TEACHER'S PAGE
KALB knows that the best way
to change the world's views on environmental issues is to
educate our youth. We have several programs available to
teachers that will help you in bringing some of these issues to
your classroom.
We place very high importance
on the suggestions and comments we receive from our teachers.
Please feel free to contact us with any ideas or comments you
may have with regard to current or proposed programs that would
assist you in the classroom.
Environmental Programs Available
TALKING TREE (Preschool - 1st grade): The
Talking Tree is available to speak to your preschool through first grade
students. The Talking Tree will discuss why trees are important to the
planet, to humans, and to animals. We talk about trees providing animal
habitats, shade, fuel, food, cooling effect, and building materials. We
also discuss how the trees roots help prevent soil erosion and how animals help
plant forests. Recycling of paper is also discussed. This is an interactive lesson, and
teachers receive coloring pages for their students to continue the lesson.
STUDENT LITTER PATROL OFFICERS (Preschool - 2nd grade):
Sparky, the official big yellow KALB mascot, and a member of the KALB team will
talk with your Preschool through 2nd grade students about the dangers of litter
in our community. The students will then be offered the opportunity to
become Official Litter Patrol Officers working for the Chief
of Police and County Sheriff. A police officer or
Sheriff's deputy will swear the students into the program. Students
receive an official ID Card showing that they are truly Litter Patrol Officers,
as well as other goodies. A letter is also given to the students to be
taken home to parents, informing them of their child's new responsibilities and
asking them to support their child with good example.
STUDENT LITTER PATROL OFFICERS (3rd-4th grades):
A more advanced presentation of the above
program. A member of the KALB team and a police officer or sheriff's
deputy (depending on location of school) will present the program.
HANDS-ON LITTER AWARENESS (3rd - 6th grade):
A program that can be geared toward almost all grade levels. Students are
broken up into small groups and given a bag of 10 clean litter items. They
are asked as a group to list the items from most dangerous to least dangerous,
taking into consideration people, wildlife, and the environment. There are
no wrong answers. This is an exercise that allows students to take time to
think about the consequences of littering -- for some it may be the first time!
Groups decisions are discussed.
TAKE ACTION - Paint-up, Fix-up, Green-up, Clean-up
(7-12th grades): Visit the following Keep America Beautiful
website:
www.kab.org/takeaction/index.html. This site was made
possible through a grant from AT&T. The site promotes individual
responsibility and encourages youth to paint-up, fix-up, green-up, and clean-up
within their community. It contains "how-to" information and best
practices for a variety of fun activities for youth who want to make a positive
difference in their community. The site also includes a poll that allows
teens a direct voice and an opportunity to tell their stories.
RECYCLING INTO THE FUTURE (Any age group):
KALB's Recycling Coordinator will educate your students about the importance of
recycling. The questions "Why should we recycle?", "What will happen if we
don't recycle?", "How does recycling work?", and "What is made from the recycled
materials?" will all be answered. The students will be shown fun items
such as a "bottle cap", which is a baseball cap made from plastic bottles,
plastic wood, utensils that dissolve in water, carpet made from plastic bottles, and lots of other neat items.
Program will be developed based on age group.
SPEAKERS AVAILABLE: KALB can provide a
speaker on the topics of waste management, litter control, and recycling.
Members of our Beautification Board can provide information on gardening,
composting, and other beautification issues. Presentations will be
developed according to age group.
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HANDS ON
ACTIVITIES/GAMES
PASS THE BAG: Line
the children up on teams with no more than 6-8 students per team.
Give the first student a plastic bag. When they are instructed to start
the activity, the first student passes the bag to the student behind him over
his head, the second student passes the bag to the student behind him between
his legs, and continue on until the bag is at the back of the line. The
last student runs to the front of the line and begins the process over again.
This continues until the first student is back at the front. The team that
finishes the relay first, wins. If the students want a faster game, add
more bags to the relay by giving student #1 2 or 3 bags which he must pass one
at a time. The last student cannot move to the front until he has received
all the bags. Incorporate a lesson on the blight caused by
mishandling plastic bags.
LITTER GRAB: Place
a pile of "clean" litter in the middle of the floor. Divide students up
into teams and give each team a litter grabber (can be provided by KALB).
The first student must run to the pile of litter, pick up one piece with the
grabber and return to their team placing the litter in the team's trash bag.
He then passes the grabber on to the next student who repeats the process.
When all trash is gone, the team with the most pieces of litter wins.
Incorporate a lesson on the blight of litter, the dangers caused by litter to
humans, wildlife, and the environment, and how litter can and should be
prevented.
PREVENTABLE JOURNEY: Excellent
Hands-On Study of the Journey of Litter
Summary - Students will track the movement of a piece of litter as
it moves through different land and aquatic environments.
