How to Help the Earth Through Recycling for Kids
Teaching kids how to recycle is the perfect way to make a difference in protecting the earth. Children who learn the importance of recycling and reusing carry those messages with them through life, making them more likely to take care of the earth in the future. By getting kids involved through promoting recycling at school and at home, the lesson can greatly influence their attitudes toward the environment in general.
Things You'll Need
- Blackboard
- Chalk
- Large cardboard boxes
- Art supplies (such as felt-tip markers, construction paper, scissors, tape, ribbons, glitter)
Instructions
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Ask your school's principal if your students may create recycling bins that could be placed throughout the school. Even if you have difficulty securing permission to do so, you can still proceed with the lesson plan by having students make smaller recycling boxes that they can use at home.
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Write the following list of items on the classroom blackboard: soda can, paper bag, banana, plastic milk container, styrofoam cup, cotton cloth, glass bottle.
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Ask students to work in groups to decide which items will disintegrate more quickly and which items will disintegrate more slowly. If students are able, have them use educated guesses to put the items in order from the quickest to disintegrate to the slowest.
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Encourage groups to share their lists with the rest of the class, and discuss any differences between the lists.
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Write the following list on the board and explain that the items are now in the correct order: banana, paper bag, cotton cloth, soda can, plastic milk container, styrofoam cup, glass bottle.
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Instruct students to work in their groups to discuss how long they think it might take for each item on the list to disintegrate. Discuss their guesses, as well as any differences of opinion among the groups.
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Explain to students that a banana takes about 3 to 4 weeks, a paper bag takes a month, a cotton cloth takes five months, a soda can takes 200 to 500 years, a plastic milk container takes a million years, and a styrofoam cup and a glass bottle both take even longer than that.
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Encourage students to discuss what this activity has taught them about the importance of recycling, as well as why certain materials are recycled more commonly than others.
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Provide several large boxes for students, as well as art supplies, and instruct them to create recycling bins that the school can use.
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Encourage students to write a class letter to the principal asking for permission to place the recycling bins in locations that the class thinks would work best, such as in the lunchroom or on the playground.
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References
- Photo Credit a blue recycle symbol image by wayne ruston from Fotolia.com
