Be Green at Highland Park Elementary School

Be Green at Highland Park Elementary School Be Green at Highland Park Elementary School Curriculum & Activities Household Hazardous Waste Reduction & Disposal 25 August 2008 Summary The Parent Teacher Association at this St. Paul elementary school led a year-long effort to bring waste and toxicity reduction practices to over 400 homes of the teachers and families of the school. Strategies to reduce waste and toxicity were incorporated in the classroom curriculum in all grades and in multiple class subjects through hands-on homework assignments. Teachers plan to continue using activities developed this year in future years. Information was presented at all-school activities, such as Back-To-School Night, Earth Fair, and others. The Lorax (a Dr. Suess book with an environmental theme) was chosen as this year’s all-school book. Materials were translated for limited English learners and families. Articles on waste and toxicity reduction regularly appeared in the school newsletter. Leaders at several other schools are interested in replicating what Highland Park accomplished. Be Green: Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Reduction & Disposal Activities for grades K-2 Grades 3-6 will be doing an activity that involves handling hazardous substances (with gloves and parental supervision!) at home. An introduction to this activity will be viewed on Tuesday Newsday. We wanted the younger students to have an age-appropriate activity that has to do with household hazardous waste. Suggested activities (classroom and homework ideas) follow. , Discuss/Define ―Household Hazardous Waste‖ – what do the words mean? , Examples of common products containing hazardous substances are: motor oil, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners, spot removers, silver polishes, furniture polishes, cleansers and powdered cleaners, window cleaners, bleach, liquid cleaners, paint, paint stripper, turpentine, varnish, pesticides. When a label contains the word: Poison, Danger, Warning, Caution, Flammable, or Corrosive it is hazardous. , When HHW is not disposed of properly, it pollutes the air, water, and soil. , Read a story that has to do with pollution. , Generate questions, solutions, and actions that could be taken. , Look for signs of pollution on the playground, around the school neighborhood, on the way to school, and at home. , Draw a picture, make a tally chart, or write about an example of pollution. , Partner with an older class to learn about their results. Book List: Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief Seattle by Susan Jeffers, 1991. Reinforces the importance of all creatures on the earth. (Ages 3-6) Caring for Our Air by Carol Greene, 1991. This book uses simple text and illustrations to describe air pollution and to explain ways children can help. (Ages 5-8) Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsberg, 1990. After dreaming that the Earth was overrun by pollution, a little boy sees the sense in sorting trash. (Ages 3-6) The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, 1971. This tale explains how greed and pollution destroys fertile lands despite the warnings of the Lorax. (Ages 4-8) The World that Jack Built by Ruth Brown, 1991. This story is based on the nursery rhyme The House That Jack Built with an environmental message about the affects of pollution. (Ages 6-8) Household Hazardous Waste K-2 At Home Activity Dear Families: Your child is participating in Highland Park Elementary’s Be Green Program. The topic this month is Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Reduction. Younger students are learning about HHW as pollution. Look for three different examples of pollution. Draw what you see. Talk with a parent or write about a solution for each example. Try to use the PYP attitudes or learner profile! Ideas for using The Lorax in the classroom: Science , Observations in schoolyard/journaling – what lives in the trees? , Go on a litter walk on the school grounds and surrounding area. Upon return to the classroom, sort out the garbage and determine what type of litter was found most often – what can be recycled? , Speak for the trees: tree research projects , Research the environmental impact of air and water pollution, students discover interconnectedness of species Math , Number Stories: use characters from the book when writing and solving number stories , Identify and graph trees on school grounds , Tallies: tally the number of times a truffula tree is cut down in the book Language Arts , Read non-fiction books and conduct research about trees , Compare The Lorax with The Giving Tree , Compare fictional characters (Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans and Humming Fish) with real animals and effects of pollution , Find rhyming