Prep time: 5 minutes   Lesson time:  20 minutes (depends on how cooperative children are)

Age: 1st and 2nd grade, can be modified for other age groups

Area of study: writing, art

Summary

Background/Objectives: To reinforce learning about recycling and promote writing and spelling skills. This activity is meant to follow a lesson on recycling.

Materials: journals, pencils, crayons or colored pencils

Preparation: For this activity, we had already decorated and made journals out of construction paper and half-lined, half-blank paper. You can also just use a sheet of paper for the activity.

Procedure:

1. After lesson on recycling, write the words reuse, reduce and recycle on different lines on each child’s paper. Have them copy the words as many times as they can fit in that line.

2. In the blank space on the paper, ask the children to draw and color an example of something not recyclable and something recyclable. Have them label each item. Give spelling help when necessary.

3. You can also ask them if they remember what the recycle symbol looks like, and to draw it if they can.

Assessment

This entire activity is somewhat of an assessment on what they learned in the previous recycling lesson (what is recyclable, what does the symbol look like, etc…)

Tips and Tricks

Pre-K-K: Activity should be simplified to drawing only.

1-2: Don’t tell a child how to spell a word outright, help them sound it out.

3-4: Write sentences rather than just words, have an essential question.

5-6: Write a paragraph rather than just words, have an essential question.