Education for Sustainability

Education for Sustainability – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

                Children of today will be the adults of the future and will be growing up in a world damaged by past generations, (Littledyke, Taylor & Eames, 2009). With climate change being an ever increasing debate, and the increase in human population meaning an increase in waste and rubbish going into landfills (The World Bank, 2013), teaching sustainability to our primary students has never been so important. By teaching sustainability and developing students understanding of how to care for their planet we are setting students up to right the wrongs that past generations have inadvertently caused. Therefore, the following lesson has been developed to follow on from our last lesson on active citizenship.
                This lesson is developed in alignment with the Early Years Learning Framework outcome 2 (See Figure 1). Through this lesson students will develop their knowledge and understanding of recycling and therefore become more socially aware of how much waste they create and how much it pollutes our earth. By teaching this to our students, we are promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.

Figure 1. Outcome 2 of the Early Years Learning Framework.

What will students be learning?

                The lesson will start off with students examining an image that I will present to them (See Figure 2). Students will be asked to identify what the image is and are asked whether they have ever been to the tip and what ends up at the tip, for example, rubbish, scraps, etc. After students have examined the image a class discussion will then be started about what might get thrown away at their house.

Suggestions might include:

-          Paper

-          Food scraps

-          Bottles

-          Cans

Figure 2. Image of landfill that will be shown to students. Retrieved from https://chuffed.org/project/barista

Students will be shown an image of a recycling bin (See Figure 3) and will be asked if they are familiar with this and what they think might go into this kind of bin.

Figure 3. Image of recycling bin that will be shown to students. Retrieved from http://www.homedepot.com/b/Cleaning-Trash-Recycling-Recycling-Bins/N-5yc1vZcb26

I will then be presenting students with a range of items that may go in either the rubbish bin or the recycling bin. They will then be asked to sort the items according to which bin they think it should go in and why. This activity allows students to get a hands-on experience with what it means to recycle and how they can help to maintain a sustainable lifestyle, decreasing the amount of ‘rubbish’ that goes to the landfill that could be recycled.

How can you help at home?

It is true that majority of a child’s first learning experiences happen within the home and parents and caregivers are children’s first teachers (Bandura, 1997, as cited in Lynch, 2002). Therefore, it is just as important that students learning is consolidated, supported and continued at home (Herold, 2011). Students might be able to assist with the recycling at home if you recycle and if you do not perhaps now would be the perfect time to start to allow children to be able to help sort the recycling from the rubbish and from the compost. Perhaps even joining you if you are planning a trip to the tip would be a valuable consolidation for their learning in the classroom.

References

Herold, J. (2011). Beginning and struggling readers: engaging parents in the learning process. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 19(3), 40-50. Retrieved from <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=188732;res=AEIPT>

Littledyke, M., Taylor, N., & Eames, C. (2009). Education for Sustainability in the Primary   Curriculum: A Guide for Teachers. South Yarra: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lynch, J. (2002). Parents' self-efficacy beliefs, parents' gender, children's reader self-perceptions, reading achievement and gender. Journal of Research in Reading, 25(1), 54-67

The World Bank. (2013). Global waste on pace to triple by 2100. Retrieved                            from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/10/30/global-waste-on-pace-to-triple