Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Curricula*

Grades K-4

3RC (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost)
Students examine the effects of packaging decisions and the engineering advancements in packaging materials and waste management. They observe biodegradation in a model landfill. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-5, and adheres to Colorado Life Science and Interrelationships Educational Standards.

About Protecting the Earth
In this lesson, students listen to stories that illustrate the importance of protecting the earth's resources. They then write a list of reasons why it is important to recycle, clean up litter, keep the air clean, conserve water and trees, and protect endangered animals. Students write a letter to persuade their audience to protect the earth and its resources, including simple ways this can be accomplished. This lesson is best suited for 1st graders, and adheres to Utah State Language Arts Standards.

Being Resource-ful
Students become aware of ways they can cut down on the amount of trash they produce by buying products that are not over packaged and by reusing materials they might normally throw out. This lesson adheres to National Geography and Science Standards.

Catalog Necklace
Students create a practical gift item (necklace) by recycling paper material. This lesson adheres to National Fine Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science Standards.

Conserve and Recycle: I Do My Part!
Students design an action plan for their life by choosing three ways to recycle and three ways to conserve resources. Students create a PowerPoint presentation depicting their three methods of conserving and recycling, and verify their use in their life. This lesson is best suited for grades 4-6, and adheres to Florida Sunshine State Standards.

Copy-Paper Scrap Projects
Students follow directions and make envelopes and drinking cups out of copy paper with printing on one side. They learn why recycling is important to the Earth, and about multiple uses for used copy paper. This lesson adheres to National Fine Arts, Mathematics, and Science Standards.

Earth Day
Students learn the importance of recycling and keeping our air clean by creating a poster or comic strip using images from Pics4Learning. They also learn about the recycling process by making their own paper. This lesson is best suited for grades 1-6, and adheres to National Science and English Language Arts Standards.

Earth Day: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
While learning about Earth Day, students list ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding of Earth Day. Students also use the internet to integrate technology into learning. This lesson is best suited for 3rd-6th graders, and includes the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Content Objectives addressed.

Ecology/Reusing Project
Students explore how to recycle items by creating an object from something found in their trash. They develop their own writing assignment, which is put into a class book to share with their families. This lesson is best suited for 2nd graders, and adheres to New York State English Language, Mathematics, Science, and Technology Learning Standards.

Elementary Social Studies Recycling Curriculum
This curriculum includes fully developed lessons designed to meet Maryland State Social Studies Learner Outcomes, and is best suited for grades K-5. Activities include examining and analyzing a bag of trash, judging student lunches for excess packaging, learning about changing attitudes toward recycling over time, and comparing United States recycling practices to those of other countries.

EPA: Teacher Resources for Composting and Recycling
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/teach_comp.htm
These resources include general information about composting and recycling, as well as suggestions about how to involve students in setting up a school recycling program. In addition, toolkits are included for setting up electronics recycling events, as well as for encouraging students to assess their own resource use and find opportunities for conservation.

Everybody Needs a Clean Environment
In this lesson, students research ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle by creating a book entitled "Everybody Needs a Clean Environment" based on the pattern in the book, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor. This lesson is best suited for grades 4-8, and adheres to National English Language Arts and Science Educational Standards.

Forest Products and Recycling
Students observe, classify, measure, compare, and describe forest resources and forest products. Students then construct different projects by reusing and recycling products made from natural resources. This lesson is best suited for grades K-4, and adheres to Virginia State Technology, Writing, and Science Standards of Learning.

How can we reduce, reuse, and recycle - and what do others think about it?
Students visit online resources to learn about different ways of reducing, reusing, and recycling. They then participate in a class discussion to review the main points of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Finally, pairs of students construct a survey to gather other student and faculty positions and knowledge regarding recycling. This lesson adheres to Louisiana Science, Mathematics, and Technology Content Standards.

How Long Does Trash Last? (A Cooperative Learning Activity)
Students learn how long trash lasts in landfills in a cooperative activity. They work together in groups to formulate their best estimates of how long some trash items might last in a landfill, and learn about the environmental consequences of not recycling. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-8, and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Technology Standards.

