Lesson Ideas

These lesson ideas are examples of how the Ollie Recycles Programme can be used to help teaching and learning. They are offered for guidance only.  Teachers can develop them to meet the needs of the curriculum and the resources available in their local area.

A. Every Little Bit Helps

Pupils use a checklist to consider the actions that individuals can take to help the environment.  They then go on to consider the implications of these actions for industry and the economy.

Resources required

• A visitor from a local supermarket, the local council or a political party.
• A copy of the following checklist for each pair of students.

Do You…	Always	Sometimes	Never
Take glass bottles and jars to bottle bank?
Save old newspapers and magazines and take them to paper bank?
Use your own shopping bag?
Give old clothes and unwanted gifts to charity shops?
Use paper on both sides?
Collect waste packaging material for art work in class?
Save aluminium cans for recycling?
Save your plastic containers for recycling?
Have a compost heap in your garden?
Use recycled paper?
Save old packaging for junk toys which young children can play with?
Read the labels of goods to see if they use recycled materials?
Shop carefully and only buy what you need?
Re-use video and sound tapes?

Procedure

Stage 1

Ask them individually to consider each statement in turn and to tick the appropriate box:

- things they always do;

- things they sometimes do;

- things they never do.

They can discuss their responses in their pairs.

Stage 2

Put two pairs together to make groups of four. Ask groups to choose two items from the never category, and discuss why they do not do these things.

Ask students to think of two additions to the list - i.e. two extra things that people could do to help the environment.

Stage 3

Invite one of the following visitors to the class:

• A manager of a local supermarket;
• A local council waste manager;
• A member of a political party.

Ask the visitor to comment on each statement, giving more information about:

a) What the visitor's organisation is doing about the statement;

b) What the cost implications of each action are likely to be. Encourage pupils to ask the visitor questions.

Stage 4

Ask each original pair of pupils to choose one statement and brainstorm the implications of the course of action chosen for:

a) The environment;

b) Industry.

Each pair could then present its conclusions to the other members of the class who could add their ideas.

Alternatively, pupils could be asked to research the implications of particular courses of action and report back at a later date.

Stage 5

Put pupils into new groups of four to discuss the following questions:

• Why do people often not behave in a way that helps the environment?
• How can they be persuaded to change?
• What effects on jobs and the economy can environment-friendly behaviour have?