words , Look at dialogue in text and use as a model for students’ use of dialogue in their writing , Speaking: discussion, debate, taking opposite points of view , Generate questions and organize them for research , Write reflections , Rewrite the end of the story or add a ―what happens next‖ piece Visual Arts , Multi-media uses for thneeds , Students create family trees, school community trees, or promise trees (promises to make a better world) , School mural inspired by The Lorax , Create video with students teaching how to take care of the earth (rethink/reduce/reuse/recycle) Social Studies , Timeline of events in the book; timeline of events in environmental movement , PYP attitudes and learner profile: find examples of empathy, integrity, curiosity, creativity, thinking, inquiring , Explore issues of greed and economic gain, needs and wants, making responsible choices Possible Action Steps , Planting trees on school grounds , Earth Day Fair showcasing student work , School-wide campaign: rethink/reduce/reuse/recycle Additional Books For Use With Elementary Students Berenstein, Jan and Stan. The Berenstein Bears Don't Pollute (Anymore) Goodman, Billy. How To Save The Planet Hallinan, P.K. For The Love Of Our Earth Jones, Ann. Aardvarks, Disembark! Peet, Bill. Farewell To Shady Glade Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree VanAllsburg, Chris. Just A Dream Be Green Composting and Non-Toxic Pest Management with K-2 Background Unit of Inquiry: Seeds – planted and growing Compost: Read Books: DK Eye Know Plant Summarize Benefits of Plants: Oxygen Food for animals Food for us Habitat for animals AND Plants make Nutrients that help other plants grow & animals live Trout are Made of Trees Whenever we eat food, we are actually eating plants too - actual fruits, vegetables, grains, OR composted plants that help other plants grow, OR even milk from cows comes from them eating grass. So composting plants instead of tossing them in the trash helps everything grow! Vocab Words: , Decompose: To break down into smaller parts. To disintegrate or decay. , Compost: A mixture of decayed organic matter that can be used to enrich soil and fertilize plants. , Nutrients: Vitamins and minerals that support the life and growth of plants and animals. , Recycle: To use something over again in the same or different form. Non-Toxic Pest Management , Visual Aid: Dandelion , Ask the students what they see. , Ask the students who think it is a pretty yellow flower to raise their hands , Ask the students who think it is a nasty weed that has no business in a lawn to raise their hands. , BOTH answers are correct, because a weed is actually too much of a plant we don’t like in a place we don’t want it to be. , Instead of using dangerous chemicals that could hurt plants, animals and us – use a weed digger instead OR simply pluck the yellow heads off before they seed! Action Today: Our very own Miniature Compost Experiment 1) What is composting? Response: Composting is a natural process in which nutrients are cycled through living organisms back to the soil. 2) Why do we compost? Response: To do our part to help nature recycle nutrients. 3) Does nature "know" how to compost? Response: Yes! Every fall plants drop leaves that replenish soils. Process , Soil in cups ? way full , Add a lettuce leaf or crabapple tree petal , Soil on top , LITTLE bit of water , Wash hands using fingernail brush , Draw a picture of what the lettuce or flower petal looked like before you buried it then draw another picture in a week – can you even find the lettuce or petal? Write down your prediction of what you think the lettuce leaf will look like in a week. At Home: , Your family can compost leftover kitchen scraps (fruit and vegetables) , Compost – use MPCA handout with a grown up family member , Dig up Weeds instead of using chemicals to kill them – dig them up and compost them!! (Pesticide handout from MPCA) , Weed diggers to bring home! Junk Mail Classroom Introduction Suggestions Discussion Questions , What’s in the mail? Bills? Advertisements? Catalogues? , Do you think your family needs everything that comes in the mail? , What happens to the mail after it’s opened? , Connect to The Lorax and truffula trees – junk mail is paper, made from trees. , Is junk mail a problem? Let's do the math… Shipped: 5.56 million tons Recycled: 1.23 million tons Garbage: 4.33 million tons Nearly 32 pounds of paper and plastic going into the garbage annually for every woman, man and child in America. Nearly 3 billion credit card solicitations are sent to consumers every year! Three at-home activities are included will be provided to teach students and families about junk mail: 1. School-Wide Junk Mail Visual/Data Collection Students will be asked to collect one day’s worth of junk mail from home. In the