1 Grade 4 Waste and Our World ~ Student Workbook Name:
2 Activity 1: Nature s waste! What are the three cycles that we need to live? Draw a picture of the water cycle and explain how water is recycled.
3 Animals create waste in nature. List three examples of animal waste: Plants create waste in nature. List three examples of plant waste: Draw pictures of the plant and animal waste you saw on your walk:
4 What is a decomposer? And why are they useful? Explain how saprotrophs recycle dead plants and animals. Explain how legumes and bacteria have symbiotic relationships.
5 Explain how fungi recycle dead plants and animals. Explain how earthworms recycle dead plants and animals. Your food garden in the beginning:
6 Your food garden after the mold started growing: It took days for the mold to grow in my food garden. Where did the mold come from? Mold and other decomposers turn dead matter back into the environment to
7 Activity 2: Human s waste! LITTER HUNT: Human Waste plastic Waste Description and Quantity Hints to reduce this waste: cardboard glass metal paper food wood other
8 What kinds of wastes do humans produce? What needs to be done with our wastes? How can you minimize the litter in your neighborhood?
9 Activity 3: Disposal dangers! Describe the different methods to dispose of wastes and the advantages and disadvantages of each method: disadvantages advantages Question: Is burning garbage a safe alternative to burying it in landfills? Materials:
10 Procedure: Observations: Conclusion:
11 Disposal Dangers WORDSEARCH C E N S E G A T N A V D A M Y A T G D H R Y O E L W L L B T G E U A E E I A A Z E E U D I C M S N B T L N C L W A F I N P L I U U R D P C E E C M S U D L A L O F A Y F N D H R A M A I L Y I H C G V U T A A D M R O S L D E N I F I L T H V O P E L P R W R E P I P E S A C D T S I O O T R E A T M E N T I S D Y N S L Q R R G A S T C R A X M U Z A W H P G D M A N T W E Y S M E L B O R P N G R Q N A Q U I F E R L I O S E U T S O P M O C Z I Y B C F S B ADVANTAGES AQUIFER BURN CLAY COMMUNITY COMPOST DECAY DIRT DISADVANTAGES DISPOSAL DUMP ENVIRONMENT GARBAGE GAS GREENHOUSE HARMFUL HELPFUL LANDFILL LEACHATE LINER PIPES PIT POLLUTION PROBLEMS RECYCLE SOIL WASTE
12 Activity 4: To biodegrade or not that is the question! Biodegradable means: How do products biodegrade? Explain the perfect example of biodegradability in a leaf. Explain why crude oil, a natural product, sometimes doesn t biodegrade.
13 Why don t natural products such as leaves, food, and paper biodegrade in a landfill? What happens when the conditions needed for materials to naturally biodegrade are not provided? How long does it take common products to biodegrade? product rate product rate paper rope orange peels cigarette butts leather shoes tin cans plastic bottles wool socks milk cartons nylon aluminum cans glass bottles
14 Bury these solid wastes in soil. Leave for one month. Solid waste type reusable Example of waste glass Result: What happened to the solid waste after one month? in baggie not in baggie biodegradable newspaper disposable foam natural Which materials biodegrade fastest? Why? Which materials biodegrade slowest? Why?
15 If people knew the rate that materials biodegrade, do you think it would make a difference in whether they recycle or not? Explain. Draw a picture of items biodegrading and explain what is happening in the process.
16 Activity 5: Packaging faux-pas! Why should we be concerned about packaging? What are some ways to be wiser packaging shoppers? What can we do to help reduce the amount of packaging?
17 Look at the packaged items and study the pros and cons of the packaging on each one: Item Is the packaging necessary to protect the goods? Is there another reason for the packaging? Can the packaging material be recycled or reused? (new item found in your house still in the packaging)
18 Choose one item that wasn t packaged well. Redesign a package for this item that is more environmentally-friendly and not wasteful. Draw and explain here: Item:
19 Activity 6: The ol garbage dump! How do the following places help to dispose of wastes in Alberta s communities? Places: landfill site How these places dispose of waste: oil recovery depot recycling depot special waste treatment center waste water treatment facility compost center
20 What is solid waste? How do we dispose of solid waste? Create a pie graph: percentages in a landfill: What is sewage? How do we dispose of sewage? What are hazardous wastes? How do we dispose of hazardous wastes?
21 Activity 7: Household Hazards! Hazardous waste is solid, liquid, or gas wastes that could harm humans or the environment if not handled properly. Where do Alberta s hazardous wastes come from? Flammable: Definition Symbol Examples
22 How necessary is it to be concerned with home safety? Explosive: Definition Symbol Examples
23 Why must we take action now? Corrosive: Definition Symbol Examples
24 Poisonous: Definition Symbol Examples What are some risks we take?
25 Hazardous substances can enter our bodies through How can we practice the 4Rs of Hazardous Waste Management? What do we do with our common household wastes?
26 Activity 8: To Consume or Conserve! After studying about the 4 Rs of recycling, fill in this chart: 4 Rs definition list examples (from poster) reduce reuse recycle recover
27 Activity 9: How can we recycle? After studying the poster again, draw some of the examples of recycling and reusing that you do: Recycling: Reusing: Recycling: Reusing:
28 List ways that your family could recycle better. Are there any other ways to reuse or recycle materials that the poster missed? If so, list them here:
29 Flow Chart on aluminum pop can:
30 Draw a picture of your reused aluminum pop can.
31 Activity 10: Minimize waste to maximize our world! After reading The Minimizers, what did you learn? What does it mean to minimize waste? As you acted out the Recycling Situation cards, did you remember being in a situation similar to the one on the card?
32 If so, retell your experience: Draw ways you recycle and help save the environment.
33 Week One of Home Audit : days of the week newspaper other paper products glass tin plastic food waste cloth oil Totals: My family and I could be a little better at helping the environment if we:
34 Week Two of Home Audit : days of the week newspaper other paper products glass tin plastic food waste cloth oil Totals: Did we get better at recycling in these two weeks?
35 Learner Reflection (after unit completion) My favourite activity in this unit and why: What I learned about waste and recycling: What I would like to explore further about recycling: Through doing the activities in this unit, I realized that I m most strongly a learner (auditory, visual, tactile, or kinesthetic).
36 The following careers involve recycling and environmental issues: I would rate my learning on a scale of 0 10 a because Experiential Education Calgary, AB (403) 589-9566 (phone) (403) 668-4931 (fax) kits@experiential-ed.com (email) www.experiential-ed.com (website) Copyright by Experiential Education All rights reserved. No part of these publications may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the company. Disclaimer: Renters and on-line subscribers use the curriculum unit program at their own discretion and as such do not hold Experiential Education responsible or liable for any mishaps that may occur during the use of the material.