Welcome to Buddy Project: The Next Generation of Teaching and Learning

Metal Rocks: Recycle Activity

for Grades 6-12

Find a unique way to incorporate recycling into your school’s culture by hosting a can drive. Before you begin, decide what to do with the cans you collect.

Research ideas on what to do with your proceeds after selling the cans to a recycling center:

• Will you:
  • Donate proceeds to a charity like Habitat for Humanity or the Ronald McDonald House?
  • Pay for a “green” outing like this, this or this?
  • Fund a green project?

Use the can drive as an opportunity for learning:

• Collect cans and use them to build art that will be displayed in your school, library, or local art museum for a while before recycling. Encourage your peers (or community) to participate by hosting a contest. Post pictures of the art on a photosharing site like Flickr or Picassa, or create a wiki to showcase your school’s work. (Digital photography, Photo sharing software, Wikis / NETS 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
• Write a news release / news story about your can drive and what you plan to do with the cans you collect. Turn it into a podcast or vodcast (video podcast). (Word processing, Audio/Video software, Slideshow applications / NETS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
• Research conservation issues tied to recycling aluminum using the Internet. Create a brochure about aluminum recycling that includes information about local centers, what they use the cans for, how much it costs to make new soda cans, how long it takes to recycle and reissue cans, etc. Create a video and post it on the school website or on a video sharing site like TeacherTube® (Word processing, Desktop publishing, Video sharing / NETS 1, 2, 3, 4)
• Gather data about the resources needed to produce new soda cans and to recycle cans. Use Excel™ to create graphs comparing your data. What is the potential impact of recycling on the economy? How can recycling help or hinder economic growth? (Internet, Spreadsheet application / NETS 1,3,4,6)
  • The Assignment: Soda Can Bug Sculpture
  • Great Green Goods has links to Do It Yourself projects for pop tops

Indiana Learning Standards:

English/Language Arts

• Standard 2: Reading and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text
• Standard 4: Writing Process and Features
• Standard 7: Listening and Speaking: Skills, Strategies, and Applications

Science

• Standard 2: Scientific Thinking
• Standard ENV 1: Principles of Environmental Science

Economics

• Standard 1: Scarcity and Economic Reasoning
• Standard 2: Supply & Demand
• Standard 5: National Economic Performance

Fine Arts: Visual Arts

• Standard 6: Creating Art: Studio Production: Develop a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas for artwork and utilize skills of critique, reflection, and revision
• Standard 8: Integrated Studies: Experience the integrative nature of visual arts, other arts disciplines, and disciplines outside the arts, and understand the arts as a critical component of learning and comprehension in all subject areas

This "Go Green" resource was developed by Buddy for an eco-education initiative, "Green Connections: Learning and Living." This initiative will run from February 1 through Earth Day on April 22, 2009.

This resource appeared in the ETC...and More! volume 2, number 5 newsletter and is published by the Buddy Project (Corporation for Educational Technology), in collaboration with the Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators (HECC), Indiana Computer Educators (ICE), the Indiana Department of Education, and Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students (PATINS).