classroom, teachers and students can decide how best to sort and collect data. Then a school-wide visual will be created (staff brainstorm location and final product – whole-school bar graph by library? individual classroom junk mail sculptures?) Options: Have kids begin to sort it into categories – advertisements, credit card offers, catalogs. Count number of items in each category. Count total number for classroom. Lots of math here! Estimate how much junk mail in a week, month, year. Weigh it. How can you use this in your current math unit? What is the environmental impact of creating and disposing of all that junk? 2. Collecting, Calculating, and Creating Students will collect junk mail over a longer period of time (a week) so they can really see it pile up, then sort, count, make calculations, and use it to create a work of art. 3. Junk Mail Reduction – Take Action Students will be given ―How To Reduce Junk Mail‖ resource sheets (in English, Hmong, Somali, and Spanish). They will work with their families to try to reduce the amount of junk mail they are getting and recycle the rest. Then they will reflect on what they did and learned. Be Green: Junk Mail Reduction At-Home Activities Hello Families! As part of Highland Park Elementary’s Be Green Program, your child is learning about the environmental impacts of junk mail and strategies for reducing it. The whole school is participating in the following three activities: 1. School-Wide Junk Mail Collection/Visual Representation Please help your child collect one day’s worth of junk mail. You may want to cross out any personal information (name, address, etc.). Send this to school as soon as possible. Students will be sorting, collecting data, and using the junk mail for a visual representation in the school. 2. Then help your child collect junk mail for a longer period of time, a week or a month. See the attached activity sheet, “Collecting, Calculating, and Creating,” for more information. 3. Take Action. Use the “How to Reduce Junk Mail” resource sheet with your child. Let your child help you fill out a post card, listen to a phone call, or watch you register online. Help your child recycle junk mail along with the rest of your family’s recycling. _____________________________ name Collecting, Calculating, and Creating Be Green Junk Mail Reduction Activity Sheet Most junk mail goes from the mailbox to the trash can. Much of it is never even opened. Talk with your child about junk mail. Why do you think it is called junk mail? For this activity, your child will be collecting all of your junk mail for one week. At the end of the week, your child will sort it into categories A, B, and C (such as catalogs, advertisements, credit card offers), count the number in each category, then use that figure to calculate the number of items for one month and one year. Total Number Category A Category B Category C of Pieces ______________ ______________ ______________ One Week One Month (4 weeks) One Year (52 weeks) Look at all of the junk mail you collected for one week. Where did all of that paper come from? What else could that paper have been used for? Use it now to make something else – be creative! Bring it to school or draw a picture of your creation below. _____________________________ name Reducing Junk Mail at Home Use this page to reflect on the action steps you took to reduce junk mail at home, what you learned, and how you felt about helping the environment. You can draw a picture or write about your experiences below. Be Green Suggested Classroom Activities: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK 1. Whole class discussion about trash: what is it and where does it go? See background info below. 2. Activity: What’s in the Classroom Trash? (What are we throwing away at school?) AND/OR 3. Activity: What are we Throwing Away at Lunch? 4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK activity: Classroom Creativity 5. Reducing Plastic and Paper Grocery Bag Use/Using Canvas Shopping Bags: Classroom Activity 1. Introductory Discussion Information: What’s in the trash and where does it go? Background info for teachers Have you thought about what happens to garbage once it's burned or buried? Since solid waste needs oxygen and moisture in order to break down, materials that are buried in a landfill will not decompose very soon. As a matter of fact, when workers dig up old landfills, they often find magazines and newspapers that are still readable! In talking about trash disposal, some people say "we're running out of out." What they mean is that we're running out of places to bury trash. Nearly half of all U.S. landfills are full or they have been closed because of groundwater contamination. It's hard to site new solid waste facilities, because most people don't want to live near landfills, and