Waste and Its Global Effects

I can articulate how our current waste management impacts the

environment and ecosystems.!
Objective !
I can explore ways to improve waste management to help build a
sustainable future.!
Introduction (5 minutes)
•  Teacher begins by connecting this lesson to our previous science unit on
ecosystems. Quick review of what an ecosystem is, the parts of an
ecosystem, and how animal or plant death can adversely effect an
ecosystem (e.g. food chain/web collapse, endangered animals, etc.).
•  Next, teacher poses the question: What would happen if excess trash
Lesson found its way into different ecosystems. Students brainstorm possible
outcomes with an elbow buddy before sharing with the whole class.
Body (50 minutes)
•  Teacher shows six pictures of waste in the environment from around the
world. These pictures will help show students that the negative outcomes
they brainstormed during the introduction are actually true and happening
now across the globe.
•  Next, students watch a YouTube video on the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrPBYS5zzF8
•  After viewing the video, students turn to their partner and discuss what
they saw and how it makes them feel. After a few minutes, teacher will
ask for volunteers to share what they said with their partner for the class
to start out class discussion on our world’s current waste management
and how it adversely effects our environment and ecosystems.
•  Students pair up with a different partner to play the game “Litter Critters”
on their class issued iPad: http://www.abcya.com/recycling_game.htm
•  This game allows students to practice sorting different materials that can
be recycled. Afterwards, as a class we’ll discuss what they learned from
playing this game (e.g. what can be recycled and what can’t) as well as
why they think so much potentially recyclable garbage is thrown in the
trash and/or polluting the environment.
•  After playing the game, students work with their partner to complete the
recycle worksheet.
•  Finally, as a class we’ll watch a video on the importance of the three Rs:
Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OasbYWF4_S8
•  This video and subsequent discussion on the importance of practicing the
3 Rs will help students understand what they can do in their own lives to
help the environment. I will use this to help students connect what we
learned today with the idea of being global citizens. If everyone around
the world practices the 3 Rs along with cleaning up the already polluted
environment, we can significant reduce the amount of waste currently
harming the Earth.
 Global Citizens (15 minutes)
•  To help students understand that waste management is a global issue that
people from all around the world are working on, students will watch a video by
the BBC about a town in Japan that is working towards becoming zero-waste by
2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP5NhpTNcAw
Lesson •  As a class, we’ll discuss whether or not we believe this goal is attainable and
whether or not it could be successful in our city/state/country.
continued •  After our class discussion, teacher will show the “Countries Winning the
Recycling Race” image. Students will identify what the top 3 and bottom 3
countries are, and then locate where the United States falls on this chart.
•  Discussion Questions: Do you think America’s placement is good, bad, or just
ok? Why? What could America do differently to become a better country at
recycling? What would you like to see America do to help the global community
battle waste management? Why?

Closure (5 minutes)
•  As a class we will review today’s lesson including what they can do now as
young global citizens to help create a sustainable future, cut down on waste, and
work to clean up the waste pollution in the environment.
•  Students will have a chance to share their favorite part, or which part made the
greatest impression on them and why.
Formative Assessment: Seesaw
Assessment •  Students will use their class iPad to answer the following questions, and will
submit their answers via the Seesaw app.
1.  How is the current waste management crisis around the globe hurting
ecosystems?
2.  What are the 3 Rs, and give one real world example of each R that you can do
at home or school.
3.  Explain how practicing the 3 Rs can help the global community work towards
stopping the current waste crisis.

Summative Assessment: Litterati

•  Students are introduced to the Litterati app – an app that brings the global
community together to identify, map, and collect the world’s litter. The Litterati
Global Map will be displayed 3 times a day for the rest of the week for students
to see the global community in action dealing with this crisis.
•  For the next week, students will be asked to use the Litterati app on their class
iPad both at school and at home to find, geotag, and pick up at least 10 pieces of
trash a day. This will be their homework for the week. At the end of the week,
students will write a brief paragraph about whether or not they feel using
technology in this way will be successful in getting the global community working
together to fix the global waste crisis, and if they see themselves continuing to
use this app on their own.
•  By participating in this app, students will help clean up their local community
specifically to prevent more trash from entering the Pacific Ocean. This will help
make their connection to the global community feel more real and hopefully
strengthen their identity as a global citizens. Also, by geotagging the litter they
find, this data is recorded through the app and used to provide insight into
problem areas and then shared with environmental companies and organizations
to find more sustainable solutions.
•  Link to Litterati website: https://www.litterati.org/
•  Link to Litterati Global Map: https://map.litterati.org/globalmap/
Pictures of Waste in Environment!

Port City! Beach!

Rural City!
City!

Forest!
Desert!
Recycle Worksheet!
 Formative Assessment!
Students have used Seesaw on the iPads many times !
before. They know they must:!
1)  Tap on the app icon to open Seesaw. !
2)  Click on “I am a student”.!

!
!
3)  Scan our class QR code to log in!
(just like in the picture to the right).!
!
!
!
4) Answer the following questions written on !
the white board using the Seesaw app:!
!
•  How is the current waste management crisis around the globe !
hurting ecosystems?!
•  What are the 3 Rs, and give one real world example of each R that !
you can do at home or school!
•  Explain how practicing the 3 Rs can help the global community work !
towards stopping the current waste crisis.!
!
5) After answering the questions students submit their formative assessment !
through the app, which then sends it to the teacher for review.!
 Summative Assessment!

1)  Teacher will have the Litterati app pre-installed on each students’ iPad.!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/litterati/id982782776?mt=8!
!
!
1)  Students will click on the Litterati app on their iPad.!

2)  As a way of introducing students to using the app, the teacher will take
the students around campus and show them how to use the app !
to identify, map, and collect trash found around the school. After, teacher
will show the Litterati Global Map, which updates hourly, to the class. !
This map will be displayed on the board 3 times a day (beginning of the
day, lunchtime, and end of the day) for the rest of the week so students !
can see how the global community is using this app to deal with the !
waste crisis and help ecosystems.!
https://map.litterati.org/globalmap/!
!
!
4) For homework all week, students will use the Litterati app to help pick
up at least 10 pieces of trash at school and/or home.!
!
!
5) At the end of the week, students will write a brief paragraph about !
whether or not they feel using technology in this way will be successful in !
getting the global community working together to fix the global waste !
crisis, and if they see themselves continuing to use this app on their own.!