Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Part A: The E-Waste Context

30 minutes

Part B: Mobile Phones And The Circular Economy

35 minutes

Part C: Taking Action

10 minutes

Reflection

Part A: The E-Waste Context

Step 1

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be focusing on electronic waste and what people can do to manage it. Introduce students to this by reading the article "War on waste: Why we should recycle our old mobile phones".

Step 2

While reading the article, pause to discuss pertinent ideas and information. Record main points on the whiteboard.

Step 3

At the conclusion of the article, engage the class in further discussion about the content. Be sure to emphasise that the examples of keeping old electronics at home and putting them in household rubbish or hard rubbish are both examples of linear economies. This means that resources are consumed and become waste, and then more resources need to be found to make new products.

Draw an example flow chart on the board to support your explanation. It may look like the one below.

Step 4

Explain that there is an alternative to linear economies called a circular economy. In this type of economy, resources are consumed in a circular manner. After use they are recycled, up-cycled, reused or decompose back into the Earth, omitting waste and solving the problem of overuse of finite resources.

Step 5

Hand out a copy of the Student Worksheet to each student. Show the video Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy, pausing regularly to discuss and explain each concept as it is presented.

Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy (https://youtu.be/zCRKvDyyHmI)

Step 6

At the end of the video, invite the class to respond to the following questions on the Student Worksheet:

What is a circular economy?
Is a circular economy better than a linear economy? Why?
What could we do differently with our e-waste to ensure we are participating in a circular economy?

Step 7

Facilitate a class discussion using the previous questions as prompts to highlight the difference between a circular and linear economy.

Part B: Mobile Phones and the Circular Economy

Step 1

Explain to students that they will now be focusing more specifically on mobile phones and what choices we can make to ensure that they become part of a circular economy.

Invite students to form groups of two or three and direct students to Part B of the Student Worksheet.

Step 2

Explain the Circular Economy of Phones task to the class using these instructions:

In your groups, watch the following five videos and visit the MobileMuster website to investigate disposing of mobile phones in an ethical manner and how this contributes to a circular economy.

Videos:

India Faces Huge Challenge of Recycling E-Waste – from start until 1:53 (https://youtu.be/Of2-mz96tUQ)
Story Hopper: A Free Trip (https://youtu.be/1rhGoAzDDaE)
MobileMuster: Our Story (https://vimeo.com/264180280)
MobileMuster: The Recycling Journey (https://vimeo.com/265126143)

Website:

MobileMuster

Use the following questions to guide your research as you explore the texts. Record your answers and ideas on your worksheet.

What different things can you do with your old phone that contribute to a circular economy?
Does it matter where you send your phone for recycling? Why?
Where can Australians send their phone to ensure that it will be recycled or reused responsibly?
How can we assist all members of our community to know what to do with their old phones?

Step 3

Once students have had sufficient time to complete their group explorations, invite them to reconvene as a class and facilitate a discussion using their answers to each question as stimulus.

Part C: Taking Action

Step 1

Explain to students that in this part of the lesson they are working in pairs or by themselves to design a poster to be displayed around the school to encourage members of the community to make ethical and sustainable choices about what to do with their old mobile phones.

Step 2

Provide students with the Promoting a Circular Economy Task Sheet, and read through the four task instructions (included below).

1. Your poster is to be created digitally. You may select what software you use; some options include:

Canva
Adobe Spark
Microsoft Word

2. Select one of the following purposes for your poster:

To encourage the audience to pass on their old phones.
To encourage the audience to donate their old phones.
To encourage the audience to recycle their old phones.
To encourage the audience to use MobileMuster to recycle their old phones.

3. Think about the following features when creating your poster:

Use of colour – i.e. will you have a complementary or contrasting colour theme?
Layout – does your poster feel balanced? Do the reader's eyes flow through all content?
Language – does the language engage the audience? Are persuasive language techniques used?
Simplicity – does the message stand out? Can it be understood easily?
Images – how can images help to engage or persuade the reader?

4. Use the 'Think About' features and questions above when providing constructive peer feedback.

Remember: People read posters as they are moving past them. Your poster should attract attention and communicate a message quickly with use of clear, simple text and images.

Step 3

Spend time explaining the 'Think About' features to help students plan out an interesting and effective poster. This will also help students provide constructive feedback to their peers in Step 4.

Step 4

Depending on how much time you have, allocate a set amount of time for students to complete the task (approx. 20–30 mins). At the halfway point of the allocated time, invite students to share their poster with another group, providing an opportunity to receive constructive peer feedback. They can use the questions in Step 2, Part 3, above, to guide them.

Step 5

Once the time for creating the posters has concluded, have all students leave their digital devices open on tables with their posters displayed. Allow time for students to move around the room and observe the work of their peers.

Reflection

Reconvene as a class and discuss the features and strategies groups used when creating their posters to get the circular economy message across. Discuss the effectiveness of the posters and where the posters could be positioned around the school for optimum impact.

Organise who will be printing the posters, collecting them and mounting them and when each process will be completed.

Differentiated Learning

Extension – If students have alternative ideas for promotion that can be achieved with the available resources, allow them to pursue their ideas. For example, they may choose to create a Podcast, Flyer, Video etc. These alternative options require students to demonstrate similar English skills and can broaden the range of audiences the message will reach.

Provisions for Learning Support – Some students may benefit from working with a partner and the use of an existing template or other examples to help guide their poster.

Taking It further

There are many ways this lesson could be extended further to increase impact and engage with the community more broadly.

Students could:

Develop a speech to be presented at assembly, explaining the campaign, its purpose and the importance of making sustainable and ethical choices.
Get in touch with a local paper to share the initiative and generate additional publicity.
Develop a presentation for teachers.
Connect with a company such as MobileMuster to discuss whether disposal bins could be placed within the school.

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 - Where Did My Phone Go?

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