n otallow you nger students to work th e blend er.

Note: Use white and colored scrap p aper tomake colorful recycled paper. Adding potpourri(be careful not to use potp ourr i that has soap in

Students from Lynda Mooneys first-grade class at LasPalmas Elementar y School show their pa per p lanter andpap er mad e from recycled fibers.


25/83



Lesson 4:


the fragrances because it will make th e pu lpsudsy), spices, and/ or flowers prior to blendingthe pap er will give you the recycled paper textureand scent. You can a lso use newsp aper fromwhich to make recycled p aper; then add colored

pap er, streamers, food coloring, or berries to giveyou colored recycled p aper, although the recycledpaper w ill have a grayish hu e.

D. Set a copy of Steps to Make Recycled

Paper by each blend er. While the rest of the

class members are m olding their pap er

planters, teach the first two grou ps h ow to

make a recycled sh eet of pap er. They shouldfollow th e directions on Steps to Make

Recycled Paper. (If you have tw o blenders,

then teach four grou ps.) When students

from the first two grou ps h ave completed

making the p aper, have them teach the

stud ents in the next two groups how to

make the p aper. Then the members of the

first group can w ork on their paper p lanters.

The second group will teach the third group

and so on. (Again, if there are two blenders,

you can have two grou ps teach two other

groups.)Note:Add ing liquid fabric starch to the pu lp willallow students to write in ink on the r ecycledpaper w ithout the ink spreading.

E. Have stud ents use a m agnifying lens or

microscope to examine the recycled paper

that they mad e.

Note: Keep one p aper p lanter and one milk cartonto test for speed of decomp osition in the K3Modu le, Unit 3.

Studen ts in Betsy Weisss first-grade class at Pa denElementary School work in group s to m ake recycledpaper.

Unit2

Students from Ted Schuts first-grade class at RiponaElementary School show th e recycled pap er that th eyhad made.

Project Idea: Have studen ts make cards (e.g.,for Mother s Day or Father s Day, birthdays,

notes) out of recycled p aper to give as gifts.Some could be sold for fun d-raising pu rposes.

Part II, Buying Recycled Products

A. Show stud ents an example of the symbol

that indicates that a p rodu ct is mad e from

recycled mater ial. Consider sh owing a

section of the v ideo Kids Talking Trash that

explains how to read a p ackage to deter-

mine w hether it is made from recycled

material.

B. Project the transp arency Closing th e

Loop: The Meaning of Recycling Sym-

bols and ask students, If you pu t pap er

in the recycling bin represented by the

first arrow in the logo for recycled m ate-

rial, and th e second arrow represents themaking of new paper, what d o you think

the third arrow m eans?Buying products

made from recycled paper. (You will prob-

ably need to lead stu dents throu gh this

though t p rocess.)

1. Ask:

How do you t hink t his closes the loop?

Th e paper doesnt get th rown away int o a

land fill; it gets mad e into new paper.


26/83

CLOSING THE LOOP



greeting card, for a sign.Then ask them to

use the recycled pap er they mad e for a

specific purpose.

B. The following should be d iscussed w itholder students:

Describe wha t closing the loop means.

Placing recyclable item s int o a bin for

collection, havin g th e m anufacturing

com panies make new item s with th erecycled product, and buying recycled

products.

How does closing the loop, by buying

recycled mat erials, conserve natu ra l

resources? Fewer natu ral resources are

needed to ma ke thi ngs from recycled

m aterials (e.g., recycled pap er) than it

takes when th ose sam e things are m ade

from raw m aterials (e.g., tree pulp).

How does closing the loop benefit people

and t he environment?

C.As a class, make a list of the benefits of

recycling pap er and using recycled p aper,

and share the information with another

class. Also list the benefits of reusing p aper.

D. Show stud ents page 24 in th e bookWhere

Does the Garbage Go? by Paul Showers.

Have stud ents comp are the paperm aking

steps they used with those used by the

paper m ills in the manu facture of recycled

pap er. Or have stud ents use pictures,

labels, and short p hrases to create a poster

describing th e benefits of recycling pap er.E. Ask stud ents to draw and w rite descrip-

tions of the sequence of steps of how to

make recycled paper.

