Global Learning London

Energy – Teacher ideas

Activities: lesson plans, schemes of work and projects

Energy reduction: re-use, reduce, recycle
Ask the children to tell you about recycling.  Explain to them that recycling has three parts called the 3 Rs – re-use, reduce and recycle.  Explain these terms using the following as a guide:

Re-use: before you throw items away, think how they can be reused.   

Reduce: the amount of waste you produce by being more careful when using resources 

Re-cycle: If the first two Rs fail, then recycle items responsibly in the proper recycling banks. 

Watch the Jack Johnson Reduce, Reuse, Recycle song on You Tube at the following link:
Teach the children the words and sing along.

Class Action Plans for the 3 Rs
In small groups of 3 or 4 children, ask the learners to draft up an action plan for the 3 Rs for their classroom.  They should think of at least one action for each category of Reuse, Reduce, Recycle where an action could be taken to improve sustainability in their school or classroom.  You can use the following ideas as prompts.

Take unwanted or outgrown clothes to the charity shop. Put waste paper to be recycled. Turn off the tap whilst brushing your teeth. Make a plastic bottle greenhouse in the school vegetable and fruit garden. Walk or cycle to school instead of going in the car.
Collect fruit and vegetable peelings for the compost bin. Use your own bags when going shopping. Make clothes new again by sewing buttons back on and mending small tears. Put glass bottles in the bottle bank. Use a bowl of water to wash vegetables rather than a running tap.

Display the action plans around the classroom and give each child two ‘voting counters’.  Voting counters can be sticky dots, dried beans, tiddlywinks or anything else suitable.  They can use both counters on one action plan or vote for two action plans with one counter each.