there's only so much land left for green spaces, building homes, and growing crops. So the more land we use for landfills, the less we have for these purposes. Nevertheless, landfills are a necessary part of life, and they most likely will be with us for a long time. If we learn to rethink, reduce, reuse, and recycle, however, we can extend their lives, and save money, energy, precious land, and other natural resources. Now that you know something about waste and landfills, doesn't it seem foolish to bury or burn solid waste that can be recycled and made into new products? In addition to saving time, money, natural resources, and landfill space, recycling is more efficient than making things from new or virgin materials. What’s in the trash? General Overview of What’s in America’s Trash, from the EPA website: Table of Trash Types and Percentages Trash Type Percentage Tonnage paper 40.4% 71.6 million tons yard trimmings 17.6% 31.6 million tons metals 8.5% 15.3 million tons plastics 8.0% 14.4 million tons food scraps 7.4% 13.2 million tons glass 7.0% 12.5 million tons other 11.6% 20.8 million tons (e.g., rubber, leather, textiles, wood, miscellaneous inorganic wastes) On an average day, a typical Minnesotan creates roughly seven pounds of waste. But from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, packaging, wrapping paper and decorations - it adds up to one million tons a week to the nation's garbage piles. 2. Activity: What’s in the Classroom Trash? At the end of a day have kids guess what’s in the trash can. Come up with some categories you can put on the board (paper, plastic, food scraps, etc.). Give a student a pair of gloves and have the others decide which category each piece of trash goes in. See sample chart below. paper plastic food other 111 (tallies) Could any of the items have been recycled or reused? How many? Are we throwing away more than we need to? 3. Activity: What are we Throwing Away at Lunch? Choose one lunch period, and have each student count the number of items they throw away from that day’s lunch. Examples: plastic spoon, plastic fork, Styrofoam lunch tray, napkin, milk carton = 5 items in trash. Don’t count food scraps that go in pig buckets. Tally or record classroom total. Questions/ideas to ponder: s more trash generated when buying hot lunch or bringing lunch from home? (number of , I items or volume?) , How could you waste less? , Challenge kids to get that number as low as possible. , Count items for a week. , Optional Activity: Give each child a bag and have them carry around all of the trash they generate for one day. They may rethink how much they throw away! 4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK activity: Classroom Creativity Pick an afternoon before break and have kids reuse materials in classroom recycle/reuse bin to create a holiday gift for someone (you may want to stock it ahead of time with scrap paper, gift wrap scraps, grocery bags, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, tissue paper and ribbon scraps, junk mail, odds and ends left from craft projects). Ideas include: , holiday card , holiday ornament , holiday gift wrap , collage , picture , sculpture For more ideas go to 5. Reducing Plastic and Paper Grocery Bag Use/Using Canvas Shopping Bags: Classroom Activity Paper or Plastic? Ask students which is the best choice when packing your groceries at the store. Both create pollution and use a lot of resources when they are made. To make all the bags we use each year, it takes 14 million trees for paper and 12 million barrels of oil for plastic. The production of paper bags creates 70 percent more air pollution than plastic, but plastic bags create four times the solid waste — enough to fill the Empire State Building two and a half times. And they can last up to a thousand years. Plastic, because it's cheaper to produce, is the overwhelming choice of grocery stores across the nation — the average family of four uses almost 1,500 of these a year. San Francisco is limiting consumers' freedom of choice, allowing only biodegradable plastic bags, which break down over months rather than hundreds of years. If choosing between the two, consider this. Plastic bags threaten wildlife along the coasts, so if that's where you call home, the choice should be paper. In the heartland, it's plastic. The best choice for the environment is option three, a reusable bag from home. Activity: Each student will be given a reusable cloth bag to decorate and take home. Please have them share what they learned about paper, plastic, and reusable bags with their families, and encourage them to use their new bags when they shop. There is an At-Home Activity that involves shopping bags. Be Green At Home Activities: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK Shopping Bags The next three