Project Idea: Encourage stud ents to come upwith ways to d emonstrate that recycled p aper(made from r ecycled paper fibers) can be asgood as virgin pap er (mad e from w ood pu lp).

They can test for strength, color, absorption.Have stud ents summ arize their results in achart. This chart can be used to encour agestud ents, parents, and school staff to buy

recycled products.

EXTENSIONSA. For m ore sophisticated method s of making

pap er in the classroom, see chapters 410

in Arnold E. Grum mer s bookPaper by

Kids, as well as other references listed in

the Resources section. You can assign

group s of stud ents to try some of the pap er

How do we make sur e we are closing t he

loop?Reuse pa per; th en recycle it t o be

m ade into new paper; then buy products

made from recycled materials.

2. Explain tha t closing the loop is practic-

ing all of th e th ree activities depicted in th e

recycling loop (i.e., collecting, m an ufactu r -

ing, and buying recycled ma teria l). Withoutan y one of th ose activities, the loop rema ins

open. And if you ar e not bu ying recycled

products, you a re n ot completing t he

recycling process.

C. If available, show stud ents a video, photo-

graph s, or books with photograp hs about

manu facturing recycled pap er.

Homework Assignment:Ask students to look onpackaged items for the symbol that indicates thata prod uct is made from recycled m aterial. Thenhave them list or draw at least two pr odu cts that

contain the recycled content sym bol to share w iththe class the following d ay. They can bring a boxwith the sym bol or cut the sym bol from th e box.(Safety Note: Stud ents should request theassistance of an adu lt to cut the symbol from thebox.)

DI SCUSSI ON / QU ESTION SDiscuss with students:

What does th e word conserve mean?To

keep from wast ing; to save

How does recycling paper conserve trees?Fewer trees are needed to make paper

because w e are usin g and buyin g less paper.

How does recycling pa per conser ve land fill

space?Less paper goes in to the lan dfill so it

will t ake longer to fill up. Inform students

tha t, in California, paper m akes up 31

percent of the r esidential (household) waste

s tream.

How does buying or making recycled paper

conserve t rees a nd landfill space? To m ake

recycled paper, less tree pulp is used and

less paper is being thrown into the landfill,because the paper is being recycled and

used again.

Why is it importan t t o buy products ma de

from recycled ma ter ials? Trees are con-

served an d so is land fill space.

Appl i ca t i o nA. Have stud ents determine how the recycled

pap er they m ade could be used; e.g., as a


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Lesson 4:


variations d escribed in chapter s 68 in

Paper by Kids. These include m aking d eco-

rative paper using th read, leaves, dried

flower p ieces, and dyes.

B. Have stud ents select colors of paper from

wh ich to m ake recycled p aper and to

pred ict the final color the color blend s will

produce.

C.Allow the p aper in the recycle bin to stack

up for a week or tw o. Let the children guess

how far the stack will grow. Mark their

pred ictions on a chart. Repeat th is activity

through out the year; make it a goal to

reduce the size of the stack.

D. Keep track of how m any pou nd s of pap er

you recycle in the classroom in one month .

Make a chart and post it beside you r classs

recycling bin. How many p ound s of paper

was saved? How many could the whole

school save? (Each ton of pap er rep lacesand preserves about 90 tons of wood from

trees.)

Note: It is difficult to calculate the n um ber oftrees this represents, because the size and typ e oftrees used for paper var y.

E. Have a stud ent conduct research on the

paper wasp.

F. Have stud ents find information on the

history of pap er and m ake a report to the

class. (See A H istory of Paper in th e

Appendix.)

Reso u r cesVideo

Recycling: The Endless Circle. Washington , D.C.:National Geographic, 1992 (25 minutes).

Explains how recycling return s used

materials to m ake new prod ucts, therefore

reducing waste. The processes involved in

recycling pap er, alum inum , and plastic are

described.

Books

Davis, Wendy. From Tree to Paper. Littleton, Mass.:scholastic, 1995

Describes the steps for m anu factu ring paper.

Brandt, Keith.Discovering Trees. Mahwah, N. J.:Troll Commu nications, 1982.

Describes th e importa nce of trees.

Grum mer, Arnold E. Paper by Kids. Minneapo-lis, Minn.: Dillon Press, Inc., 1980.

