Recycling In The Classroom:  Sorting Through Garbage

Christina Noran                Delano Elementary School
                               3937 W. Wilcox Street
                               Chicago Illinois 60624
                               (312) 534-6620

Judy Lerner & Belinda Rawls    Delano Elementary School

Objectives:

     This lesson is to be done with students in the primary grades.  The main 
objectives of the lesson include having students list the different sorting 
categories of waste, sorting materials for recycling, creating a simple bar 
graph and interpreting data from the graph. 

Materials Needed:

     1.  One bag of 'clean' garbage that includes examples of paper, plastic, 
         aluminum, and glass.

     2.  A prepared graph for students to demonstrate the number of products for 
         each category.

     3.  A list of questions that allow students to interpret the graph.

     4.  Crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

Strategy:

     Have the children look at the material in the bag and describe the 
different categories of waste.  After they have done this, have the students 
sort the materials into the different categories.  Give students a blank graph 
so that they can record their results.

Performance Assessment:

     Attached to the graph, the students should have a list of questions where 
they can demonstrate their ability to interpret information on their graph and 
draw conclusions.

Conclusion:

     Students will benefit from this activity in several different ways.  
First, it helps to make them more aware of what they are throwing out in the 
trash.  Second, it helps students become more aware of materials that can be 
recycled.  Third, students will become familiar with creating and interpreting 
graphs.