How We Can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Groups of students do research to evaluate the school's recycling and waste management practices. After analyzing current methods, teams develop a new recycling plan, and create a slideshow presentation to share their plan. They then present their proposals to the principal for consideration. This lesson is best suited for grades 5-8, and adheres to Louisiana Science, Mathematics, and Educational Technology Standards.

Junk Mail Overload!
Students track the amount of junk mail received at their homes in one week and use the collected data to estimate how much junk mail would accumulate in a year. Then they explore ways to solve the junk mail problem. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-12, and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences Standards.

Lunchtime Investigations
In this lesson, students create a mini landfill and fill it with items from their school lunch remains. They investigate what items from their school lunch are sent to the landfill and learn how these items decompose. They brainstorm ways to reduce and reuse the contents of their lunches, repeat the lunchtime investigation and compare the results. This lesson is best suited for 4th graders, and adheres to McRel Mathematics, Science, and Language Arts Standards.

Making Recycled Paper
Students listen to the book, The Giving Tree, and identify the reasons why recycling paper is important to our environment. They participate in making paper out of shredded newspaper and shredded used paper. This lesson is best suited for Kindergarten students, and adheres to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning.

Paper Recycling
This resource provides ideas for using the concept of paper recycling in lesson plans in several different subject areas, including Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Visual Arts. Some sample activity ideas include analyzing different fiber lengths in various paper types (including recycled), and studying the economic costs involved in paper recycling. This site does not include specific standards, but instead gives good general ideas, and is best suited for grades 4-5.

Protecting Our Planet
Students describe ways people affect the environment, and how pollution harms plants and animals. Then they demonstrate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste at school. This lesson is best suited for K-2nd graders, and adheres to National Academy of Sciences standards.

Recycled Sculpture
Students use recycled materials to create a sculpture using additive and subtractive processes. They give a presentation explaining the materials used and how their piece of artwork can be used to tell others about the importance of recycling. This lesson is best suited for 4th-6th graders, and adheres to California Content Standards.

Recycling
Students recycle something from their homes into something usable. They write a time-order paragraph and give an oral presentation about their project. This lesson is best suited for 3rd graders, and adheres to Pennsylvania State Environment and Ecology Education Standards.

Recycling Starts with You
This recycling education program is designed to build language arts and math skills. It includes lesson plans, activities, and teacher resources, covering topics ranging from math problems determining how much paper a person can recycle in a year, to writing a persuasive essay about the benefits of recycling. This resource is best suited for grades 3-6, and adheres to National Writing, Reading, and Mathematics Standards.

Recycling: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse
In this lesson, students are introduced to the concepts of reducing, reusing, and recycling. They learn new vocabulary, read labels, and connect environmental concepts to their everyday experiences. Students then perform a skit highlighting what they have learned about taking action to conserve the earth's resources. This lesson is best suited for grades K-2, and adheres to McRel Language Arts and Science Standards.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Students explore, evaluate, and communicate personal and scientific investigations to understand the nature of science. Students also identify and evaluate the relationships and ethical implications of science upon technology, environment, and society. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-5, and adheres to South Dakota Science Content Standards.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Through learning simple facts about recycling, students recognize their own responsibilities in helping to conserve the environment. Students learn to define recycling as the processing and treatment of discarded materials so that they can be used again. Students also learn to sort certain recyclable products, and show that each of us has a responsibility to reduce the amount of waste we produce, and reuse whenever possible. This lesson includes suggestions for students with special needs. It is best suited for K-1st graders, and adheres to Illinois State English Language Arts, Science, Social Science, and Fine Arts Standards.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
This unit plan teaches students to reduce, reuse, and recycle through many different activities, including writing letters to find out how different resources are recycled, visiting a recycling center, considering social issues in the community regarding recycling programs, creating a worm farm, planting bulbs in recycled containers, and making T-shirts with environmental messages, among others. These activities adhere to New Zealand Social Studies and Writing Achievement Objectives.

Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project
This collection of activities adheres to Tennessee Learning Expectations, and the curriculum framework is based on NAAEE standards. Some example activities include learning how to be a conscious consumer, understanding the necessity of markets for recycling as well as the costs associated with waste disposal, learning about product toxicity and how dangerous products can be avoided, and developing community-wide strategies for waste management.