Describes a var iety of ways tha t children

can m ake r ecycled paper.

Lauber, Patr icia.Be a Friend to Trees. New York:HarperCollins Childrens Books, 1994.

Describes the importance of trees (food andhabitat for animals, oxygen), includ ing ways

trees are used by peop le (for wood, pap er).

Show ers, Paul. Where Does the Garbage Go?Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. NewYork: Harp erCollins Ch ildrens Books, 1994. Describes how materials can be r ecycled into

new products.

Toale, Bernard . The Art of Papermaking. Worces-ter, Mass.: Davis Pu blications, 1983.

Describes various papermaking techniques.

Udry, Janice May.A Tree Is Nice. New York:Harp er and Row, 1956.

Describes ways trees are impor tant.

Weidenm uller, Ralf. Papermaking: The Art and

Craft of Handmade Paper. Translated by JohnKalish. San Diego, Calif.: Intern ational, 1984.

Describes various papermaking techniques.

Magazines

Powell, Jerry. Hand Paperm aking: RecyclingEducation at Its Best.Resource Recycling, (Jan./Feb., 1989), pp. 30-33 and 49.

This issue d escribes how to make recycledpaper.

The Story Kids F.A.C.E., Illustrated . Nashville,Tenn . Vol. 8, Issue 2, (February/ March , 1997). 1-800-952-3223; [email protected]

This issue d escribes how to make recycledpaper.

Website

The Technical Association for th e Pu lp an d

Paper Ind ustry (TAPPI) has information abou tpap er and pap er making. TAPPIs web site is:http:/ / www.tappi.org.

Unit2


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CLOSING THE LOOP



st eps t o m a k e r ecy cl ed pa per1. Place torn up pa per in a blender un til the blender is ha lf full.

2. Cover t he paper with water. The r atio is usu ally one pa rt paper t o two part s

wat er. If th e paper is not blending easily, you m ay n eed to add m ore wa ter.

3. Blend unt il th e paper h as been ground int o a slight ly ru nn y oat mea l-like consis-ten cy. Make su re it is not t oo thick. This m ixtu re is called pulp slur ry.

4. If th e screen h as a fra me, pour th e pulp slurr y int o a dish pa n. Scoop th e pulp

with t he screen. Spread an d pat t he pulp on th e screen.

5. If the screen does not ha ve a frame, one st udent should hold the screen ta ut

over a n empt y dish pa n while anoth er stu dent pours th e pulp slurr y from the

blender over t he screen. The water sh ould dra in th rough th e screen, into the

dish pan. Spread an d pat t he pulp on th e screen.

6. Place a couple of pieces of newspa per in t he working a rea an d place the s creen

an d pulp on top of th em.

Optional: Pr ess items , such a s flowers, leaves, tissue pa per, berries, int o the r ecycled paper.


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Lesson 4:


Steps to Make Recycled Paper, continued

7. Use a couple of pages of newspa per a nd gen tly press down on th e pap er t o soak

up th e excess wat er or us e disht owels (becau se th e newspa per could leave black

ink on white r ecycled pap er).

Note:If th e paper is pressed t oo ha rd, th e pulp will separa te. At t his point you

can pat ch u p th e holes. Or rem ove the p ulp, roll it int o a ba ll, place it back on th e

screen, cover with newspa per, an d gently press th e pulp out aga in. If th e pulp

ha s become t oo dry, you will need to resoak it in t he dish pan .

8. Flip everything over (like flipping a pa ncake). Remove the n ewspaper from t he

top an d gent ly lift off th e screen . The recycled paper will be rest ing on top of th e

newspaper u sed to soak up t he excess water.

9. Place the r ecycled paper a nd n ewspaper in an ar ea t o dry (it will dry quickly in

th e sun ). If drying overn ight , place a hea vy object, su ch as a book, on th e pap erto keep it from curling. The recycled pap er sh ould lift off ea sily from t he n ewspa -

per wh en it is dr y.

Unit2


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CLOSING THE LOOP



Transparency

Cl o si n g t h e Lo o p

Th e M ea n i n g o f Recy cl i n g Sy m bo l s

Car ton or pa per is ma de from

recycled paper fibers.

