EARTH DAY

Discussion ideas on litter:

• Watch and discuss a video below (or of your choice).
• How can litter affect the environment? Our waterways? Our animals?
• Where is all the litter found outside coming from? People? Animals? Wind?
• How can we collectively reduce litter? At home? At school? In our community?
• Should we be wearing gloves to collect litter? How can we safely collect litter but also limit our plastic glove use?

Activity Ideas/Extensions:

Before collecting litter.

• Predict what kind of little you might find outside on the playground? Why do you think that?
• Which areas around the school do you think we will find the most litter? Why do you think that is?
• Watch a video below (or of your choice).
• Read aloud.

After collecting litter.

• Were your initial predictions, correct? Why or why not?
• Analyze and sort the litter together (whole-group/small-group). Are some of these things compostable? Recyclable? Terracycling? Garbage?
• Weigh the waste collected (altogether or after sorting). Keep your data; pick up litter on another day and compare results. Was there more or less litter.
• Graph your results by quantity, by weight, by groups, etc.
• Set up goals and make a plan of action, “How can we improve litter at school?”
• Create an art project (individual or collective) using the collected litter. (see picture below for ideas)