The Recycle Games
Students participate in Recycle Games and get exercise while learning about the importance of recycling. This activity adheres to National Physical Education and Health Standards.

The Rotten Truth
Through the video, The Rotten Truth, students realize that people produce more solid waste than is safely disposed of in sanitary landfills. Students identify and interpret data on the types of trash that are thrown out the most. Through hands-on experiments and use of the Internet, students will see the long-term effects of taking solid waste to the landfill. This lesson is best suited for 4th graders, and adheres to South Carolina Science Standards.

To Recycle, or Not Recycle?
Students visit the teacher created "To Recycle, or Not Recycle" WebQuest. In the WebQuest, students take on the role of community members and take a stand on implementing a community-wide recycling plan. The committees present their information to the city council and community through a webpage they create. This lesson is best suited for grades 5-8, and adheres to Louisiana Science and Educational Technology Standards.

Trash, Trash, and More Trash
In this lesson students investigate a bag of trash to find out how much of the contents of the bag actually needs to go to the landfill. Students create two class posters that show which items are recyclable and which ones are not, and complete a math activity to determine how many bags of trash their families generate. This lesson is best suited for 1st graders, and adheres to McRel Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and Art Standards.

Waste Reduction at School
This resource provides ideas for waste reduction, as well as a plan of activities for an entire waste reduction week, including visiting a grocery store to recognize purchasing habits regarding over-packaging, holding a tree planting day and a garage sale, and competing to see which class can produce the least garbage.

You Can Make Paper
Students identify the six steps of the recycling process, the history of recycling, and discuss why recycling is important. They recycle newspaper to make new pieces of paper. This lesson is best suited for 4th graders, and adheres to Pennsylvania State Standards for Environment and Ecology.

Grades 5-8

3RC (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost)
Students examine the effects of packaging decisions and the engineering advancements in packaging materials and waste management. They observe biodegradation in a model landfill. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-5, and adheres to Colorado Life Science and Interrelationships Educational Standards.

Catalog Necklace
Students create a practical gift item (necklace) by recycling paper material. This activity adheres to National Fine Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science Standards.

Conserve and Recycle: I Do My Part!
Students design an action plan for their life by choosing three ways to recycle and three ways to conserve resources. Students create a PowerPoint presentation depicting their three methods of conserving and recycling, and verify their use in their life. This lesson is best suited for grades 4-6, and adheres to Florida Sunshine State Standards.

Copy-Paper Scrap Projects
Students follow directions and make envelopes and drinking cups out of copy paper with printing on one side. They learn why recycling is important to the Earth, and about multiple uses for used copy paper. This lesson adheres to National Fine Arts, Mathematics, and Science Standards.

Decomposition
Students observe decomposition in a pile of grass clippings and in a compost heap over time. They investigate ways to prevent or reduce pollution and the misuse of natural resources, and finally participate in a project involving recycling and reduction. This lesson is best suited for 5th graders, and adheres to North Carolina Science Curriculum Objectives.

Don't Trash the Earth
Students work in teams to evaluate their school and community waste management systems. They develop new plans including cost analysis, and present the plans using a slideshow, website, brochure, and art project. This lesson adheres to Texas Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Technology Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards.

Earth Day
Students learn the importance of recycling and keeping our air clean by creating a poster or comic strip using images from Pics4Learning. They also learn about the recycling process by making their own paper. This lesson is best suited for grades 1-6, and adheres to National Science and English Language Arts Standards.

Earth Day: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
While learning about Earth Day, students list ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding of Earth Day. Students also use the internet to integrate technology into learning. This lesson is best suited for 3rd-6th graders, and includes the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Content Objectives addressed.

Elementary Social Studies Recycling Curriculum
This curriculum includes fully developed lessons designed to meet Maryland State Social Studies Learner Outcomes, and is best suited for grades K-5. Activities include surveying what trash is found in the home, researching different methods of waste disposal, learning about the history of trash, and creating a recycling program for implementation in the classroom.

EPA: Teacher Resources for Composting and Recycling
These resources include general information about composting and recycling, as well as suggestions about how to involve students in setting up a school recycling program. In addition, toolkits are included for setting up electronics recycling events, as well as for encouraging students to assess their own resources and find opportunities for conservation.

