The activities in these lessons focus on connections between mathematics and environmental concerns. Students participate in activities in which they investigate the data in
connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the environment. They are designed to make students aware of various materials that people ordinarily use and discard, to increase their knowledge of the numbers of material that people use, and to make plans to use materials more conservatively. Plans may include reducing material used, reusing materials, or recycling them. Each activity includes gathering, graphing, and interpreting data, thus extending opportunities for communicating, reasoning, and problem solving. Each activity features ideas to share with classmates or family members. Most students want to make a difference in saving the earth, and these activities can help them get a start or extend their efforts in this appealing and important area.
This unit was adapted from "Ideas:
Mathematics and The Environment", by Jean M. Shaw and John Firkins, which appeared in The Arithmetic Teacher, September, 1993, pp. 27-40.
Math Content
In Classroom Paper, students will:
- gather information about paper use over a period of several days
- graph the data and interpret information found in the graph
- use the data as a basis for future planning
In Aluminum Cans, students will:
- gather and graph data about aluminum can use
- interpret data, including figuring and displaying the
mean of a set of data
- develop a plan for future actions
In How To Bag It?, students will:
- discuss the pros and cons of kinds of shopping and grocery bags
- gather data
- make and interpret a graph
- develop a recycling plan
In Plastic Packaging, students will:
- gather data about plastic container recycling
- graph the data and interpret graphs
- develop a recycling plan
Individual Lessons
Lesson 1 - Classroom Paper Students participate in an activity in which they investigate data in connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the environment. This activity requires students to keep track of their own paper use for a week then interpret their results with partners. After studying information on paper use, students will be ready to discuss ideas and implement plans for saving paper in the classroom.
Lesson 2 - Aluminum Cans Students participate in an activity in which they investigate data in connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the environment. Students collect data about aluminum can usage and graph that data in a line plot. Lesson 3 - How to Bag It? Students participate in an activity in which they investigate the data in connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the
environment. Students discuss the pros and cons of using various types of bags at the grocery store. Classmates are surveyed to determine which type of bag is the "best". Lesson 4 - Plastic Packaging Students participate in an activity in which they investigate the data in connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the
environment. Specifically, students explore recycling plastic containers.
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