Teaching Sequence

5 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
10 minutes – Part B: Understanding Recycling
25 minutes – Part C: Practising Recycling
10 minutes – Part D: Reflection

Preparation:

Attach one of each of the Recycling Category posters (Aus), Recycling Category poster (NZ) to the five tubs/buckets before beginning the lesson.

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Using a Think-Pair-Share visible thinking routine, invite students to consider the following question:

When we put items in our bins, where do they go?

Think Pair Share
Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
Think - students independently think about an issue or question and record their thoughts.
Pair - students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
Share - students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

When students share their ideas, note them on the whiteboard.

Step 2.

Using the Types of Bins Display, explain to students what happens to items that are placed in each kind of bin. Be sure to respond to misconceptions and fill gaps in understanding as demonstrated in their comments during the Think-Pair-Share activity.

Be sure to clearly state:

Rubbish bin: Contents go to landfill
Recycling bin: Contents are sorted and recyclables made into new products. These new products can be used and returned to the recycling bin over and over again and remade into new products
Garden bin: Contents are recycled into mulch.

Part B: Understanding Recycling

Step 1.

Read out the learning intentions and success criteria or write them on the board:

Students will...

I will understand that paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminium and steel can be recycled.
I will able to sort materials into groups.

Students can...

I can recall five main recycling categories (paper and cardboard, steel, aluminium, plastic and glass).
I can group items into recycling categories.

Step 2.

You could further explore the concept of recycling by watching the video Reduce Reuse Recycle Song for Kids as a class:

Reduce Reuse Recycle Song for Kids | The Kiboomers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOvcW8l3RzE

Ask the class to recall each recycling category mentioned in the song. When each category is mentioned, display the Recycling Guidelines poster and refer to the pictures on each poster so that students can make connections between what belongs in each recycling category. Add that while the video refers to tin, the poster explains this further, describing steel and aluminium as the two metals that can be recycled.

Step 3.

Ask students to sit in a semi-circle. In the space in the circle, place the classroom rubbish bin and the tubs labelled with each recycling category. Explain that you are going to check your class rubbish bin to see if there are any items that could have been recycled. Using tongs, take out one item at a time and invite students to determine whether it should be placed in one of the recycling tubs or left in the bin.

If your class has strong recycling practices established already, use this time to check that the right items are being placed in each different bin.

Step 4.

Once the sort is complete, engage students in a discussion reflecting on class recycling practices, by asking:

Have we been recycling properly in our classroom?
Is there anything we could change in our classroom to help us be better recyclers?

Part C: Practising Recycling

Step 1.

Arrange students into groups of three. Each group should have a collection of recyclable materials and a copy of the poster. Provide groups with time to sort all their items.

Step 2.

Provide students with the Student Worksheet and ask them to draw and count the items they placed in each category. This worksheet can be retained for assessment of student ability to sort and classify.

Step 3.

Ask students to form pairs with a person who was in a different group to them during the sorting activity. Have each student share what they wrote down on their worksheet with their partner, explaining which items they put into each category and how many of each they had.

Reflection

Conclude the lesson with a class discussion to reflect on learning. Ask students the following questions to reiterate key points of the lesson:

Do all of the things we put in the bin have to go to landfill?
What happens to things that we put in the recycling bin?
Is recycling good for our planet? How?
Is there anything we can do in our classroom/school to be better recyclers?

Differentiated Learning

Students should be placed in mixed ability groups in which they may support each other.

Take Action

This lesson may act as a suitable prompt for change within the broader school environment. Other teachers, leaders or principals could be invited into the classroom so that the students can share their thoughts and ideas and encourage further change 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?

Visy Education - Sorting Our Recycling

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Details

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Curriculum Mapping

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