Making kids environmentally conscious is important to helping kids be future members of society and to helping the environment. One of the easiest ways to accomplish environmental awareness is to teach about recycling in your classroom. Recycling can make a great study topic and an even better hands on topic for students to see how reusing and recycling can have a positive impact on the earth.
1. Recycled Art Project
For students of all ages, a reuse and recycle art project can help show kids hands-on ways to be environmentally conscious. Recycled art projects use found items as the canvas or as details in creating an image, sculpture, or other piece of art. Recycled art projects might also make use of recycled commercial materials such as recycled paper, recycled fabric, or other materials. When teaching students with a recycled art project, be certain to emphasize the importance of reusing materials and items to make something new.
2. Recycling in the Classroom
Set up recycling bins in your classroom so students can collect bottles, cans, and paper to send to the recycling center. Students can collect from their own classroom and from other classrooms to ensure that waste is being processed in an environmentally friendly fashion. Starting a recycling program in your classroom lets students have an active hand in recycling and can be a great way to explain to students where the waste is going and what it might be made into.
3. Use Video for a Virtual Field Trip
Online sites offer numerous clips of recycling centers that can be shown in the classroom. These videos make an excellent choice for a virtual field trip to show students what happens when items are recycled and what they can be made into. Easy Cornell-style notes can help students track main ideas and observations about the recycling center to ensure they understand how recycling helps the planet and reduces waste.
With three easy tips, recycling can be part of your classroom and ensure that students help to make environmentally friendly choices in the future.
