Life Event: Recycling Everyone S Responsibility

Life Event: Recycling Everyone S Responsibility

Recycling--Everyone’s Responsibility Learning and Teaching Activity

(Lower Primary)

Life Event: Recycling-- Everyone’s Responsibility

Key Concepts

This exemplar is to help students realise that we need to persevere in everything that we do through the life event on participating in recycling activities in the community/housing estate. A holistic learning experience is provided through project learning, where students will experience environmental protection activities and developperseverance to facehardships and challenges.

Targets

Lower primary students

Learning Objectives

1 To help students realise that a lot of tasks can only be achieved through perseverance;

2 To help studentsrealise that waste reduction is the responsibility of everyone;

3 To help students equipwith collaboration, communication and learning skills.

Values/Attitudes

Perseverance, responsibility, positive.

Delivery Mode

Moral and Civic Education Lesson/Class Teacher Period/Others

Materials

  1. Objectives of Recycling Activity in the Community/Housing Estate (Appendix 1)
  2. Notes on Waste Separation and Recycling (Appendix 2)
  3. Notes on Participating in Recycling Activity in the Community/Housing Estate (Appendix 3)
  4. Learning Portfolio (Appendix 4)
  5. Learning Portfolio —Conclusion and Reflection (Appendix 5)

Duration

35 minutes


Teaching Procedures

Steps (Time) / Key Learning Points
Activity 1: Introduction (5 mins)
Briefly introduce the objectives and significance of recycling campaigns organised by government departments, green groups, housing estates and the community. (Appendix 1).
As an introduction, teachers may ask students who have experiences in recycling to share with classmates. / To recognise that both government departments and the community work hard to improve the environment in Hong Kong
Activity 2: Discussion (10 mins)
Some recycling campaigns in the community are not effective. Ask students to think about the reasons. [Teachers may guide them to think about this with daily examples.]
Discussion questions:
1. How do the publicuse recycling bins inappropriately? Describe briefly
(Recycling bins are used as rubbish bins.)
2. Whydo the public use recycling bins inappropriately?
(They just want to make it convenient for themselves.There is a lack of awareness of recycling.)
3. Make suggestions on how to raise the awareness of recycling among the public.
(It may start with publicity and education. This will help the public and students understand the significance of recycling and strengthen their civic awareness.)
Activity 3: Action Plan (15 mins)
Explain the Notes on Waste Separation and Recycling (Appendix 2) and the Notes on Participating in Recycling Activity in the Community/Housing Estate and the details (Appendix 3).
Students are divided into groups to discuss the plan/objectives of their group and ask them to fill in items one to three of the Learning Portfolio (Appendix 4).
Ask students to fill in their Learning Portfolio once a week ( item four in Appendix 4)and prepare a group progress report.
Conclusion: (5 mins)
Reference: Participating in recycling campaigns in the community will help reduce pollution caused by waste and foster perseverance of oneself. It is everyone’s responsibility to protect the environment. Students may face many difficulties in the process but they should persevere and have the confidence to overcome these problems in order to improve the environment in the community. / To realise that the success of community recycling campaigns depends on many factors, including the cooperation and attitude of the public
To experience that recycling is an ongoing work. Students need to make it a habit to separate and recycle waste for protecting the environment in the long run


Extension and Application

Activity : Presentation and Assessment

  1. Ask one group to report on their progress every week: Students may share their experience and the problems they have encountered. Teachers may help them identify factors leading to the problems and ways to handle them. More importantly, students should realise that they should persevere in their work even when there are frustrations or obstacles.
  2. Praise those who can achievetheirgoals and encourage others to try and get involved.
  3. From time to time, remind students to make records in their Learning Portfolio for future reference.

* Expected problems:

Recycling: (1) Family members may complain about the waste temporarily stored at home as it may affect household condition.

(2) Recycling bins are limited in size and are not large enough to hold the waste that students or residents have.

(3) Recycling bins are located at remote areas. It is time-consuming to go back and forth.

(4) Students are laughed at for recycling waste.

Team cooperation: Team members are not cooperative/not engaged…

  1. Ask students to do reflection at the end of the activity and complete the Learning Portfolio —Conclusion and Reflection (Appendix 5).

Appendix 1

Objectives of Recycling Activity in the Community/Housing Estate

1.Objectives

a.To raise the awareness of environment protection among the public

b.To involve the public in recycling and reducing waste

2.Significance

a.To reduce the pressure of landfills and the public expenditure spent on waste disposal

b.Waste reduction enhances the sustainable development of a community.

c.To involve the public in recycling, achieving the goal of waste reduction

  1. Teachers may talk about the following figures so that students will understand how serious waste problem is in Hong Kong.As such, the best way to deal with it is to reduce waste.

