Teaching Sequence

10 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
20 minutes – Part B: The Audit
20 minutes – Part C: The Calculations
10 minutes – Reflection:

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Read out the learning intentions and success criteria or write them on the board:

Learning intentions:

I will be able to sort recyclables and waste materials into categories.
I will be able to estimate the total consumption of each material within the school.

Success criteria:

I can recall which items can be recycled through our local council (aluminium and tin, paper and cardboard, firm plastics and glass).
I am aware that food scraps can be composted.
I can explain why green waste should be separated from landfill.
I can find the mass of recyclables, green waste, compost and landfill in the classroom.
I can use the data from our class waste to predict totals for the school.

Step 2.

Set the scene for the class by screening the following video: Visy Recycling Education Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnH5rUUvd28)

Step 3.

Invite students to discuss the benefit of recycling centres such as the ones Visy operates, using the following questions as prompts:

What does Visy do?
What is the benefit of recycling?
What are the types of items that can be recycled?
Do we all recycle at home?
Do we recycle in our classroom?

Part B: The Audit

Step 1.

Explain that during this lesson, the class will be exploring recycling and waste habits within the school. Introduce students to the idea of in-school recycling by screening the following video:

Wipe Out Waste school program – Behind the News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJcLPZ0raVc)

Step 2.

Engage the class in a discussion about the video, asking the following questions:

What are the schools in the video trying to achieve?
Why is it important to reduce waste?
What items can be recycled? (refer to Recycling Guidelines poster to confirm).
What other ways can we recycle or reduce waste?
How do our school's recycling practices compare to those in the video?

Step 3.

Explain that just as the students in the video sorted and checked their rubbish and recyclables, the class is going to do the same. This will help to work out what the school is currently achieving and if there is anything that can be done differently.

Describe the process that will be used to do so:

Collect all bins from Year 4 classes.
Sort items into categories:
1. Green waste
2. Compostable food scraps
3. Paper and Cardboard
4. Other recyclable materials
5. Landfill
Find the mass for each group of materials.

Step 4.

This part of the lesson should be conducted outside on sealed ground such as concrete or asphalt to ensure litter can be easily collected at the conclusion of the activity. Students should use tongs and/or gloves, to ensure this task remains safe and hygienic.

The following items will need to be taken outside:

Bins collected from Year 4 classes
Tongs and/or gloves
Labelled tubs/bins to collect the items from each category
Scales (i.e. bathroom scales that bins/tubs can be placed on).

Turn out the contents of all bins and provide students with time to sort the contents.

Note: If your school has well-established recycling habits, students can find the mass for each category, then separate items found in the correct bins and those found in the incorrect bins, considering how much improvement could be made by ensuring all items are correctly sorted.

Step 5.

As a class, weigh the items from each group and record on the Audit Results section of the Student Worksheet. Be sure to measure the weight of the bins/tubs first, then subtract the number from the figure before recording.

Extension – This may be an opportunity to teach about the tare function of a digital scale.

Part C: The Calculations

Step 1.

Display the findings for the class to see and discuss, asking questions such as:

Is this data similar to what you expected?
What is surprising/interesting about this data?

Step 2.

Explain to the class that they will now be working in groups of 3 or 4 to try and develop ways to work out an estimate of how much of each category there would be in the school for one week. Each group will discuss the problem and try to work out a logical way to calculate the totals. They will need to consider factors such as how many classes there are in Year 4, how many more classes there are in the school, and how many more bins there are outside of classrooms etc.

Each group is to be provided with:

The Student Worksheet (if they don't already have one) – refer to the Recycling Audit section
Calculators
Notepaper and pens or pencils.

Organise students into groups and allocate them time to complete the task.

The teacher should roam around the classroom to ensure each group is successfully sharing ideas and developing relevant mathematical procedures to find results. In some instances, groups may need to be prompted or guided.

Step 3.

Invite each group to share their estimates and explain how they came to their total.

Once all students have shared, discuss the following:

Which estimates do we think are most accurate? Why?
What could we do to find more accurate data?
What is interesting about the information we have found?

Reflection

Reflect on the recycling practices of the class and school by asking groups to share their responses to the questions on the Student Worksheet.

What does the school do with each of these groups of materials?
Could the school improve or change anything?
What ideas do you have for how the school could improve or change?

Taking Action

This lesson may act as a prompt for change within the broader school environment. In these cases, other teachers, leaders or principals could be invited into the classroom so that the students can share their thoughts and ideas and encourage further change within the school.

Differentiated Learning

Students should be placed in mixed ability groups for this task. Students who find mathematics challenging will be supported by others in their group, and more capable students will refine their understandings as they explain concepts to others in their group.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The information and statistics included in this document are approximate and have been simplified for educational/illustrative purposes. They should not be relied upon for any other purpose.

Visy Education - Weighing Our Impact

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

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