Objectives
Recently there has been an increase in the number of initiatives started at our schools and in our communities to recycle solid waste materials. At the school where I teach recycling is an ongoing effort. There are recycling bins in the teacher's lounge, classrooms collect aluminum can tabs, and the cafeteria now has recycling bins to collect solid waste materials. There is a thrust on recycling and it is a word that the students use frequently. They do not hesitate to remind a teacher or fellow student to recycle his/her plastic water bottle. Most, if not all, of their knowledge of why we recycle is associated with pollution of the environment. The level of pollution that they are aware of is basically what they see locally or are exposed to on television. Very few of my students understand pollution beyond their local community or environment.
This unit will be divided into three major topical sections focusing on the specific areas potentially impacted by plastic bottles and plastic bags. The three topical areas of focus for this unit include: Energy, Environment, and Climate. There are four major questions to be answered during the course of the learning and exploration activities for each section. The four questions for each of the topical areas are: 1) What is happening? [The problem] 2) Why is it happening? [The causality] 3) What does plastic have to do with it? [The contributing factors of Global warming] and 4) How are we contributing to the problem? [Choices]. Answers to each of the four major questions will be facilitated through direct teacher instruction, interactive Internet websites, informative text reading material, and group work.
Acknowledging that locally and globally there is an emphasis on recycling, conserving energy, and using alternative and renewable energy resources, my goal is to have students take a step back and ask themselves why. Why is there such an emphasis on these things now? I want them to be able to look at the bigger picture that encompasses this emphasis.
I want this unit to enable students to become knowledgeable, or more knowledgeable, of the significant impact and effect that solid waste materials can have on health, the environment, and climate. With this in mind, the focus of this unit will be on plastics as a [recyclable] group of products. A particular emphasis will be on plastic bottles and bags (LDPE or PET, polyethylene). Their relationship to fossil fuel combustion, impact on the environment, potential impact on health, and contribution to global warming via CO 2 emissions will be areas of focus. Students will recognize that they make choices and the choices they make can potentially have a negative or positive impact on helping to mitigate the effects of global warming.
In order to develop higher levels of thinking in my enrichment program students, this unit will incorporate a variety of activities. Students completing this unit will gain knowledge of what is currently happening as a result of global warming. They will apply what they learn about plastics, relate it to global warming, and determine the extent of plastic's contribution to global warming. Additionally they will analyze the life cycle of plastics, determine at what stage(s) green house gases are emitted into the atmosphere, and synthesize the information compiled to either propose policy changes, promote changes in behavior to minimize green house gas emissions, or conclude and support that nothing needs to be done. My students will also be challenged to evaluate the three R's - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle and identify which of the three they consider to be the most beneficial with regard to plastics and its impact on the Earth and support their decision.
Since my students are often inquisitive about why something happens and are always willing to hypothesize about it and then generalize, this is a unit that I am convinced will capture their interest and utilize their skills. It addresses things they are exposed to on a daily basis but never really observe or give a lot of thought to. For these reasons, much of this unit will be inquiry based with students conducting research to find answers, using math as a quantitative tool, writing to explain and/or inform, and generating products that demonstrate what they've learned.
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