Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Students work in small groups to research the school waste system and then use their research findings to produce a five minute presentation called Our school waste tour.

Teacher content information: Before the activity, do some research of your own. Find out the cost of disposing of all the school’s rubbish and recyclables as well as the cost of buying all the paper used by the school Some schools use as much as two reams of paper for each student per year. At $5-6 per ream, this can add up to tens of thousands of dollars each year for a typical secondary school; money that could be spent on other things for the school such as sporting or music equipment.

This activity can be followed with the activity 'Waste pathways'. Findings from this activity can be used in the 'Waste pathways' activity.

Student and classroom organisation:

* This activity requires some teacher preparation - see Teacher content information above.

Step 1.

Introduce the activity with some Did you know? statements e.g. "did you know that this school spends $X000 each year on disposing of all our waste?" or "did you know that this school uses five pallets of photocopy paper each year – XX reams?"

Step 2.

Ask students to imagine that they were asked to explain the school’s waste system to a new student who had come from another country. Would they be able to explain to the new student where he or she should place each type of waste? Could they explain where each of the different waste streams ended up? This activity will help them to better understand the school system, plus it will also help them to hone their media making and presentation skills.

Step 3.

Split the class into small groups. Give each group the task of preparing a five minute photographic presentation/movie to inform new students about the waste system in our school. They could look at the following waste streams:

Organics (food scraps)
Organics (garden waste)
Paper
Cardboard
Plastic bottles
Aluminium cans
Printer or photocopier cartridges
Other items such as corks or unwanted clothing/household goods
Rubbish

Remind students about the Class Waste Safety Code when working outdoors. Give them a limited time to take photographs/movie footage of the waste system. Depending on the system in your school, they could record photographs/movie of:

Classroom collection bins/boxes for recyclables, rubbish and organics, plus any signage on these containers;
Storage bins for recycled paper, cardboard, bottles and cans, prior to collection by a recycling vehicle;
The school skips; and/or
Compost bins or heaps and worm farms.

Step 4.

Back in class, the groups sort their best photos and movies and prepare their presentation, which should run for no more than five minutes.

Step 5.

Each group then gives their presentation to the rest of the class, with another group giving constructive feedback on the presentation using the Presentation Rubric.

Assessment/Reflection

Students could vote for one presentation to be made available to new students. The presentation could be placed on the school’s website or blog.

5 minute school waste tour

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