Lesson 1

Introduction/Background:
Sixty-five percent of the people in the United States live in cities. Human and natural communities are analogous in certain ways. Both have living and nonliving components all coexisting. Both communities are also constantly changing, some naturally and others adversely because of the effects of people. Living things in a community interact with each other and with their environment. After examining an urban community sociologically and ecologically, one can better understand these interactions. An urban environment contains more than just buildings, people and simple natural things. Many plants and animals share cities with people. These things have their needs, their interdependencies, their adaptations, their life-supporting cycles, and their reaction to crowding. All of these things can be studied in the city as well as in the country.
Plants and animals must either adapt, die, or relocate if their environment does not supply them with their needs. Some plants and animals can adapt to city life, others cannot. Living things need food, air, water, sunlight and space to grow. The quantity and quality of these things determine the plant and animal life found in a particular area.

Vocabulary: organic, inorganic, biodegradable, decomposition, recycle and non-biodegradable materials.

Materials:
large boxes, (liquoror fruit), soil, spade, plastic wrap, newspaper, trash bags, items to bury- aluminum foil, orange peel, a piece of plastic, newspaper, toothpick, can, cloth - clear container, aluminum foil, organic and inorganic garbage, litter observation sheet. Need to use the setting of the classroom and outdoors.

Procedure:

1. Take a short walk around the playground or into the community with trash bags, collecting litter.
   
2. Take litter back to classroom and spread it out on newspapers.
   
3. Hypothesize about which items might disintegrate over time if buried and which items would not disintegrate. Write hypotheses in science notebook.
   
4. Line four large boxes with plastic wrap and fill three-fourths with soil.
   
5. Bury three rows of identical items of litter in each box, making sure that each box contains different items. (example: box 1 could contain three rows of apple cores, toothpicks, a plastic lid and a pop can.
6. Box 2 could contain a piece of aluminum foil, a cookie, a piece of newspaper, and a hairpin.) All three rows in each box are identical, but the different items will decompose at different rates.
   
7. Keep the soil damp at all times
   
8. After one week carefully dig up one row in each box, laying the contents on pieces of newspaper.
9. Analyze each item and record observations in a science notebook.
   
10. After two weeks carefully dig up the second row in each box and analyze the items as in the first week and record any observations.
    
11. After the third week dig up the third row of items and analyze them. Record all observations in the science notebook and discuss conclusions based on original hypotheses.
    
12. If possible visit the city dump, sanitary landfill, or waste disposal area to see how garbage is handled in the community. Discuss different ways garbage can be disposed of such as a sanitary landfill, incinerator etc. Discuss pros and cons and any effects they may have on the environment, such as air, water or land pollution.

Questions- answer on "Litter Observation Sheet"

1. Did any of the items show any signs of breaking down? If so, which items?
   
2. Did any of the items remain the same? If so, which ones?
   
3. Which materials were organic and which ones were inorganic?
   
4. Which materials were biodegradable and which ones were not?
   
5. Which materials could eventually pollute our environment?
   
6. Could any of the materials be worn down in any other way like burning, for instance? If so, are there any environmental repercussions because of that method?
   
7. Could any of these materials be reused, or recycled, instead of placed into dumps or burned? If so, how?
   
8. What are cities going to do with all garbage they collect in future years? How will it be possible to get rid of all this waste without infringing on other countries for possible dump sites, polluting the ocean or dumping our wastes there or polluting our air by burning our wastes?

Assessment:
Students should be able to define biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials and list materials distinguishable for each group.
This lesson plan is written for intermediate or upper groups, however, it may be adapted to younger students.
State Goal 3 Gr. 4 Chart the changes in the physical environment that result from human activity.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Identify materials as biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Differentiate between materials that can be reused or recycled and those that cannot.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.
State Goal 1 Gr. 6 Interpret the environmental implications of the changing lifestyle in society.

