Which sustainability component will your lesson focus on?
Our lesson will focus on nutrient recycling (composting, recycling, landfills).
What related problem/issue will you present?
Most people are not aware of the proper way to dispose of their wastes. The public also remains largely unconcerned about the amount of wastes they produce on an annual basis.
What supporting facts characterize the problem?
In 2001, America generated approximately 409 trillion tons of trash, and only 31% of the waste was properly recycled.
What solution will you offer?
We hope to teach students how to properly sort their waste.
What action or actions do you want people to take as a result of your lesson?
After viewing our presentation, we hope that students will be motivated to create their own recycling, composting, and landfill bins at home. We also wish hope that students will become more eco-conscious, and consider the amount of wastes they produce.
Please attach any supporting audio, video, images, files, blogs, links, graphs or other related to the problem or your solution?
Describe (in detail) what you presented on EARTH Day. Be sure to describe your "hook," your activity, and your "wrap up" in enough detail that next year's groups will be able to use it and improve upon it.
We began our presentation by asking students whether they knew (or cared) where their trash went after they threw it away. We followed this question by stating the fact listed in A3. Then we proceeded to list definitions that pertain to our presentation topic, such as landfill, recycle, and reuse. Following the definitions, we organized the students in a single-file line in order to participate in our activity, 'trashketball'. Students then were each given a piece of trash and were asked to throw their trash into the correct bin. We had three bins that were labeled "compost", "recycle", and "landfill." After completing our activity, students were asked to define the terms introduced at the beginning of our presentation in their own words. We concluded our presentation by passing out pens and pencils made out of recycling materials.
Please describe in detail suggestions you have for improving your presentation if it were to be done in the future.
Although our presentation went smoothly, there are several aspects that can be improved. One of which is the way we presented our terms/definitions. Students seemed somewhat disinterested when we were explaining the terms. I would suggest finding a more interactive/interesting way of intoducing the terms to students. Another area of improvement would include our activity. While trashketball seemed like an appropriate activity, it was difficult to have the students actively engaged. In the future, I would find another activity that was a little more interactive and hands-on. Overall though, our presentation was successful.