times you go shopping, please record the number and type of bags used, and bring this chart back to school when you are finished. Store: Date: Type of New Paper New Plastic Reusable Used Paper Used Plastic Bag: Bag Bag (Cloth, Mesh, Bag From Bag From Other) Home Home Number of Each Type: Store: Date: Type of New Paper New Plastic Reusable Used Paper Used Plastic Bag: Bag Bag (Cloth, Mesh, Bag From Bag From Other) Home Home Number of Each Type: Store: Date: Type of New Paper New Plastic Reusable Used Paper Used Plastic Bag: Bag Bag (Cloth, Mesh, Bag From Bag From Other) Home Home Number of Each Type: Totals for three shopping trips: New Paper New Plastic Reusable Used Paper Used Plastic Bag Bag (Cloth, Mesh, Bag From Bag From Other) Home Home Totals: What did you learn from this activity? What action can or did you take to REDUCE or RETHINK when shopping? Be Green At Home Activities: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK Trash From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste in the United States increases by more than 25 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons add 1 million tons each week to landfills. In fact, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year—enough to tie a bow around the Earth. How much does your family throw away? 1. Keep track of how many bags of garbage are taken out each week. You can use the chart on this page or make your own. Date Number of Bags 2. Go through one garbage bag with your child (you may want to use gloves). Is there anything in the bag that could be recycled or reused? Have your child write or draw a picture below of something they were able to RETHINK throwing away. Be Green At Home Activities: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and RETHINK Reuse holiday gift wrap, ribbons, and packaging. Or make gift wrap from a paper grocery bag – cut open and use the blank side, decorate it with markers, crayon, trace cookie cutters or your hands!! Make something creative at home and draw a picture of it below or bring it to school. Ask your teacher to display it. See if other students can guess what it is and what it was made from. Be Green: Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Reduction & Disposal Activities for Grades 3-6 Goals: , Students will identify household items containing hazardous substances. , Graph or chart key words found on labels. , Families will fill out pledge cards to reduce use of hazardous substances in the home. , Families will be provided with information about proper disposal. Materials: , Each student will be provided with a pair of purple nitrile gloves (to prevent skin contact with hazardous substances). , HHW Tally Chart, or paper to record and organize information. , Parent or guardian to supervise activity. Suggested Classroom Introductory Activity: Questions to guide inquiry: 1. What does hazardous mean? 2. Can you name some substances that might be hazardous? 3. Where, in your home, might you find hazardous substances? 4. What would happen if hazardous substances got into the air, water, or soil? 5. What is the proper way to dispose of hazardous substances? Have students look at empty bottles of commonly used household products. Which words could indicate that ingredients are hazardous? Find examples of Poison, Danger, Warning, Caution, Corrosive or Flammable. Please feel free to use the Household Hazardous Waste: from Ramsey County. An Environmentally Friendly Disposal Guide Explain that students will look for these words on products in their own homes. Challenge them to think about how these substances impact the earth, and what they could use as alternatives. Please reinforce that they should KEEP THE PRODUCT CLOSED and only OBSERVE the LABEL. At Home Activity: Each student will be provided with a pair of purple nitrile gloves (to prevent skin contact with hazardous substances). The student can wear one glove and a parent or guardian can wear the other glove. 1. Student explains to parent/guardian that they will be looking for products in the home (not in the garage) that contain hazardous substances. They will look on labels for key words: Poison, Danger, Warning, Corrosive, Flammable, and Caution. 2. Each time a key word is found, the student will place a tally mark in the correct category on the HHW Tally Chart. 3. The student will ask the parent or guardian to fill out a pledge card to reduce the use of hazardous substances in the home. 4. The student will share information about proper disposal of HHW with the parent or guardian. 