Lesson 2

Introduction:
To introduce words: waste, renewable

Objective:
To demonstrate the effects of waste on the environment and some ways of reducing it.

Materials:
chart paper, pencil, paper- "Solid Waste Checklist"

Procedure:

1. Invite water and sewage sanitation personnel of city, or state to speak to class on solid waste and ways of reducing it.
   
2. Visit a supermarket and make a list of examples of excess packaging. Discuss ways in which packaging could be controlled and used more wisely.
   
3. Have each student in the class chart his waste including paper, aluminum, glass, etc.
   
4. Identify for students how to reduce their waste and their family's waste with a few of the following directions: don't let the water run while brushing your teeth; don't leave appliances (television, light) on when not in uses; write on both sides of a piece of paper; recycle paper, cans, and bottles.
   
5. Have a follow-up over several months on students' waste and their progress, if any, on conserving.
   
6. Write to national environmental organizations for info on waste and pollution. Make a bulletin board depicting the perils of overpacking, pollution, and overconsumption of resources.
   
7. Collect aluminum cans as recycling project for the class.

Questions:

1. In what ways can we reduce the amount of waste we create?
   
2. In what way can we reduce the amount of packaging that is seen in grocery stores, ie., styrofoam for tomatoes , boxes for toothpaste and plastic wrap for apples?
   
3. What will the city's solid waste disposal program be like in 15 or 20 years? Will it be able to withstand the demands of more and more people, or will it be working under capacity? (Debate teams can be organized to discuss these topics bringing in Language Arts objectives).

Assessment:
Students should be able to write a paper ( approximately 200 words) answering the question "What are the Effects of Solid Waste on the Environment and Ways of Reducing It." They should incorporate the results of the solid waste checklist into the second part of their paper.
This lesson is appropriate for the upper grades.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.
State Goal 2 Gr. 6 Interpret the environmental implications of the changing lifestyles in society.
State Goal 2 Gr. 7 Demonstrate the effect of implementing a classroom recycling plan.
State Goal 2 Gr. 8 Explain the environmental impact of a citywide recycling program.

Lesson 3

Introduction/Background:
All of us need to rethink our habits where the packaging of goods is concerned. Take, for example, a liquid laundry detergent bottle. The package is a colorful plastic with a molded handle and large plastic cup. The contents will not last for longer than a week or two for most families and yet this plastic bottle will most likely be around for hundreds of years to come ! Consider the plastic liter soda bottle which lasts minutes in some homes and they will remain unchanged in a landfill forever !

Objective:
To observe how much packaging of paper, cardboard, plastic and foil goes into students' bag lunches each day.

Materials:
a bag lunch from home, a pencil and paper "Rate Your Lunch Bag"

Procedure:

1. Take out the contents of the lunch bag and put it on the desk.
   
2. Record the number of items that is found in the lunch.

Questions:

1. Do you throw all these items away every day?
   
2. How could you use less packaging so you make less garbage?
   
3. If you used any item just one more time before throwing it away, you would have saved one-half of the materials energy needed for one-time use. You would also reduce garbage.

Assessment:
To describe how energy efficient the lunch packaging is and list three ways students' can make their lunch bag more efficient.
This plan is for primary and intermediate grades.
State Goal 1 Gr. K Give examples of pollution.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Differentiate between materials that can be reused or recycled and those that cannot.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.
State Goal 2 Gr. 6 Interpret the environmental implications of the changing lifestyles in society.
State Goal 3 Gr. 6 Identify through experimentation, environmentally sound consumer products.

Lesson 4

Introduction/Background:
This demonstration shows that different kinds of trash decompose at different rates depending on its composition and the environmental conditions. Decomposition is the process by which materials break down. Air, water, sunlight, and other natural forces wear away inorganic or nonliving material such as rocks and metals. Living organisms break down organic materials or materials that come from living things such as food waste, wood and carcasses. Materials that other living creatures can break down are termed biodegradable.
When an organism dies, broken down by a succession of other living things, initially by scavengers like vultures or beetles and later by decomposers such as bacteria and fungi. As the microorganisms consume the organic material, they produce wastes that serve as nutrients for plants and other living things. In this endless cycle, waste is recycled back to the earth for rebuilding.

