The North Tahoe Away Project

Moderation state
published
School Site
North Tahoe School
Grade(s)
Middle School
High School
Number of Students
150
Grant Category
Life Skills & Health
Grant Date
2015-08-24T12:00:00
Description

Students will learn about the effects and impacts of the waste we produce daily on our society, our health, and our environment. Students already understand that we throw garbage away, but where is "away?" They will learn the answer to this question and have a tangible understanding of where "away" is. They will learn about the impact their decisions, or lack of decisions and thought, has on our world. By participating in The Away Project students will have the opportunity to learn by doing, and will quantify where there waste comes from, where it goes, the overall effect on our communities, and what can be done about it. At the close of the project, students will think differently about when you throw something "away."

Success of Program

Students will be able to identify where their waste comes from and where it goes, list most commonly found items, and develop personalized and tangible solutions on how to reduce their waste. Ideally, students will have the opportunity to complete the challenge in the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. They will compare the data from both experiences and share how, or if, they have changed in regards to how they see waste and where it goes and how they contribute to the waste problem. They will express what they have experienced and learned through journal writing, and group discussions, which will serve as an informal assessment, and an expository essay which explains what they experienced in the challenge, how they changed in their ideas about waste, and their concrete ideas about how to reduce their daily waste both personally and globally. We also hope to hire a student videographer to record our experiences and share them with others, which is also another means of evaluating the program and our lessons.

Implementation

1. Schedule 2 50-minute presentations, one for a Monday and the other for the following Friday. Coordinate schedule with North Tahoe Eco Action Team who will present and support throughout the project. Students can view AWAY project introduction video and Prezi slideshow--concurrent discussion. Mentor students will guide classes through questions and discussions.

2. Students will need to set up an account on the AWAY project website, http://www.awayproject.org/view/student, or set up their journals for daily entries prior to the first day of the project. Parents will need a parent letter that explains project.

3. Distribute AWAY bags and brainstorm/discuss what is appropriate or not appropriate personal waste to put in the bags--concrete examples are best. Students take home bags and complete the project (collecting personal trash) over the course of the week. They should sign in daily to their AWAY accounts or journals to reflect and answer the questions.

4. Students meet on Friday for the second half of the presentation. Show second half of presentation slideshow and discuss. Take out trash and sort into recyclables and landfill piles. Evaluate consumption based on most commonly found items in their piles and brainstorm creative solutions to reduce the amount of waste, especially for most common items. Presenter guides through conclusion and take-aways. Lastly, end with quick, positive, bottle brick making activity where students stuff plastic bottles from their waste piles to make bottle bricks. Bottle bricks will be given to SWEP or Eco Team for other building and art purposes. Students will need 10-15 plastic bottles total per class for bottle brick making with their waste over the week.

5. Assessment and Extension Activities--Essay, more research, etc.

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

The NTS 5th Grade Team, the North Tahoe Eco Action Team, and the Envirolutions club see many opportunities for collaboration amongst teachers, community leaders, and classes. These bags are re-usable, shareable, and should last for numerous "AWAY" future lessons and projects! Therefore, teachers and club leaders can plan lessons together that will be shared with each other, providing students with equal access to the information and experience of the project. Students will have the opportunity to teach others, share and compare their information and experiences with each other and the other groups, even with other schools in the community, and mentor each other as they complete the challenge and analyze what they have learned. Lessons can also be carried into other areas of the curriculum--what they write in Language Arts (journals, essays, research), the science behind waste management and how waste affects our Earth, socially how different cultures manage their waste and why some can live more sustainably than others, and in math, they can compare the waste they have quantified (graphs, fractions, weights, cost, etc.). This project truly compliments the ideals behind the CA Common Core Standards as it can reach all areas of the curriculum and each lesson has been aligned with those standards (a PDF outlining common core alignment is attached to this application).

Shipping
$100.00
Taxes
$45.00
File Uploads
away_project_outline_and_cc_standards.pdf (180.43 KB)
Notes

Our school site plans to work in conjunction with the North Tahoe Eco Action Team, an Eco-Club at our school site lead by Ashley Phillips, SWEP, and the Envirolutions Club from Truckee High (and possibly NTHS in the future) lead by Melissa Mohler to share lessons, presentations, materials, experiences and conversations.