On Page and In Real Life, Sixth Grade Explores "Trash"
Sixth-grade students are exploring questions about waste and sustainability through an interdisciplinary unit based on Andy Mulligan’s novel, “Trash.”
The unit began with a new component this year: a visit to a local landfill. Students took a field trip to WM in Johnson County, where they had the chance to see what happens to discarded materials after we throw them away. Students were able to connect their experience at the landfill to the environmental questions raised in “Trash.” As part of Waste Management's community outreach initiative to educate people about recycling, students signed a banner and made a "pledge to recycle."
This interdisciplinary unit brings together language arts, science and STEAM as students examine different types of trash and waste, including plastic, textile and food waste. Students began building research skills by reading preselected articles about each type of waste and sharing their findings with their classmates.
Students also practiced the scientific method through a hands-on activity that involved building towers out of spaghetti, giving them an opportunity to apply the process of testing ideas to see what works and what doesn’t.
The work students are doing now serves as a foundation for independent projects that they will present in October. These projects will propose solutions and offer alternatives to community practices and habits that generate waste.