Objectives:
To observe how the trash we dispose of everyday decomposes. To define biodegradable, landfill and compost. Define and describe decomposition.

Materials:
small plastic or glass containers with lids, about 16 ounces, (two for each item per team), trowel or spoon, soil, newspaper, crackers, leaves, paper towels, waxed paper, water, spray bottle (optional)

Procedure:

1. Divide class into small teams.
   
2. Provide or have students bring enough of the following "trash" materials so each will have two small samples of each: Paper towel, aluminum foil, wax paper, plastic wrap or plastic foam, cracker, leaf. Give the teams two containers with lids for easy of the samples: label one "A" and the other "B". (The containers should also be identified by team) (These containers can be made from 2 liter bottles)
   
3. Take each group outside to dig up soil for each container. Choose a place that is moist and has organic matter present. (Number of containers = 6 types of trash x 2 = 12 x 6 teams = 72 containers.)
   
4. Have students set up their containers as follows:
   
   
   1. Fill each 16 oz. container about half full with soil
      
   2. Place a piece of each trash item on top of the soil. Use items of the same type and size for each container.
      
   3. Cover the items by filling the container with more soil.
      
   4. Put the lids on containers A and set aside. Spray the contents of containers B with water until the soil is thoroughly moistened, but not soggy. Leave containers B open and set next to corresponding containers A.
      
   5. At the end of each day, spray the contents of containers "B" with a little water and then shake the containers with the lid on to allow air and moisture to mix with the items and soil. Keep the lid on overnight to reduce evaporation, but remove it in the morning.
      
   6. Each team makes a chart (see attached sheet) to describe what happens in their containers. Ask the team to make these predictions:
      
      
      1. Will all the items in each container show signs of decomposition? If not which won't?
         
      2. Will some break down more quickly than others? If so, in what order will they break down?
         
      3. Will the items in one container (A or B ) break down more quickly than those in the other? If so, which container?
   
   
5. After the end of the first week have the students:
   
   
   1. Empty the contents of each container onto a separate sheet of newspaper.
      
   2. Look for each of the trash items and separate them from the soil.
      
   3. Fill in the chart, "In the Dumps" by describing any decomposition observed or writing "no change" in the appropriate space.
      
   4. Set up the containers as before. Continue to keep the contents of containers B moist and to leave the lid off during the day.
      
   5. Check the containers once a week for at least four weeks.

Discussion:

1. At the end of a four week period have students analyze and share data and discuss accuracy of their predictions. Explain the materials that decomposed were biodegradable and those that did not were non-biodegradable.
   
2. Discuss which items showed signs of decomposition? (leaf, cracker, paper towel, wax paper). Which items, if any, decomposed completely? (answers may vary) Which shoed no signs of decomposition? (foil, plastic wrap)
   
3. In which container did the items decompose the most? (B)
   
4. What conditions were the same for containers A and B? (same soil and trash items). What conditions were different? (The contents of containers B were shaken and exposed to more air and water.)
   
5. Were there any differences between the teams' results? If so, how can this difference be explained? (other teams may have used different-sized items or different amounts of moisture, or their soil samples may have contained a varying amount of microorganisms.
   
6. Explain that most garbage is currently dumped in landfills. Introduce composting as an alternative method to dispose of organic waste. Composted waste is kept moist and well aerated.
   
7. Which container in the demonstration approximates conditions in a landfill? (A) In a compost pile? (B) Explain: Materials in "A" were closed off from the air. Materials in B were kept moist and aerated.
   
8. What can individuals do to avoid sending so much garbage to landfills? (Reduce the amount of trash generated, compost organic waste and recycle or reuse consumer products whenever possible.

