Students sort preselected trash based on common properties and categorize various pieces of trash based on ways they can be disposed. Students identify which pieces of trash are organic and which are inorganic. They learn about their community's green waste program through a speaker or a field trip. The class sets up a worm composting bin. Students monitor the disposal of lunchtime waste and help younger students dispose of their trash in the proper bins.
Human communities affect the quality of the natural and built environments.
Students survey and map the area around their school to determine how land is used. They identify human-built environments and explore the ways they provide for some community needs. Groups conduct the research required for an environmental impact report of a hypothetical construction project for an area on or near their school grounds. The class simulates a city planning meeting as students role-play citizens for and against the construction project. Students develop a list of questions concerning solid waste's disposal in their community.