The paper is made from

recycled paper fibers.

The packa ge is recyclable,

although it m ay not be ma de

from recycled ma ter ials.

The t hr ee ar rows depict t he collection, ma nu factur e, an d pur cha se of

recycled ma ter ials.


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Lesson 4:


Ba ck gr o u n d In f o r m a t io nFo r Th e Tea ch er

2Secondary Fiber Recycling. Atlan ta, Ga.: TAPPI Press, 1993.

3G. Tyler Miller, Jr.Environmental Science: Working with the Earth

(Fifth edition). Belmont, Calif.: Wadswor th Pu blishing

Company, 1995, p. 346.

4E-mail commu nication from Brian Foran, Associate Waste

Management Specialist, California Integrated Waste Manage-

ment Board, Augu st 26, 1998.1Estimated Average 1995 Residential Disp osed Waste Stream

Composition. California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Wood th at is unsuitable for use as lumber andlumber mill wastes are used to manu facture

pap er. To save tran sportation costs, pap er millsare usua lly located near the forests wh ere thewood is harvested. The trees are debarked,chipped , mixed w ith chemicals, and pr ocessedin a large steam-heated p ressure cooker called a

digester. This helps to break the wood dow n intocellulose fibers. The fibers are then rinsed withwater to remove chemicals, unwan ted w oodcontaminants, and dirt.

The remaining w ater-wood mixture, calledslurry, is fed on to a screen and shaken tointermesh the cellulose fibers. Water is dra ined

through th e screen, and the remaining sheet ofpap er passes throu gh a series of rollers wh ere itis pressed. Heated rollers dry the p aper. Thedried p aper is cut and placed on smaller rolls orcut into large sheets.

In 1995 app roximately 31 percent of residen tialwaste consisted of paper.1 This w astepapercould have been recycled. The pap er recyclingprocess is very similar to the p rocess of makingpaper from trees. The paper is chopp ed u p andmixed with water to m ake a pu lp slurry. Then itis pu t through a series of washing and/ or

flotation de-inking p rocesses in w hich waterand / or soap-like chemicals (called su rfactants)

remove the ink from the p aper. Water is drainedthrough th e screen, and the remaining sheet ofpap er passes throu gh a series of rollers wh ere itis pressed and dr ied. The paper is slit intosmaller rolls or large sheets. Later it is cut todesired size.

A single piece of paper m ay contain new fibersas well as fibers which have already beenrecycled. Paperm aking fibers can typ ically berecycled five to seven times before they become

too short to be recycled again.

Successful recycling requires clean recoveredpap er wh ich is free of contam inants such asfood, plastic, metal, and other garbage. Contam i-nated p aper can introduce impurities and

bacteria into the recycling process. Also, differ-ent types (or grad es) of paper, such ascorrugated boxes, new spap ers, and office paper,

are kept separate because the d ifferent grades of

paper are u sed to make particular types ofrecycled pap er p roducts.2

Recycling p aper conserves natu ral resources. It

saves trees (most of which are grow n on treefarms). It saves ener gy, because it takes 30 to 60percent less energy to prod uce the same weightof recycled p aper as to m ake the paper fromtrees. It reduces air pollution from pu lp mills by74 to 95 percent and lowers water p ollution by35 percent. It also reduces the am oun t of papergoing to the land fill, therefore, extend ing the lifeof the landfill.3

In this lesson stud ents will be making their ownrecycled pap er. Making recycled p aper not onlyteaches studen ts about the recycling process, butit is also a lot of fun .

Note: For add itional information about papersee The Paper Recycling Process and Historyof Paper in the Appendix.

The symbol dep icting that a carton is mad e fromrecycled p aper is wh ite arrows superimposed ona black circle. Three black arrows printedwithout any circular background also indicatesthat the pap er is made from recycled pap erfibers. Three wh ite arrow s (with black ou tline),only with no black circular background , meansthat a package is recyclable, although it may notbe mad e from recycled ma terials. The thr ee

arrow s dep ict the collection, man ufacture, andpu rchase of recycled materials.4

In this lesson stud ents will be making their ownrecycled paper. Making recycled paper not only

teaches studen ts about the recycling process, but

it is also a lot of fun .

