Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

15 minutes

Part B: How To Close The Loop

30 minutes

Part C: Who Is Closing The Loop?

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1

Take a quick class survey, asking students to report how many computers, printer cartridges, televisions and mobile phones are currently in each household. Draw up a three-column table on the whiteboard or Smartboard and ask each student to come up and make tally marks to reflect their responses. Calculate the totals and discuss the results.

Consider these points:

Until they were asked to count them, many students may never have tallied up these items and may be surprised to learn that there were so many of these items in their own household. Was this true of some students?
What does the class think of the total figure? Is this excessive or is it a fair representation of the average household?

Part B: How To Close The Loop

Step 1

Read the Closing the loop Resource Sheet aloud to students. This phase of the lesson is designed to provide a summary about closing the loop in relation to familiar products – computers, cartridges, televisions and mobile phones.

Step 2

Allocate time in class for students to explore the websites listed on the Student Worksheet. Emphasise that they should aim to complete their answers on the Student Worksheet during their exploration.

Step 3

Once complete, invite students to share their answers with the class or with a small group of peers.

Part C: Who Is Closing The Loop?

Have students create a poster-sized diagram of the way in which ONE of the organisations featured in this lesson close the loop for a particular type of product. Encourage them to prepare to present their work to the class, justifying their choices in diagramming the production and consumption cycle. One online resource students could use to inspire ideas is Eco Innovators.

Differentiated Learning

Provisions for Learning Support: Pair students with learning difficulties with a reader to help them grasp the content on the Student Worksheet. Assign extra time for the completion of the task.

Extension: Students might like to read about other initiatives operating in Australia which aim to help close the loop. Discuss the kinds of key terms that might be helpful to use in an internet search engine or library catalogue search.

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?

National Recycling Week - Closing The Loop

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