Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Recycling a Phone?

25 minutes

Part B: Recycling Questions

25 minutes

Part C: Recycle Rescue

Part A: Recycling a Phone?

Step 1

Begin the lesson with a class discussion about whether students own a mobile phone and / or a home printer. The discussion could address some of the following issues:

What do students think the term 'recycling' actually means?
Suggested answer - materials that can be made into something new. Examples from your lunchbox: soft plastics like a chip packet or muesli bar wrapper can be recycled at the supermarket through REDcycle and turned into playground benches or garden beds.
How many mobile phones and printers do they have in their home? Add up how many mobiles and printers are owned by all students in the class and their families and write the figures on the board.
Ask students if they know about recycling electronic waste (e-waste)?
Has anyone ever recycled a printer cartridge or an old mobile phone? Where and how did they recycle them?
Do students think that there could be any global problems associated with keeping old phones?

Part B: Recycling Questions

Step 1

Play the following video for your class:

MobileMuster Promise Video (https://vimeo.com/88409992)

Step 2

Explain to the class that they will be making a list of questions about recycling electronics. Later in the class students will be working together to find answers to these questions using the Planet Ark website.

Invite students to form pairs and make a list of any questions that they have about recycling electronics. If needed, you can prompt your class with the following question; 'how many phones are recycled each year?'.

Step 3

You will now be running a 5 minute chalk talk where all students can share and expand on their electronic recycling questions. A chalk talk is a thinking routine where students are invited to write their thoughts/ideas/knowledge on the whiteboard. In this case students will be sharing their electronic recycling questions. Students are also allowed to question, comment or extend on what others have added to the board. Explain that this is a bit like a whole class discussion but everything is written on the whiteboard.

Explain the rules of a chalk talk to your class, lay out a range of whiteboard markers and begin the activity.

If you would like further support running a chalk talk, the following video shows how you could introduce this thinking routine to your class.

Chalk Talk (https://www.rcsthinkfromthemiddle.com/chalk-talk.html)

Step 4

Work with your class to turn the chalk talk into a final list of research questions. Encourage further refinement of questions that address the origin of the material used in phones or any ethical or social issues associated with phone production. Aim to create a list long enough to allocate one question per 3-4 students in your class.

Step 5

Ask students to form groups of 3-4 and allocate them one of the questions from your class research list. Invite groups to use a web-enabled devices to research information about their question, preparing to report back to the whole class.

Step 6

Invite groups to present their research to the class inviting their peers to ask clarifying questions to each group after their presentations.

You may choose to film or record audio from these presentations, to share with your class.

Part C: Recycle Rescue

Step 1

Invite students to apply their new knowledge by completing the Student Worksheet: How do I rescue my old mobile phone?

The worksheet develops critical thinking skills and looks at how personal values and scientific knowledge affect the decision making process.

Step 2

After students complete their worksheet, engage them in a class discussion that addresses the following issues:

What natural resources go into making a mobile phones and printer cartridges.
Are these resources renewable or non-renewable?
What happens to mobile phones and cartridges during the recycling process?

Extension

By recycling mobiles and printer cartridges, not only do we make our waste pile smaller, we also reduce the consumption of natural resources. Ask students to research the following issues:

How important an issue do you think electronic waste (e-waste) is in Australia?
What are some of the environmental challenges surrounding the consumption of electronic goods?
Is the consumption sustainable?
How can we minimise the impact of our consumption?

Support Material

National Recycling Week - Recycle Rescue

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