Raise children's awareness about the importance of conservation with this hands-on science lesson. Start by breaking the class into groups and having them collect trash from around the school or local park. Students then use the provided Venn diagram to sort the items they found based on their ability to be reduced, reused, or recycled. Include this lesson as part your class's Earth Day celebration or as a supplement to an elementary science unit on ecosystems or the environment.

Concepts

reusing, recycling, environmental stewardship, the environment, conservation, bar graphs, graphs

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Additional Tags

conservation, reduce, reuse, recycle, environmentalism, bar graph, science

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Pros

• Includes a survey that asks children to reflect on how their everyday choices impact the environment
• Suggests an extension activity that allows for cross-curricular connections with math
• Offers an idea for a service learning project related to conservation

Cons

• Additional instruction may be necessary to clearly explain the negative impact different types of trash have on the environment

Common Core

2.MD.D.10 3.MD.B.3 MP4 MP5