Assessment:

1. To be able to define biodegradable and non-biodegradable.
   
2. To be able to describe how container "A" and "B" model a landfill or compost pile.

This lesson is appropriate for primary or intermediate grades.
State Goal 1 Gr. K Give examples of pollution.
State Goal 2 Gr. 4 Compare and contrast specified environmental conditions.
State Goal 3 Gr. 4 Chart the changes in the physical environment that result from human activity.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Identify materials as biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
State Goal 2 Gr. 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.
State Goal 3 Gr. 6 Interpret the environmental implications of the changing lifestyles in society.

Lesson 5

Introduction:
When we throw away garbage, it usually ends up in a landfill. Landfill space is getting increasingly scarce and every time we throw something away we throw with it the energy the money, the raw materials and the water it took to make it.
The average American throws away 3.5 pounds of garbage per day. In 1990 it is estimated that Americans will throw away over 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars and over 4 and a half million tons of office paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled.
Recycling saves large amounts of energy. Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours. Recycling one soda can save as much energy as if the can were half full of gasoline. Recycling an aluminum can results in 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than creating an aluminum can from raw materials. Manufacturing new paper products from waste paper uses at least a third less energy and cuts air pollution by 75% compared to making paper from wood pulp.
When waste products are recycled, fewer raw materials must be mined or logged. Americans threw away 35 billion aluminum cans last year - we threw away enough aluminum cans to build our entire air fleet four times over. Recycling paper reduces the pressure on our forests for wood pulp, so that less logging is necessary.
Buying products that have less packaging reduces the amount of garbage going into the landfill in the first place. It is important to buy things that can be re-used or recycled. This is the concept of precycling.

Objective:
Students survey themselves and their families to assess awareness levels and household practices related to recycling.

Materials:
examples of household garbage items, butcher paper ( or bulletin board) titled, "Is It Garbage?", felt markers or crayons, glue sticks and "Home Recycling Survey" sheet.

Procedure:

1. Collect a variety of household items that are thrown into the garbage such as those listed in question one of the "Home Recycling Survey". Try to include items which could be used again, such as paper grocer bags and aluminum foil and things that create "instant" garbage such as disposable diapers and overpackaged products.
   
2. Introduce the idea of recycling by displaying the variety of household items which are frequently thrown into the garbage. Quickly survey the class by holding up each item and asking for a show of hands if the item could probably be found in their garbage at home.
   
3. Explain in order to reduce the amount of garbage we produce, some of the items could be used again, and some could be used for other purposes, and some could be replaced at the store by purchasing other products in the first place.
   
4. Explain when we use an item more than one time (for the same or different use) we call it re-using. Recycling is having an item remade. Recycling is good because the materials that come from the earth, such as trees that made paper, can be used again and again instead of cutting down more trees. The original items will not pile up in the dump if they can be re-made (recycled). Ask students how a few of the items on display might be re-used and which ones can be recycled.
   
5. Tell students they are going to take home a set of questions to be answered by them and at least one family member.
   
6. Students help prepare a Venn diagram, "Is It Really Garbage" by cutting out the pictures from their surveys and put the ones with an "X" in the garbage circle and ones without an "X" in the recycle circle. They can place items that can be recycled but get thrown away where the circles overlap.

Discussion/Questions:

1. What items can be found in the garbage in most of our households?
   
2. Are any of the items used again (recycled) in most of our households? (If so what are they used for?)
   
3. Does our city have places where people can take items to be recycled?
   
4. If so, have you ever been there? What did you take to be recycled?
   
5. Where do most of the people we surveyed think our garbage goes once it leaves our house?
   
6. What are some ways that you might reduce the amount of garbage in your home?

Assessment:
Students should be able to name five things in a list of garbage that can be reused and five things in a list of garbage that can be recycled.
This activity is for grades K-3
State Goal 1 Gr. K Give samples of pollution
State Goal 1 Gr. 2 List ways that technology is causing pollution in the community.