Activity: National Recycling Week: Recycling Rhythms

Teacher preparation

You will need: An audio copy of the song ‘The Second Law: Unsustainable’ by Muse (from their album The Second Law) to play to the class, a cleared classroom space (groups can prepare their performances in close proximity in order to hear the music as it is played and repeated). Students can work from the online Student Worksheet or you can print one double-sided worksheet for each student. For the homework task students will need access to a copy of the steampunk recycling advertisement PDF.

* Students should be advised that IF they wish to use costumes, props or masks for their performance, they should prepare these beforehand. Alternatively, groups may perform their dance or mime in a later lesson in order to have more preparation time.

Teaching sequence

8 minutes – listening and responding to the song ‘The Second Law: Unsustainable’ by Muse (some words may need defining).

2 minutes – forming groups.

40-50 minutes – group preparation of dance or mime (the te

Thought starter: How can the arts make the world a better place?

Part 1.

Listen to the song ‘Unsustainable’ by Muse. Read the lyrics carefully as you listen: 

Unsustainable

All natural and technological
Processes proceed in such
a way that the availability of the
remaining energy decreases

In all energy exchanges, if no energy
enters or leaves an isolated system
the entropy of that system increases

Energy continuously flows from being
concentrated to becoming dispersed
spread out, wasted and useless

New energy cannot be
created and high-grade
energy is being destroyed

An economy based on endless growth is
UNSUSTAINABLE

Chorus
Unsus-
Unsustain-unsustainable
Unsustain-
Unsustaina-unsustaina-
Unsus-
Unsustain-unsustainable
Unsustaina-
You’re unsustainable

Unsustaina-unsustaina-taina

The fundamental laws of
thermodynamics will place fixed
limits on technological innovation
and human advancement

In an isolated system, the entropy
c