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Materials: Enough clay or homemade 'play dough' for each student
to create several small objects; three small boxes labeled BURY,
BURN and DUMP/LITTER.
Give each student a portion of the clay from a container labeled "earth",
and instruct them to use the clay to make models of things that
they like to use. Ask students to place their finished product
in one of the 3 boxes. Ask: After we burn, bury or throw away something
that we like to use, what will happen to it?
Repeat several times to show how our use of raw materials (clay,
or salt and flour, in this case) uses up the earth's supply of
resources. Continue until the clay or 'play dough' is all used
up.
Lead a discussion focusing on what happens after we burn, bury
and dump our litter. Discuss what happens when all the materials
are gone. Can we get back what has been thrown away? What will
happen if we keep taking materials from the earth? What will happen
when we run out?
Suggest that instead of throwing the clay away, we reuse it. If
we did this with all our garbage, very little would be taken to
the landfill and we would not have to take as much from the earth.
Ask students for their ideas for alternatives to "burn, bury, dump".
Then ask how much time and energy it would take to reuse or recycle.
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