Everybody Needs a Clean Environment
In this lesson, students research ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle by creating a book, "Everybody Needs a Clean Environment" based on the pattern in the book, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor. This lesson is best suited for grades 4-8, and adheres to National English Language Arts and Science Educational Standards.

How Long Does Trash Last? (A Cooperative Learning Activity)
Students learn how long trash lasts in landfills in a cooperative activity. They work together in groups to formulate their best estimates of how long some trash items might last in a landfill, and learn about the environmental consequences of not recycling. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-8, and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Technology Standards.

How Much Trash?
Students become more aware of the amount of trash produced each day, and address ways to reduce and recycle trash. This lesson is best suited for grades 5-8, and adheres to National Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Standards.

How We Can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Groups of students do research to evaluate the school's recycling and waste management practices. After analyzing current methods, teams develop a new recycling plan, and create a slideshow presentation to share their plan. They present their proposals to the principal for consideration. This lesson is best suited for grades 5-8, and adheres to Louisiana Science, Mathematics, and Educational Technology Standards.

It All Adds Up: Using Statistics to Persuade People to Recycle
In this lesson, students brainstorm reasons for politicians to expand recycling programs, including finding statistics to support recycling programs. Then students design posters displaying a compelling statistic about recycling to convince students at their school to recycle. This lesson is best suited for grades 6-12, and adheres to McRel Academic Geography and Mathematics Content Standards.

Junk Mail Overload!
Students track the amount of junk mail received at their homes in one week and use the collected data to estimate how much junk mail would accumulate in a year. Then they explore ways to solve the junk mail problem. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-12, and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences Standards.

Paper Recycling
This resource provides ideas for using the concept of paper recycling in lesson plans in several different subject areas, including Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Visual Arts. Some sample activity ideas include analyzing different fiber lengths in various paper types (including recycled), and studying the economic costs involved in paper recycling. This site does not include specific standards, but instead gives good general ideas, and is best suited for grades 4-5.

Plastic Pleas: Recognizing the Consequences of Improper Plastics Disposal
In this lesson, students consider the life cycle of certain plastics products and propose improved recycling legislation in their own communities. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Geography Standards.

Recycled Sculpture
Students use recycled materials to create a sculpture using additive and subtractive processes. They give a presentation explaining the materials used and how their piece of artwork can be used to tell others about the importance of recycling. This lesson is best suited for 4th-6th graders, and adheres to California Content Standards.

Recycling
Students invent a product that consists only of biodegradable materials they can find in their homes or outside. This lesson is best suited for grades 6-8, and adheres to McRel Technology and Geography Academic Standards.

Recycling Starts with You
This recycling education program is designed to build language arts and math skills. It includes lesson plans, activities, and teacher resources, covering topics ranging from math problems determining how much paper a person can recycle in a year, to writing a persuasive essay about the benefits of recycling. This resource is best suited for grades 3-6, and adheres to National Writing, Reading, and Mathematics Standards.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In this unit students will learn the importance of all three principles of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" with emphasis on natural resources. Students will be expected to complete research projects, read non-fiction books and articles about recycling, and participate in activities including implementing a school policy for reducing, reusing, and recycling all at each student's appropriate level. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-5, and adheres to South Dakota Science Content Standards.

Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project
This collection of activities adheres to Tennessee Learning Expectations, and the curriculum framework is based on NAAEE standards. Some example activities include learning how to be a conscious consumer, understanding the necessity of markets for recycling as well as the costs associated with waste disposal, learning about product toxicity and how dangerous products can be avoided, and developing community-wide strategies for waste management.

The Recycle Games
Students participate in Recycle Games and get exercise while learning about the importance of recycling. This activity adheres to National Physical Education and Health Standards.

Throwing It All Away? Investigating What Happens to Our Trash and Recyclable Items, and the Related Environmental Effects
In this lesson, students investigate what happens to commonly used items and products once they are thrown away or sent to be recycled. Students analyze and understand the relationship between a product's ingredients and its effects on the environment and the health of all living things on Earth. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Science and Geography Standards.

To Recycle, or Not Recycle?
Students visit the teacher created "To Recycle, or Not Recycle" WebQuest. In the WebQuest students take on the role of community members and take a stand on implementing a community wide recycling plan. The committees present their information to the city council and community through a webpage they create. This lesson is best suited for grades 5-8, and adheres to Louisiana Science and Educational Technology Standards.

