Lesson: More Love, Less Waste

Grade level: 4

Materials/ Resources needed:
· T-shirts made out of recycled material: http://www.clothesmadefromscrap.com/products.htm
· Puffy paints
· Glitter
· Permanent markers
· Iron on T-shirt paper
· Iron
· Cardboard T-shirt cut outs
· Computer
· Color printer
· Scissors
· Recycled material quilt pictures (If possible buy a recycled material quilt. http://www.quintessentialquiltsnj.com/Collection.html )

Teacher Preparation (tasks the teacher must do ahead of time):
· The teacher should have already ordered t-shirts in a variety of sizes from http://www.clothesmadefromscrap.com/products.htm
· Check for computer and printer access
· Buy supplies needed
· Put the cardboard cut outs inside the shirts needed.
· Make a shirt of your own using the supplies the students will be using and your slogan will be “More Love, Less Waste”
· Print pictures of recycled quilts, enlarge them on a copier, and cut them out

Minnesota Academic Strand(s) and sub-strand(s) addressed by your lesson:
VI. Economics A. Producers and Consumers- the student will understand the concept of interdependence in relation to producers and consumers.

NCSS Strand(s) and sub-strand(s) addressed by your lesson:
III. People, Places, and Environments- Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places and environments, so that the learner can: (K) consider existing uses and propose and evaluate alternative uses of resources and land in home, school, community, the region, and beyond.

Goal(s) for today’s lesson:
· Create original T-shirt

Objective(s) for today’s lesson:
· Student will create their own recycling T-shirts when doing the More Love, Less Waste activity.
· Student will apply previously learned knowledge to create a slogan.

Procedure:

a. Introductory Experiences:
i. Show students the two quilt pictures you brought in. Ask them what they think the quilts are made from. What do you see on the quilts? Tell them it is made of recycled materials such as old bed sheets, jeans, t-shirts, buttons, ribbon, and fabric. Is this something you could make at home with your old clothes, instead of throwing them away? Is it better for the environment to buy a recycled material quilt or a brand new material quilt? Pass around both quilt pictures for students to look at more closely.

ii. Ask students what recycling is. Call on a few students for answers. Ask them to think about everything they have learned in these past 3 weeks. Have them recall their trip to the recycling center and all of the projects they completed. (5 minutes)

b. developmental experiences:
i. Explain to class that today is going to be a project day and that everyone needs to have open-minds and ears. Show the students your pre-made T-shirt and tell them that today they are each going to make their own recycling shirt. The shirts they are using are all made from recycled materials. As a class they are going to come up with a slogan or quote to put on every shirt, and then they are allowed to decorate it in any way they choose. Let them know there is puffy paint and permanent markers for them to use, as well as glitter. Remind them to use the puffy paint and glitter in moderation. Just use a pinch of glitter at a time. (3 minutes)
ii. First they are going to sit at their desks and think of what they want their shirts to say. They may write down all of their ideas on a piece of paper if they wish. Have them share their t-shirt ideas at their table or with a partner. Have each table agree on two slogans or quotes from their table to be an option for the shirt. (3 minutes)
iii. Call on one person at each table to say the two slogans they choose. Write the slogan on the board for all of the children to read. Make sure you number each slogan on the board. Have the students pick their favorite slogan on the board to write on their own shirt. (4 minutes)
iv. Once the slogan has been decided have 1 student per table come up, to the front and grab supplies. Each table should have 1 of each puffy paint color, 1 of each permanent marker color, and 1 bottle of glitter. While the students are collecting their materials, pass out the t-shirts. (With the cardboard already inside the shirt) (2 minutes)
v. Tell them they are allowed to decorate it any way they choose. It must be appropriate, and that they need to leave room for the slogan to fit on the front of the shirt. The slogan size will be about the size of a piece of paper. The requirements for the shirt are pictures or names of recyclable materials, the recycling symbol, and a picture of the earth anywhere on the shirt. Write the requirements on the board (3 minutes)
vi. Let students work on shirts. While the students are decorating their shirts have students come to the computer one by one and tell the teacher which slogan they picked. (17 minutes)
· Plug in the iron to warm up, and put it on the steam setting.
· Call the students up one by one to get their slogan ironed on. Ask them which slogan on the board was their favorite.
· Create the slogan with readable font, and with green words. Make sure the settings on the printer or word document are flipped, like a mirror, so that when it is printed out the words are backwards. (When you iron it on the shirt the letters and words are going the correct way.)
· Print the slogan on the special iron on paper. Then cut the slogan out before ironing it on the shirt.
· Iron it on, facedown. Let it cool and then have the student return to their desk to keep decorating.
vii. Once every student has had their slogan ironed on give them 2 more minutes to finish what they are doing. (2 minutes)
viii. Have students clean up. Have students put their shirts along the window to dry and on the back table if needed. Remind them that all caps should be on markers and all puffy paint needs to be wiped off the tables. Return to their desks. (3 minutes)

c. Culminating experiences:
i. Ask students to share which slogan they picked and why. (Pick 3 students)
ii. Let them know they will be allowed to take their shirts home tomorrow because tonight they need to dry. The last day of recycling is tomorrow and the class party is going to be tomorrow as well. (2 minutes)

Assessment:
The students will be creating T-shirts with a positive recycling message on them. They are free to create this T-shirt in any way they choose. They will use their already learned knowledge to create the shirt. I will assess the final product and check for understanding.
Check each shirt for the three requirements: Picture or name of recyclable materials, picture of the earth, and the recycling symbol.