Clean Up Australia - Don't Pay a Packet: Year 3 & 4

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students will study the packaging on everyday items and gain an understanding of the various types of packaging that exist. Students will learn about the effect packaging has on the environment. They will look at ways packaging can be refused, reduced, reused and recycled. Students will create their own packaging for an everyday item, which is 100% environmentally friendly.

Following this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Schools Clean Up Day or a Clean Up on any day of the year. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.

Learning intentions:

Students gain an understanding of the resources required to make packaging
Students build an understanding of how they can reduce their packaging
Students communicate their understanding by creatively designing a label.

21st century skills:

Communicating Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Problem Solving Team Work

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 4 Science

Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties; These properties can influence their use (ACSSU074)
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE062)

Year 4 Geography

The use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainably (ACHASSK090)

Year 3 Science

Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE051)
Represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways such as diagrams, physical representations and simple reports (ACSIS060)

Syllabus outcome: GE2-2, GE2-3, ST2-11LW, ST2-4WS, ST2-13MW.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.3, OI.8.

Topic: Clean Up, Waste.

Time needed: 60 minutes.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium.

Resources needed:

Access to devices with internet access
A range of packaging items
Permission to go on an excursion to a local supermarket.

Keywords: Waste, recycling, resource, rubbish, landfill, contamination.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher Preparation

Learning intentions: Students will...

... gain an understanding of the resources required to make packaging
... build an understanding of how they can reduce their packaging
... communicate their understanding by creatively designing a label.

Success criteria: Students can...

... explain how packaging can impact our environment
... design environmentally-friendly packaging that meets set criteria.

Teacher content information: Packaging is the name given to the containers in which products are bought, sold and transported. It is an important part of everything we buy. Most foods and drinks come in some type of packaging. Packaging is made from a variety of different materials, including paper, cardboard, glass, steel, plastics and aluminium.

There are four main reasons for packaging:

To preserve food
To contain objects so that they can be transported safely
To describe and identify the contents, so that customers can find out the cont

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Student Worksheet

Thought Starters: When you buy something, what happens to the packaging?

Types of packaging - findings

Visit the local supermarket or have a look at products that your teacher has bought from home. Find at least five food or beverage items that fit into the table below.

No wrapper	One wrapper

Two wrappers	Three or more wrappers

Packaging Materials

In the table below, write down the number of items the class collected and if they could be reused, recycled or thrown away.

What	Number collected	Threw Away	Reused	Recycled	Composted
Plastic
Glass
Metal
Paper
Wood
Food
Other
Total

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Activity: Clean Up Australia – Don’t Pay a Packet: Year 3 & 4