Unit2


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n o t e s


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Lesson 1: The Basics of

Vermicomposting

K3 Modu le, Unit 3:

Vermicomposting 23

Lesso n 1: The Basics of Vermicomposting

K3 Modu le, Unit 3:

Vermicomposting

Note: Before implemen ting this activity, studen ts will need to know wh at animals need in or der to live.You w ill need to u se an existing lesson (most science pr ogram s have lessons on th is topic) or design oneyour self to teach stud ents the needs of animals, which shou ld include food, water, shelter, air, and a placeto live (habitat).

Lesso n s Co n cept

Food scraps can be recycled through verm icomp osting.

PURPOSE

Stud ents are introduced to the basics ofvermicomposting and learn about theph ysical requirements of red worm s as they

set up a worm bin to demonstrate how foodwaste and paper can be recycled.

OVERVIEW

In this lesson studen ts will:

Brainstorm what they know and whatthey would like to know about w orms.

Set up a vermicomposting bin.

Classify those items that can be fed to redworms and those that cannot be fed tored worm s and w rite a poem about it.

Design a chart with pictures of what tofeed and what not to feed r ed worm s.

Record the weight and type of wormfood an d w here it was placed in the

worm composting bin.

Select questions about red worms thatthey can research in books, on thecomp uter, through videos, and throu gh

personal observations.

CORRELATI ON S TO CALIFORN IASCON TEN T STAN DARDS AN DFRAM EWORKS AN D TO BENCH-MARKS FOR SCIENCE LITERACY

Students set up a vermicomposting binin the classroom and keep a class journ alof everything that gets put into the bin.

- Plants and animals meet their needsin d ifferent w ays. As a basis forund erstand ing this concept, stud entsknow: plants and animals both n eedwater, animals need food, and plants

need light. (Science Content Standards,Grades K12; Grade 1; Life Sciences,Standard 2c)

- A lot can be learned about plants andanimals by observing them closely, butcare must be taken to know the needs

of living things and how to provide forthem in the classroom . (Benchmarks forScience Literacy, page 15)

- Students collect information aboutobjects and events in their environ-ment. (Mathematics Content Standardsfor California Public Schools, Kindergarten

Through Grade Twelve, page 3)

- To participate effectively in society,students need to: Develop personalskills . . . group interaction skills (and). . . social and political participation

skills. (HistorySocial Science Frame-work, page 24)

Older students do research on worms invarious sources.

- Students identify the basic facts andideas in w hat they have read , heard, orviewed. (EnglishLanguage ArtsContent Standards for California Public

Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade

Twelve, page 2)

- Students understand the purposes of

various reference m aterials. (EnglishLanguage Arts Content Standards for

California Public Schools, Kindergarten

Through Grade Twelve, page 13)

SCIEN TI FIC TH IN KI N G PROCESSES

observing, communicating, comparing,classifying, relating, applying

Unit3


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CLOSING THE LOOP

K3 Modu le, Unit 3:

Vermicomposting24

Time

60 minutes or m ore (especially if you need tobuy the worm bin and w orms) to prepare forthe lesson; 60 minu tes or more to imp lementthe lesson (depend ing on whether you have

younger or older stud ents and their involve-

ment in preparing the worm bin)

Vo ca bu l a r y

compost, organic, organism s, red w orm,vermicomposting

Pr epa r a t i o n

___ 1. Read the Backgroun d Information forthe Teacher at the end of this lesson.

___ 2. Obtain a read y-made containermeasuring ap proximately on e footdeep by two feet wide by th ree feetlong w ith a lid. Plastic storage contain-ers can be pu rchased from most largevariety stores. If possible, reuse apreviously u sed container or pu rchase

one m ade from recycled plastic.

Drill several quarter-inch drainageholes through the bottom of thecontainer.

Place screen on the bottom of thecontainer. (Red worm s will usua lly

not crawl out of the drain holes,because they prefer the dark;how ever, if your bin becomes toodry or too wet, the worm s willleave in search of more favorableconditions.)

___ 3. Make a transpa rency of the SampleVermicomposting Data Sheet (page33).

___ 4. For younger stud ents (in kind ergartenand first grade), du plicate What toPut an d N ot to Put in a Worm Bin foreach group of students (page 34).

