Teacher Preparation

Students will...

... understand why upcycling can improve the recycling loop
… understand the steps in the design thinking process.

Students can...

… answer questions and identify examples of the steps in the design thinking process
... follow instructions to create an upcycled cardboard mini side table.

Make the learning intentions and success criteria visible to students throughout this lesson.

Teacher content information: What do you do with the cardboard you no longer need? Most of us are used to putting cardboard straight into the recycling bin (go us!) so that it can be recycled and turned into new cardboard. But what if we could re-imagine the cardboard packaging that we use as a material that can be used to make art, craft, instruments, homewares and even furniture?

Thinking about how we can use an object in a completely new way is called 'upcycling'. Unlike recycling, upcycling does not break the product down to its raw materials for repurposing. Instead, it transforms the existing materials into something else.

Thinking of ways to upcycle materials like cardboard is a great way to shift our thinking about what we should do with these materials. Even if we recycle materials, recycling uses energy and resources in terms of production processes and transportation. Upcycling reduces the number of resources and energy consumed to keep using cardboard. It also means you are making something that you might have to buy instead; this saves you money and means you are not using more natural resources to create a new object.

Upcycling is a way to re-think, re-imagine and re-manufacture our resources; to ignore this would be a wasted opportunity.

Information about Visy: This activity has been developed in partnership with Visy. For over 70 years Visy has been committed to finding sustainable solutions for Australia’s recyclables and helping to reduce material sent to landfill. Visy collects, receives and sorts paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, steel and aluminium from households, businesses and schools with the purpose of reusing these products in the re-manufacture of new packaging products.

Information about Design Thinking: The Design Thinking approach is one used by designers to generate new ideas to solve problems. It involves conducting research, developing ideas, prototyping and refining ideas to produce a solution valued by the people who will be using it (end users).

While the actual terminology varies, the Design Thinking process typically cycles through the following stages:

Empathise: Develop an understanding of the challenge and research
Define: Synthesise and interpret information and develop the problem statement
Research: Find out the theories and thinking experts in this space are currently investigating or implementing
Ideate: Develop and refine ideas in response to the problems/issues identified
Prototype: Create prototypes, gather feedback, evaluate and re-prototype
Test: Implement and reflect upon changed ideas, track change and continue to develop.

In this lesson, students will have the chance to follow all the Design Thinking steps to produce their own upcycled cardboard furniture for use in the classroom.

More information about the stages of Design Thinking can be found here.

Want to know more about teaching using Design Thinking? Check out the Introduce Primary Students to Design Thinking online Professional Development course!

Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes - Tune In
15 minutes - Find Out
20 minutes – Take Action

Tune In

Step 1.

Hold up a piece of cardboard in front of the class and invite them to:

describe it (e.g. how does it look, feel, and smell)
explain what it is used for
explain where it comes from (suggested answers: made from trees or by recycling paper and cardboard)
suggest what might happen to it now (suggested answers: recycled, upcycled, composted, thrown in the bin/wasted).

Step 2.

Then work as a class to respond to the following question:

what is 'upcycling?'

You might like to break this word into its parts: up and (re)cycling.

One definition might be:

upcycling is the creative reuse of existing materials to form something new. Unlike recycling, upcycling does not break the product down to its raw materials for repurposing. Instead, it transforms the existing materials into something else.

Note that the association with recycling can be a little confusing for us. In the case of upcycling, we're reusing the same materials in a new project.

Invite students to suggest examples of upcycling, for example:

using recyclable materials in an art project
using egg cartons as seedling trays
using cans (like soup or tomato cans) as storage containers
creating a watering can out of a milk bottle
making a bug hotel out of a milk carton.

Step 3.

Then pose the following question:

What might be the benefits of upcycling?

The benefits of upcycling can include:

reducing the materials sent to landfill
conserving resources and reducing pollution
reducing production costs and energy use
filling a need for a new object or solving a problem that we have - upcycling saves us from buying something new
encouraging creativity.

Explain that even though cardboard is generally made from recycled paper and cardboard and so can be considered a sustainable material, each time something gets recycled, there is a lot of energy involved in transporting and processing these materials. By upcycling something before recycling it, you are increasing the value of that material and decreasing the energy costs associated with it.

Find Out

Step 1.

Now explain to students that they will think about how they could upcycle cardboard into a piece of furniture and what steps can be taken in this design process.

Watch this video to see how others go about designing and creating cardboard furniture:

DIY cardboard furniture with free IKEA-style instructions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IaSXJOGiuk)

Once complete, invite students to share what they noticed about this video.

Step 2.

Then explain that they will analyse this video further, looking at the steps taken to design and create a useful piece of upcycled furniture.

They will align these steps with the Design Thinking process (you can use this image to explain it).

Working from the Student Worksheet, students work in groups to answer the following questions about the video. The questions below deal with the first piece of furniture created in the video, and video timings have been provided so you can replay the parts of the video that relate to the questions:

Empathise (start to 0:52) - This is where we work out who needs the furniture and what they need it for
- Who needed the furniture in this video?
- What did they want it to do? How would they be using it?
Define (start to 0:52) - This is where we start thinking of a solution based on the needs of the people we are creating a solution for
- What was the solution that was proposed in this video?
- What problem does the solution address?
Research (1:23 to 1:52 and 2:19 to 3:15) - What do we need to know about the materials we will use?
- What did the designer need to find out about the cardboard being used in the design in this video? For example, it was thin and lightweight.
- What are the risks and opportunities for each of these points? For example, it is relatively easy to work with, and it can be moved around easily, but it won’t support a heavy load.
Ideation and prototype phase (0:52 to 1:23 and 3:59 to 4:47) - This is where you start planning the design you’d like to make
- What did the designer do to plan and design the piece of furniture? Were there drawings or models created?
- Why do you think these were created?

Extension

Consider inviting students to write their answers as a brief report with an introduction, body and conclusion. This could be used to satisfy the literacy general capability for this lesson.

Note: Where students will be creating their own designs in the following lesson, you can explain that they will be using the Design Thinking process in that lesson as well.

Take Action

Step 1.

Students can now work in groups to create a miniature version of the side table viewed in the video (see the image on the right). The template for the mini side table can be found here (this is based on the full-sized nightstand assembly instructions created by the designer featured in the video). The mini side table template can be printed and placed onto your cardboard and traced.

For visual interest, students could decorate their cardboard before creating their mini side table, using paint, markers, coloured tape or stickers.

When students are ready to assemble their mini side tables, they can use the instructions in this document (use the final page).

Reflection

Provide students with the opportunity to share their experiences of working with cardboard and making the mini side table:

what did you like about working with cardboard?
what didn’t you like about working with cardboard?
what are some other ways that you can think of to upcycle cardboard?

Differentiated Learning

Extension: There are several extension points throughout this lesson. See the call-out boxes above for these points in context with the lesson.

Provisions for Learning Support: Some students may need support throughout the design process. Consider giving these students additional time to plan out their design. Students with motor impairments may require support in constructing their designs. As each student will have unique requirements, review these requirements and consider strategies for support in line with any individual support plan.

Take it further

Some other upcycled cardboard projects you could share with your students:

Cardboard arts - https://www.upcyclist.co.uk/2018/05/recycled-cardboard-art/
Cardboard crafts and homewares - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9Lezlm3RU
Cardboard homewares - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbRgxOS80c8
Cardboard guitar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oo2H-W7d6A
Cardboard surfboard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Qs7CXYlIs

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?

Visy Education - Upcycling Cardboard

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