Recycling 100 Bottles

Grade Level: K-2

Academic Areas: Language Arts

Duration of service: Year Long

Character Virtues: Giving, Responsibility, Civic virtue and Citizenship Caring

Service Areas: Education/Tutoring, Environmental

 

 Service Learning Project:

After an exploration of the concept of recycling using film, and literature, K-2 students will bring in plastic soda bottles and design a recycling center in their room. Students measure with standard and non standard units comparing and contrasting with classroom objects, graphing bottles by size, sorting bottles and tallying daily results. Students create bottle banks to collect redemption money. When 100 bottles are tallied, parents, students, and teachers take bottles to redemption center. Money is used to demonstrate division and coin value. Throughout project pictures are taken for photo big book. Recycling will be continued throughout semester with money donated to charity.

Goals and Objectives

Academic

Learning Goal: Understand the importance of recycling

Standard: II- Health Phys Ed, Family Consumer Science

Learning Goal: Sorting/ Measuring with standard and non- standard units; graphing

Standard: III MST

Service

Community need: Our community mandates recycling. It is important for primary students to develop respect and responsibility for keeping their community clean.

Possible Community Partners: Recycling center/ grocery outlet

Objective: Students will collect 100 plastic bottles/eachclass/ to recycle and redeem the deposit collected.

Objective: Understand the benefits of recycling for our environment

Character

Virtue: Civic virtue and citizenship

Objective: Children will develop a greater respect for our earth.

Virtue: Responsibility and giving

Objective: The culminating goal is to donate the " recycling counter" class money to a charity of choice.

 

Key Activities

Key Planning Activities

1. Introduce "reduce, reuse, recycle" slogan with films, literature and guest speaker from recycling center.

2. Students will learn about and sequence the life cycle of a plastic bottle, (i.e.) on shelf when brought home, consumed, cleaned, recycled, redeemed, new product.

3. Students will learn what is necessary for a classroom recycle center.

 Key Service Activities

  1. Students will create a classroom recycling center. They will collect, sort and clean bottles for redemption.
  2. Students will create posters to show the importance of recycling for the earth to be displayed throughout the school and community.
  3. Students will continue to collect and redeem bottles for remainder of year. Money will be donated to a charity selected by the students. Representatives from local environmental charities will be invited to the class to present the cause they represent.
  4. Students will make presentations to other classes, the PTA, board members, etc. about the recycling center.

 Key Reflection Activities

  1. (oral) Students will discuss why recycling is everyone’s responsibility.
  2. (written) Students identify the most important thing others need to know about the classroom recycling center and how they can encourage others to be a good citizen and recycle.
  3. (performance) Photo-big book; The class will chronicle their experience of recycling. Each students will add something to the book to show how their efforts created a better world by becoming good citizens and enhancing their respect for the community they live in.

Celebration Activity

Students present their photo- big book to the school’s library, or redemption center. At this presentation parents, community leaders, and school members will be invited to attend. Presentation of charity donation.