Note: Some people who vermicompost drillone-inch rou nd holes on each of the four sidesof their bins for an add itional air sup ply. Theseholes are covered w ith screen, and a glu e gun

or waterproof tape is used to secure thescreens to the container.

M a t er ia l s

___ Butcher paper on which to write studentsresponses

___ Vermicomposting container w ith lid___ Newsp aper (a stack about six inches tall)

or classroom p aper to be u sed for bedding(Colored p aper and pap er with crayon

draw ings can be u sed. Do not use glossyadvertisements an d magazines.)

___ A plastic milk jug for measuring water___ Water (in a watering can)___ One or two pounds of red worms, depend-

ing on th e size of the bin (Red wor ms canbe pu rchased from bait shops or from w ormsup pliers. See the list of worm sup pliers inthe Append ix. Which can be found on

the Boards website.)___ Four to six cup s of garden soil (Do not use

sterilized potting soil.)___ Utility scale (up to 20 pounds) (This scalecan be a hanging scale on wh ich stud entshang a bu cket with items to be weighed or aparcel post scale on wh ich stud ents canplace a container w ith items to be weighed.)

___ Large clean plastic bucket or other con-tainer (or wheelbarrow) for mixing bedd ing(Bedd ing can also be mixed in thevermicomposting bin.)

___ Two boards, or four bricks, or other compa-

rable items to place un der th e bin so thatthe bottom will receive sufficient air

___ Sheet of plastic, or large flat garbage bag, orseveral unfolded newspap ers to put u nd erbin in case water leaks throu gh the holes

___ A two-quart plastic container with lid inwh ich to keep food waste to feed to theworms

___ A class worm journal to keep by the wormbin

___ The bookSquirmy Wormy Composters byBobbie Kalman and Janine Schaub

___ Nontoxic permanent marker___ Six, three inch by five inch cards

___ The transparency, Samp leVermicomposting Data Sheet

___ For younger students, a copy of What toPut an d N ot to Put in a Worm Bin for eachgroup of students

PRE-ACTIVI TY QU ESTION S

A. Ask students:

After you eat lunch, what do you dowith your garbage? Throw some of it


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Lesson 1: The Basics of

Vermicomposting

K3 Modu le, Unit 3:

Vermicomposting 25

What do you already know about worms?Worms:

Live in the ground, under soil, and compost

with centipedes and other bugs

Recycle the dirt

Eat garbage

Dig in soil Take care of gardens

Wiggle to move

Are long and skinny

What do you wan t to find out about worm s?

What happens if they live in the sun? Willthey die?

How do they eat?

Do they have teeth?

What do they eat?

Do they sleep underground?

Submitted by Betsy Weisss kindergarten and first-grade class, Paden Elementary School, Alamed a CityUnified School District.

Note: Keep the lists your students developed touse at the end of the lesson.

Does anyone know what compost is?Lead stud ents to conclude tha t compost isa soil enricher that h elps plants to gr ow.Tell stud ents that a special type of wor m,

called a red worm , can eat gar bage, likefood scraps (e.g., app le cores, bananapeels, bread cru st). The worm s dr op-pings, called castings, look like rich soiland contain nu trients to help p lants grow.

These dropp ings can be collected andplaced in the garden or in flower pots.

How can red worms help to reduce thewaste we throw away? They can eat our

food garbage.

If vermi means worms, what do youthink vermicomposting means?Composting with worms.

B. Discuss with stu den ts the following:

If we decide to set up a worm compostingbin where worms w ould live, what w illwe need to know?How to do it; whatworms need to live; who will take care of them.

What do animals need in order to live?Food, water, shelter, air, and a place to live.

away; recycle some of it .

What do you th row away? Some paper,food, plastic.

What do you do with the paper fromyour lun ches? Throw it in t he garbagecan; recycle it; reuse it; compost.

What do you do with cans? Throw them

in the garbage can; recycle them. What do you do with food waste?

Throw it in the garbage can.

What else can you do with food waste?

Feed it to animals; bury it; compost it.

If we could have a container in ourclassroom w ith special animals that areeasy to take c

Exploring Recycling: Students Grades K-6

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