Objective - Students will be able to describe the ecological impact of one
piece of litter by following and predicting consequences of misplaced trash,
i.e. litter. Students will be able to explain the possible effects of
litter in both oral and written format. Background - Often the
environmental consequences of what we do and don't do are never fully realized.
This activity will trace the possible path of one type of litter -- the plastic
bags obtained from grocery, drug, department, and other stores. The litter
item can be changed to mix up the outcome, if you wish.
Advance Preparation:
1. Make a
sign for each of the following stations: Roadside, Front Yard, Tree,
Storm Drain, Tennessee River, Mississippi River, Ocean, Beach, and Turtle.. Tape
each sign to a different location in the room (allow room for students to move
from one station to another).
2. Construct nine dice or cardboard
cubes, one for each station. Each cube should have six sides and be
labeled as listed below. (Include station name on each cube to easily
identify the cubes in the future.) Place each cube at its
corresponding station prior to beginning:
* Roadside Cube:
1 side - Front Yard; 1 side -Storm Drain; 2 sides -Stay; 2 sides -Tree
*
Front Yard Cube: 1 side -Storm Drain; 1 side Roadside; 2 sides
-Tree; 1 side -Stay
* Tree Cube: 2 sides - Stay; 1 side -Front Yard; 2
sides - Roadside; 1 side - Tennessee River
* Storm Drain Cube: 3 sides
- Tennessee River; 3 sides - Stay
* Tennessee River Cube: 1 side -Beach; 2
sides -Mississippi; 3 sides -Stay
* Mississippi River Cube: 2 sides
-Ocean; 2 sides -Beach; 2 sides -Stay
* Ocean Cube: 4 sides -Stay; 1
side -Beach; 1 side -Turtle
* Beach Cube: 3 sides - Ocean, 2 sides
-Mississippi River; 1 side - Stay
* Turtle Cube: 5 sides - Stay;
1 side - Beach
Procedure:
1.
Begin by asking students to discuss
litter and predict its impacts. Ask students if a plastic bag, such as we all receive from
grocery, department, and drug stores, would be considered litter. Establish a working
definition of the word “litter” through continued discussion. A determination is reached with an
understanding the appropriate use and disposal of an item.
2.
Explain to the students that they will
play a game that will illustrate possibilities in the lifespan of a plastic bag that has become
litter. Each student will represent one plastic bag that had been properly placed into a
waste/trash container; but the container had no lid, and as the wind blew, the bag became
litter. Ask students to predict where the bag will land.
Point out the stations around the room and explain that each student will start their lives
as litter at one of the nine stations.
3.
Explain the rules: Each student will take
a turn rolling the cube at their starting station. The
label facing up on the cube will determine where that particular
plastic bag’s next destination will be. The person should then
move to the back of the line at its new destination and wait
his/her turn to roll the die there. If the cube shows “stay”,
the person should move to the back of the line at that same
station and wait for his/her turn to roll the cube again.
4.
Give each student a piece of paper and
pencil and have them record the numbers 1 through 10 down the
left side (or make a copy of the student page for each student).
During their “travels,” each student will keep a record of where
they are traveling and will have ten opportunities to move. Note
that it is possible (though not probable) for a plastic bag to
stay in one location for the entire game.
5.
Break students into nine small groups and
assign each group to a different starting station. Have students
record their initial location/station beside their space
numbered 1. Now, let the wind blow and the rolling begin! Remind
students to record their locations after each roll.
6.
Prompt discussion of the journeys of the
plastic bags. Sample starter questions include:
How many of you were at one station more than
one turn?
How many were in the trees? In the ocean?
How long did you stay there? Did anyone get
“stuck” in one place?
Why might this happen? (Examples might be that
the bags could get caught in branches, or hooked onto things in the ocean,
etc.)
Wrap
Up/Assessment
1.
Explain that the students have lots of
‘food for thought’ in the records of their journeys! Their
follow-up assignment is to use the data generated in their record to write an
appropriate and descriptive short story. Ask them to convince
the reader about the fate of litter. Be sure to include “If
only.....” or “The next time I hope...”.
Extensions
1. Have students discuss ways to reduce and
prevent litter in their community.
2.
Have students research and write a
similar scenario utilizing a different piece of litter.
Suggestions might include an aluminum soda can, metal food can, plastic milk jug,
six-pack holder, glass juice bottle, newspaper, old written
test, candy bar wrapper, etc. The scenario should include possible places
visited by their piece of litter and it’s possible impacts.
Students should also include the natural resources used to make the item as well
as the amount of time it might take “their litter” to decompose.
For more activities about marine debris, please
refer to the following:
Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on
Marine Debris: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ocean
and Coastal Protection Division, 401 M St., SW, Washington,
DC 20460.
VISIT OTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL SITES FOR MORE INFORMATION
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