Where does our garbage go? What is the difference between a recyclable and non-recyclable item? Pose these important, but often overlooked, questions to your class and invite them to consider the lasting and damaging effects of the...

Elementary schoolers count and order objects using numbers 1-300. They bring recyclable items from home. Students group the items, skip count by 2's, 3's, and 5's, and arrange the items on a number line. Recyclable plastic bags are put...

Students discover that recycling is using a product more than once so that natural resources can be saved and so that we won't need so many garbage dumps and landfills. They see that there are different ways to recycle. Students design a...

Young scholars explore the benefits of recycling paper. In this recycling lesson plan, students use statistics to calculate the amount of paper that is thrown away each week and construct a graph. Young scholars analyze the data and...

Every time you purchase something from the store, it goes into a bag, but what happens to the bag? This lesson encourages your learners to think about what happens to those plastic and paper bags and their effect on the environment. Use...

Don't put the resource on curves of best fit out on the curb. Using researched data on trash and recycling, scholars create scatter plots and regression curves to analyze the information. As a culminating activity, they complete projects...

Recycle, reuse, and rearrange! Young scholars learn to rearrange formulas to highlight a variable of interest. They then use their new formulas to make calculations.

Students figure out math equations based on the recycling of cans and gas consumption. In this recycling lesson plan, students have challenge cards that ask them challenge questions on how to save gas and what a difference recycling can...

Sixth graders investigate logging and the process of paper making.  In this forestry lesson, 6th graders analyze pictures of trees being processed into the paper they use everyday.  Students solve and create math problems based...

Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.

Students evaluate trash. In this Science lesson plan, students collect and weigh trash from their classrooms. Students categorize the trash and the corresponding weights, recording the information on a data sheet.

Young scholars examine the importance of recycling to help the environment. In groups, they make a compost bin on the school grounds recording how the material changes from week to week. They collect other materials for recycling like...

Students relate recycling to waste reduction. In this science lesson, students talk about the environment and how recycling certain natural resources actually saves on energy.  They also discuss what type of recycling causes...

Students discuss the importance of recycling and preventing pollution. In groups, they complete mini-studies on various environmental issues and evaluate different consumer products. They use global warming data to determine the...

Students discover the types of batteries and their uses. They experience static electricity by rubbing glass jars and using it to raise their hair. After discussing the importance of recycling batteries and using ones that are...

Students examine different "cycles" that are found in nature, such as the water cycle and recycling. They create their own artwork about cycles to be displayed on a bulletin board

Plastic math? Have young learners count and name the number of plastic items in their centers. Kindergartners match sight word cards to the number of plastics in a given group, while learning that plastics come in all different shapes,...

Learners determine the percentage increase in output of solid waste in the U.S. They determine the length of time it takes for throw away items to decompose.

Take a tiered approach to studying waste. The lesson uses Earth Day to present differentiated instruction around using circle and bar graphs. Each group gets a cube based on their tiers and works collaboratively as well as individually...

Students investigate how to reduce, recycle, and reuse items in order to conserve natural resources. They complete a trash graphing activity after discussing different types of trash. Finally, the examine ways to buy recycled products to...

Young scholars brainstorm reasons for politicians to expand recycling programs and find statistics to support recycling programs. They design posters, displaying a compelling statistic about recycling, to convince students at their...

Students investigate solid waste. In this environmental lesson, students collect their own garbage for a day and analyze the weight and the percentage of recyclable items in their trash.

Young scholars investigate data and recyclable materials. In this math lesson, students save recyclable materials and create a graph of the materials. Young scholars discuss how they could help the environment by recycling.

Students explore the amount of waste produced by humans. In this ecology instructional activity, students predict which lunch bag and its contents will produce the most waste. Leftover material is examined, amounts are recorded, and a...