Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: Look in the bins

15 minutes

Find Out: Where does the rubbish go?

25 minutes

Take Action: Singing about waste

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions & Success criteria

Students will:

explore where waste goes in Australia
expand topic knowledge of waste management systems in Australia.

Students can:

make connections to prior knowledge through discussion
explain where waste goes and the different measures used to sort waste in Australia.

Tune In: Look in the bins

Step 1

Begin by sharing the following image with students:

Invite students to suggest what they think goes in each of these bins. It is recommended to check your council website for specific instructions as what goes into each bin will vary according to the waste management facilities in your area.

Depending on your bin system, suggested answers could include the following:

Green - food waste and green waste
Yellow - paper, plastics, steel and aluminium recycling
Purple - glass recycling
Red - general waste that can’t be recycled.

You could extend your discussion to include examples from the classroom. For example:

What do we do with the waste in our classroom?
Which bin should our paper/food waste/food packaging/pencil shavings go into?

Activating and using prior knowledge to make connections is an essential literacy skill that helps students link new information to what they already know. This process enhances understanding by creating meaningful associations between the topic and personal experiences or previously learned material. By making these connections, students improve comprehension, retention, and engagement with the content.

Step 2

Next, invite students to think about the following question:

Are there any other ways to dispose of the waste that we create?

Prompt students to think about other types of bins or waste collection systems we might have, such as compost, chickens, worm farms, plastic bag recycling, or drop-off points for coffee pods, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, batteries, printer cartridges and mobile phones and other electronics.

Record these methods.

Learning opportunity: Check out this website (recyclingnearyou.com.au/materials/) to explore more recycling opportunities with your students in detail.

Step 3

Count the different types of waste collection systems the class came up with.

Explain to students that for some of these waste streams, such as compost, worm farms, or chickens, we can easily investigate what happens to the waste once it enters this stream. But what about the other types of waste? What happens to paper, plastic, glass, or general waste? What about the food and green waste that goes into the green bin?

Invite students to suggest answers to where our waste goes and explain that they will explore this in more detail.

Find Out: Where does the rubbish go?

Step 1

Share the following image with students.

Take a moment to discuss the image with students, clarifying student questions and explaining they will now explore these waste streams in more detail.

Learning opportunity: Watch this video (youtube.com/watch?v=E3u8k_FhZfY) as a class. It contains footage of inside a recycling facility, which might interest students.

Step 2

Break the class into four groups and assign each group one of the four bins:

Yellow - paper, plastics, steel and aluminium
Purple - glass
Green - food waste and green waste
Red - general waste

Give each student the relevant factsheet for their assigned group. Students should work in groups to read their factsheets and discuss the details. They can also work independently to add notes on any thoughts, ideas, or questions to the factsheets.

Learning extension: Students could visit your local council website to record the details of what items should be placed in the bin they focus on.

Step 3

Invite students to create new groups where each group contains at least one person representing each bin type. Students can summarise what they learned about the bin they looked at and what should and shouldn’t go into that bin. Alternatively, you could work as a class and ask volunteers from each group to share what they found out with the class.

Ensure all students have an understanding of:

where rubbish in a rubbish bin goes
what happens to recycling items
repurposing of green waste and food waste.

Take Action: Singing about waste

Step 1

Students will now work in mixed-ability groups to create a catchy song or rhyme to help their friends and families understand what can go into the bin and where it goes.

Students can use the tune of a song they are already familiar with and create new lyrics for it. Or they can create a new tune to accompany their lyrics.

Differentiation: Students could create an acrostic poem instead of a song.

Some suggested steps for guiding students in their songwriting could include (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Start by brainstorming what you want to say - what needs to be in the song and what would be nice to include but is not essential. This might be a bit of a messy and chaotic stage, but getting down to many ideas now will mean you have more to work with later.
Write a rough draft. This means roughly putting ideas together and not getting too fixated on it being perfect.
Recognise and follow patterns. Are any patterns or rhythms emerging? These are key elements of a catchy song, so can you build on these in your song? In addition, think about how you can use repetition and rhyming.

Be surprising! An element of surprise is a great feature to include in a song. It could be a little 'whoop', a rapid clapping sequence, or foot stamping. Adding a surprising feature will make the song more interesting and memorable.
Create your final draft and rehearse!

Step 2

Consider allowing students to share their songs with an audience, such as other students at their school.

Reflection

Lead students in a brief class discussion using the ‘So What?’ strategy, guiding students to make connections to their prior knowledge using discussion prompts such as:

So what? Why might we be learning about this?
This is important for us to understand because…

Where Does It Go?

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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