Clean Up Australia - Are You Sure It's A Waste? Circular Economy

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• communication
• community engagement
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• collaboration    

Australian Curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 7 Economics and Business:

• The reasons businesses exist and how different types of businesses provide goods and services (AC9HE7K02).
• Develop questions to investigate a contemporary economic and business issue (AC9HE7S01).
• Locate, select and organise information and data from a range of sources (AC9HE7S02).

Year 8 Economics and Business:

• How markets influence decisions about the allocation of resources to the production of goods and services and the effect of prices on these decisions (AC9HE8K01).
• Develop questions to investigate a contemporary economic and business issue (AC9HE8S01).
• Gather relevant data and information from a range of digital, online and print sources (AC9HE8S02).

Year 9 Economics and Business:

• Develop and modify questions to investigate a contemporary economic and business issue (AC9HE9S01).
• Locate, select and analyse information and data from a range of sources (AC9HE9S02).

NSW Syllabus outcomes: C4.2, C4.3, C4.4, C4.7, C4.9, C5.2, C5.3, C5.4, C5.7, C5.9.

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Literacy.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

Relevant parts of Economics and Business achievement standards 

• Year 7: Students describe the interdependence of consumers and producers in the market. When researching, students develop questions and gather data and information from different sources to investigate an economic or business issue. 
• Year 8: Students explain how markets operate and recognise why governments may influence the market’s operation. When researching, students develop questions and gather relevant data and information from different sources to investigate an economic or business issue.
• Year 9: Students explain the role of the Australian economy in allocating and distributing resources. When researching, students develop questions and simple hypotheses to frame an investigation of an economic or business issue. They gather and analyse relevant data and information from different sources to answer questions.

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Clean Up Australia - Secondary Curriculum.

Time required: 60+ mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium - lead students in class discussions, oversee survey design and conducting, support students in survey analysis.

UN SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

• Device capable of presenting a website to the class
• Survey Design Tips
• Student Worksheet – one copy per student

This lesson was created in partnership with Clean Up Australia and its Education Partner, Unilever Australia - maker of household staples including Dove, Rexona, TRESemmé, Omo, Continental, Hellmann’s and Streets ice creams. Unilever and Clean Up Australia joined forces in 2020 to help inspire and empower Australians to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment. To learn more about the action Unilever is taking to improve the health of the planet, visit Sustainability - Planet & Society | Unilever.  

Following this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Schools Clean Up Day or a Clean Up on any day of the year. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.