Recycled items: / Benefits of recycling:
A ton of waste paper / 17 trees are saved
A glass bottle / The energy saved can run a 100-watt light bulb for 4 hours
An aluminium can / 95% of energy can be saved as compared with producing a new aluminium can
The time it takes for the following items to be decomposednaturally:
1. / A slip of paper / 2 to 4 weeks
2. / A woollen sock / About a year
3. / A painted wooden pillar / 13 years
4. / An aluminium can / 200-500 years
How much waste Hong Kong people discard every day:
1. / 16,800 tons of waste per day, which can fill 175 buses
2. / 25 million plastic bags per day
3. / 150,000 tons of foam per day
The government spends about $800 to handle a ton of waste.

Appendix 2

Notes on Waste Separation and Recycling

1Why do we need to reduce waste?

The amount of waste that Hong Kong people discard every year can cover the whole Victoria Park and pile up to a height of a 13-storey building.

Wastes, being separated, can be recycled and reused. This will help protect the environment, make good use of resources and save money as well.

The recycling rate of municipal solid waste is about 34% (about 1.8 million tons) now. The government needs the support of the public to further enhance the effectiveness of recycling and waste reduction.

2What kind of paper can be recycled?

Paper that can be recycled:

◎Pamphlets and promotion leaflets◎Newspapers

◎Magazines and books (laminated cover removed)◎Corrugated fibreboards

◎Envelopes (plastic windows removed)◎Cardboards

◎Writing paper (any colour)

Paper that cannot be recycled:

◎Used paper cups and plates◎Plastic-coated paper

◎Tissue, toilet paper and paper towels◎Carbon paper/stencil paper

◎Drink boxes◎Cellophane

◎Thermal fax paper◎Stickers

3Can aluminium cans be recycled?

All aluminium cans can be recycled. Those commonly found at home include:

◎Soft drinks cans◎Beer cans

Note:

◎Do not put iron cans into the recycling bins. ◎Wash them thoroughly to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.

◎Remove the straw.

4What kind of plastic bottles can be recycled?

All plastic bottles can be recycled. Those commonly found at home include:

◎Shower gel bottles◎Detergent bottles

◎Drinks bottles◎Shampoo bottles

Note:

◎Remove all content (e.g. liquid, metal, paper) before putting the bottles into the recycling bins.

◎Wash them thoroughly to prevent breedingof mosquitoes.

5Tips on waste reduction

◎Donate toys and clothes to charity groups or people in need.

◎Bring your own bag and use fewer plastic bags.

◎Use handkerchiefs instead of tissue paper.

◎Use rechargeable batteries.

◎Avoid using disposable items such as foam lunchboxes or paper cups.

◎Avoid unnecessary packaging.

Appendix 3

Notes on Participating in Recycling Activity in the Community/Housing Estate

1.Students in groups of four join a recycling campaign in the community. It will be better if group members come from the same housing estate/complex.

2.Group members must complete the Learning Portfolio together. The task can be presented in words, pictures or a PowerPoint presentation.

3.Each group has to make a progress report and share their experience, difficulties and solutions as scheduled by teachers.

4.The recycle waste should be mainly from home. Talk withthe family and identify ways to handle waste at home properly. For example, set aside a paper box to collect newspaper.

5.When handling waste (washing plastic bottles/aluminium cans), you should beware of safety and ask parents for help if needed.

6.Put the recycled items into the nearest recycling bin. There may be one at the lift lobby. If you need to go further away, please ask your parents to go with you to prevent any accidents. (Teachers may contact organisers for the location of their recycling bins and inform students of such.)

7.This is not a competition. If any of you wants to drop out because of some problems, please talk with your group members or teachers to identify ways to deal with the problems.

Appendix 4

Learning Portfolio

Student name: ______( ) Class: ______School Year: ______

1.Details of other group members

No. / Name (class/class number) / Their housing estate/community
1.
2.
3.
4.

2. Expected starting date: ______

Expected completing date: ______

3. Goal of the groups: ______

4.Members’ weekly record

a.Amount recycled: Paper (estimated amount) ___ sheets

Aluminium cans ___ pieces

Bottle bottles ___ pieces

b. Date of going to recycling bins: ______

c. Location of recycling bins: ______

d. Problems in this week and ways to handle them:

______

e.If no items are recycled this week, please state the reasons.

______

Appendix 5

Learning Portfolio —Conclusion and Reflection

Student name: ______( ) Class: ______School Year: ______

1.Details of other group members

No. / Name (class/class number) / Their housing estate/community
1.
2.
3.
4.

2.Expected starting date: ______

Expected completing date: ______

3. Goal of the groups: ______

4. Assessment: (upon completion of the activity)

a)How long did it take to complete the activity?

______

b)How was your performance?

______

c)Why did you fail to achieve your goals?

______

d)How do you rate yourself in the area of perseverance?

5 4 3 2 1 0 (5 as the highest score and 0 the lowest)

e)How did your classmates and parents comment on you? Was anything you did encouraging? Is there anything you need to improve?

______

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