5. The student will complete the HHW Tally Chart or decide on another way to organize and share the results of this activity with the class. Suggested Follow Up Classroom Activities: , Have students compile the data from their tally charts to get classroom totals. , Compare with results from other classrooms. , Share results with younger buddy classes. , Discuss surprising findings. , Compile students’ questions for further research. , Find out which products used by the school contain hazardous substances. , Look for non-toxic alternatives. , Celebrate action! Did anyone take HHW to a disposal site? Move things out of reach of a younger sibling? Teach parents something new? Use alternative products? , Make a poster to teach people about hazardous substances: which products contain them, what they look like, what to do with the leftovers, how to avoid using them. Clipart can be found on the following website: learningtrunk.html#downloads Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) At Home Activity: Each student has been provided with a pair of purple nitrile gloves (to prevent skin contact with hazardous substances). The student can wear one glove and a parent or guardian can wear the other glove when handling potentially hazardous substances. KEEP THE PRODUCT CLOSED and only OBSERVE the LABEL. 6. Student explains to parent/guardian that they will be looking for products in the home that contain hazardous substances. They will look on labels for key words: Poison, Danger, Warning, Corrosive, Flammable, and Caution. 7. Each time a key word is found, the student will place a tally mark in the correct category on the HHW Tally Chart. 8. The student will ask the parent or guardian to fill out a pledge card (attached below) to reduce the use of hazardous substances in the home. 9. The student will share information about proper disposal of HHW with the parent or guardian – feel free to use the Household Hazardous Waste: An from Ramsey County included in your Environmentally Friendly Disposal Guide child’s packet. 10. The student will complete the HHW Tally Chart and talk with a parent or guardian about taking HHW to a disposal site. Cut Here and Return to School Household Hazardous Waste Reduction Pledge The family hereby pledges to: , safely dispose of existing household hazardous waste , to use safer, less toxic alternatives for cleaning, pests, and painting Signatures: Thank you for Being Green! Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Tally Chart Key Word Tallies Total Poison Danger Warning Caution Corrosive Flammable Draw and label the products you found that contain hazardous substances: Which was most surprising? Why? Which products will be taken to a County Household Hazardous Waste disposal site? What is Household Hazardous Waste? Household Products are Hazardous if they are: , Ignitable: Capable of burning or causing a fire , Corrosive: Capable of eating away materials and destroying living tissue when contact occurs , Toxic: Poisonous either immediately (acutely toxic) or over a long period of time (chronically toxic) , Explosive and/or Reactive: Can casue an explosion or release poisonous fumes when exposed to air, water or other chemicals. The Federal Hazardous Substance Act of 1960 established labeling requirements for consumer products containing hazardous substances. If a product has a hazardous substance, the front label must indicate a warning and description of the hazard. Source: THINK BEFORE YOU BUY IT. To avoid disposal problems, consider buying less hazardous products. Household products are hazardous if they are flammable, combustible, corrosive, toxic or reactive. A product's label provides a quick and easy way to judge the product's hazard level or the type of hazard it poses. www.greenguardian.com/throw_hhw.asp MN Pollution Control Agency: www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/hhw/index.html When certain household chemicals are not used up, they can become household hazardous waste (HHW). Many household products contain the same chemicals as strictly regulated industrial wastes and pose similar environmental and health problems. Although the quantities of chemicals disposed of by individual households may be small, the number of households in Minnesota are many, and the amount of waste adds up. ReThink Recycling: www.rethinkrecycling.com/throw_hhw.asp Some Trash is Trouble for your Garbage. Open a cupboard in your kitchen, basement, or garage. Read a few labels. If they contain any of these words: CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER, POISON, the products may contain hazardous materials. Hazardous to you, hazardous to your family and hazardous to our environment if not used up or disposed of properly. , Don’t throw them in the Garbage. , Don’t Pour them in the Sewer. , Don’t Pour them on the Ground. Toxic (Merriam Webster On-line Dictionary) Etymology: Late Latin toxicus, from Latin toxicum poison, from Greek toxikon arrow poison, from neuter of toxikos of a bow, from toxon bow, arrow 1 : containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation