Activity Introduction

Quick summary: This is a homework activity. In this activity students will investigate the types and amounts of rubbish that they and their family produce over the course of one day. Students will use the worksheet to record their results and will share their results with the class. Activity adapted from Activate Your Students: An inquiry-based learning approach to sustainability.

clean up logoFollowing this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Schools Clean Up Day. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.

Learning goals:

  • Students learn that even over one day a family can produce quite a lot of waste.
  • Students recognise that much of the waste produced by their families can be recycled and saved from going to landfill.

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 5 Mathematics:

  • Choose appropriate units of measurement for length, area, volume, capacity and mass  (ACMMG108)
  • Pose questions and collect categorical or numerical data by observation or survey (ACMSP118)
  • Construct displays, including column graphs, dot plots and tables, appropriate for data type, with and without the use of digital technologies (ACMSP119)

Year 5 Science:

  • Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)
  • Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218)
  • Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS093)

Year 6 Mathematics:

  • Interpret and compare a range of data displays, including side-by-side column graphs for two categorical variables (ACMSP147)

Year 6 Science:

  • Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS107)
  • Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS221)
  • Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS110)

Syllabus Outcomes: MA3-10MG, MA3-18SP, ST3-4WS.

Topic : Solid Waste

Time required: 48 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – lead students in a class discussion on the results.

Resources required: Copy of worksheet for each students, and each student will also need 6 containers and/or plastic bags to use at home and a set of kitchen or bathroom scales.

Digital learning opportunities: Digital sharing capabilities.

Homework and extension opportunities: This is a homework activity.

Safety: Students develop family safety code.

Keywords: Waste, recycling, disposal, family, home.

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

Schools Clean Up Day

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Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Overarching learning goal: In this activity students will investigate the types and amounts of rubbish that they and their family produce over the course of one day. Students will use the worksheet to record their results and will share their results with the class.

Hot tips: Students will need to carry out much of this activity at home, looking at the types and amount of waste produced by their family over one day. They will then need to bring the data from their home waste investigation into the classroom for analysis.

Student and classroom organisation

Step 1. Explain to the class that this is a homework activity in which the students will investigate the types and amounts of waste that they and their families produce over the course of one day.

Step 2. Students will need to make their families aware of the day long activity, and will need to provide clear instructions on how to carry out the exercise. These instructions would be best provided by the cla

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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: Who makes the most waste in your family?

Instructions for weighing your family's solid waste:

  1. Develop a family safety code to make sure you and your family stay safe when handling waste (there are some tips for developing a family safety code at the end of this worksheet).
  2. Set up six containers or plastic bags at home that are suitable for collecting different types of waste (glass, metal, paper and cardboard, plastic, organic matter, other).
  3. Weigh the six plastic bags and their bins and write the weights in the table.
  4. Ask each of your family members to place all their rubbish into the correct bins over the course of the day.
  5. At the end of the day, weigh the six plastic bags and their bins again (with their contents) and write these weights in the table below.

Tips for calculating the amounts of waste:

  • To calculate the weight of each type of waste, subtract the number in column 2 from the number in column 3.
  • To calculate the percentage of each typ
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