You’ll find more lesson plans (see descriptions below), a bibliography of waste-related books, workshop information, links to Iowa resources, and links to state and national resources at the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy and Environmental Education’s “Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycle” website.  

Agatha's Feather Bed     Content Areas: Reading, Science, Social Studies
This lesson is based on the book, Agatha's Feather Bed, in which Agatha explains that "everything comes from something"--wool from sheep, linen from flax, cotton from cotton bolls. Students explore this concept, as well as learn about community recycling programs and idioms.

Island Survival     Content Areas:  Health, Math, Science
This activity works well as an introduction to waste reduction. Through participation in the simulation, students make lifestyle choices while considering the effects of these choices on the amount of waste generated.

Is Recycling Enough?     Content Areas:   Math, Science
Students review definitions of recycling and reuse, then learn about waste reduction. They then collect data and create graphs to visually see the changes in waste generation and recovery rates from 1960 to 2000.

Know Your Resources     Content Areas:   Economics, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies
Students learn about the limited supply of natural resources in the world and, by role-playing, begin to understand some of the equity issues related to the use of those resources. 

Material World     Content Areas:   Economics, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies
Students learn about the lives of "statistically average" families from around the globe.

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