Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students build their understanding of the effect food choices have on our health and the health of our environment. They inspect the amount of packaging in their lunchbox then plan and undertake a rubbish free lunch to reduce the amount of schoolyard waste. 

 

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 understand the role and impact of food packaging
  • Students begin to take responsibility for unwanted food packaging
  • Students will rethink the concept of waste and brainstorm ways to ‘close the loop’.

21st century skills:

Community EngagementCommunicatingCreative ThinkingProblem Solving

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 5 Science

  • Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena (ACSHE081)
  • Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE217)
  • Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks (ACSIS088)

Year 6 Science

  • Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena (ACSHE098)
  • Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE220)
  • Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks (ACSIS105)

Year 7 Science

  • Some of Earth’s resources are renewable, but others are non-renewable (ACSSU116)
  • Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)

Year 8 Science

  • Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140)
  • Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships, including using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS144)
  • Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions (ACSIS145)

Syllabus outcomesST3-4WS, ST3-6PW, SC4-5WS, SC4-6WS, SC4-7WS, SC4-12ES

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

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

Topic: Waste, Clean Up.

Time required: 2 – 4 lessons.

Resources required: 

  • Gloves and tongs for collecting waste
  • One copy of the Student Worksheet for each student (or invite students to create their own).

Keywords: Food, packaging, waste, litter.

Safety: Ask students to review the Waste Safety Code for working with litter. Students should wear rubber gloves and/or tongs when collecting and handling litter.

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...

  • ... understand the role and impact of food packaging
  • ... begin to take responsibility for unwanted food packaging
  • ... rethink the concept of waste and brainstorm ways to 'close the loop'.

Success criteria: Students can...

  • ... explain the impact of food packaging on our environment
  • ... make a plan for reducing the amount of waste they produce.

Teacher content information: We have an amazing variety of food to choose from for our breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Some of this food comes wrapped in layers of paper and/or plastic packaging while other foods don’t have any packaging at all. Those foods that are packaged generally have a far greater environmental impact than those that have no packaging: packaging requires energy and resources to produce and contributes significantly to litter and landfill problems. 

How many of us think carefully about the packaging of the foods that we eat and make decisio

...
 
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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: Why do we need packaging? 

Design a Rubbish Free Lunch

What have I eaten today? Record all the food that you have eaten over the course of one day and how it was packaged.

What I have eaten today...

With or without
packaging

What sort of packaging is it (paper, plastic, cardboard, foil)?

Breakfast

 

 

Recess/Morning Tea

   

Lunch

 

 

Afternoon Tea

 

 

Dinner

 

 

Snacks

 

 

In groups prepare a new menu for the whole day using ingredients that have little or no packaging, or packaging that is recyclable or compostable. Draw a picture of your menu in a lunchbox.

 

Reflection

Work independently to think about what you looked at in this lesson and respond to the following:

I used to think...

But now I think...

...
 
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