Toxic Technology: Examining Materials Used to Make Computers and Persuading Local Communities to Recycle Them Properly
Students examine what they already know about computer recycling, consider how it contributes to a global toxic waste problem, research what parts of computers are made of, and write persuasion papers asking local businesses or organizations to develop or participate in computer recycling programs. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Technology, Science, and Language Arts Standards.

Waste Reduction at School
This resource provides ideas for waste reduction, as well as a plan of activities for an entire waste reduction week, including visiting a grocery store to recognize purchasing habits regarding over-packaging, holding a tree planting day and a garage sale, and competing to see which class can produce the least garbage.

Waste-a-Weigh: A school-wide paper recycling program
Students discover how the world's growing population has contributed to the solid waste crisis. They use a spreadsheet program to create line and comparative bar graphs, and interpret these graphs to answer questions about solid waste. This lesson is best suited for 6th graders, and adheres to North Carolina Computer Technology Skills, Mathematics, and Science Curriculum Standards.

Grade 9-12

EPA: Teacher Resources for Composting and Recycling
These resources include general information about composting and recycling, as well as suggestions for how to involve students in setting up a school recycling program. In addition, toolkits are included for setting up electronics recycling events, as well as for encouraging students to assess their own resources and find opportunities for conservation.

It All Adds Up: Using Statistics to Persuade People to Recycle
In this lesson, students brainstorm reasons for politicians to expand recycling programs, including finding statistics to support recycling programs. Then students design posters displaying a compelling statistic about recycling to convince students at their school to recycle. This lesson is best suited for grades 6-12, and adheres to McRel Academic Geography and Mathematics Content Standards.

Junk Mail Overload!
Students track the amount of junk mail received at their homes in one week and use the collected data to estimate how much junk mail would accumulate in a year. Then they explore ways to solve the junk mail problem. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-12, and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences Standards.

Plants Can Recycle
Students examine how seed germination and growth is affected by water with different soap concentrations as they learn about how plants can aid in economically and efficiently processing and recycling soap. This lesson adheres to National Science Education Standards.

Plastic Pleas: Recognizing the Consequences of Improper Plastics Disposal
In this lesson, students consider the life cycle of certain plastics products and propose improved recycling legislation in their own communities. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Geography Standards.

Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project
This collection of activities adheres to Tennessee Learning Expectations, and the curriculum framework is based on NAAEE standards. Some example activities include learning how to be a conscious consumer, understanding the necessity of markets for recycling as well as the costs associated with waste disposal, learning about product toxicity and how dangerous products can be avoided, and developing community-wide strategies for waste management.

The Recycle Games
Students participate in Recycle Games and get exercise while learning about the importance of recycling. This activity adheres to National Physical Education and Health Standards.

Throwing It All Away? Investigating What Happens to Our Trash and Recyclable Items, and the Related Environmental Effects
In this lesson, students investigate what happens to commonly used items and products once they are thrown away or sent to be recycled. Students analyze and understand the relationship between a product's ingredients and its effects on the environment and on the health of all living things on Earth. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Science and Geography Standards.

Toxic Technology: Examining Materials Used to Make Computers and Persuading Local Communities to Recycle Them Properly
Students examine what they already know about computer recycling, consider how it contributes to a global toxic waste problem, research what parts of computers are made of, and write persuasion papers asking local businesses or organizations to develop or participate in computer recycling programs. This lesson adheres to McRel Academic Technology, Science, and Language Arts Standards.

Trash, Trash, and More Trash
Students read "NASAexplores" articles. They explore how much trash they create each day by weighing their trash bag and weighing the remains after the trash is burned. This lesson adheres to National Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Standards.

Waste Reduction at School
This resource provides ideas for waste reduction, as well as a plan of activities for an entire waste reduction week, including visiting a grocery store to recognize purchasing habits regarding over-packaging, holding a tree planting day and a garage sale, and competing to see which class can produce the least garbage.

Do you have recycling curricula you'd like to share?  Email it to us!

*The curricula listed on this webpage have been selected in light of their adherence to state, national, and/or NAAEE educational standards and are thus suitable for classroom use.