Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Partner: ______________
Directions: Fill in Part 1 and Part 2 with the class. Part 3 is the swap. Read about the room. For every item, write a greener swap. Write the green factor it makes better. Write whether the swap is free, cheap (under $25), or money. Then pick your top three.
Word bank in Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| reduce | reducir |
| reuse | reutilizar |
| recycle | reciclar |
| compost | compost (abono) |
| secondhand | de segunda mano (usado) |
| natural light | luz natural |
| waste | desecho (basura) |
Part 1: The four Rs and the five green factors
| The four Rs | What it means at home | One example |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce | ||
| Reuse | ||
| Recycle | ||
| Compost ("rot") |
| Green factor in a living space | What makes it better |
|---|---|
| Natural light | |
| Materials | |
| Indoor air | |
| Water | |
| Waste |
Part 2: Sort the twelve
Write each item in one bin. Some could go in two; pick the one that does the least harm.
The twelve items:
- a glass jar
- a cardboard box
- a banana peel
- a plastic bag
- a T-shirt with a hole
- a phone charger that works
- a chipped mug
- a stack of junk mail
- a pizza box with grease
- a wooden chair with a loose leg
- a plastic water bottle
- coffee grounds
| REDUCE (do not bring it in) | REUSE | RECYCLE | COMPOST |
|---|---|---|---|
Part 3: The room
A teen's bedroom. The window has a broken blind that is stuck closed, so the lamp is on all day. The desk is particleboard and wobbles; the plan is to throw it out and buy another one like it for $60. A can of aerosol air freshener sits on the dresser and gets sprayed every morning. Clothes and school things are stored in a set of six new plastic tubs bought last month. The bookshelf is a fast-furniture shelf that sagged in a year. A trash bag by the door holds clothes that do not fit anymore, headed for the curb. The radiator valve drips into a bucket that gets emptied every day. A fan runs all day, every day, with the door closed and the window shut.
| # | The item | Greener swap | Green factor (light / materials / air / water / waste) | Free / cheap (under $25) / money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broken blind, lamp on all day | |||
| 2 | Wobbly particleboard desk, replace with the same | |||
| 3 | Aerosol air freshener every morning | |||
| 4 | Six new plastic tubs | |||
| 5 | Sagging fast-furniture bookshelf | |||
| 6 | A bag of clothes for the curb | |||
| 7 | Radiator valve dripping into a bucket | |||
| 8 | Fan all day, door and window shut |
Top three (most good for the least money), one sentence each on why:
- _______________________________________________________________
- _______________________________________________________________
- _______________________________________________________________
Grade 8 stretch: Write two sentences to the landlord asking for the radiator valve to be fixed. Talk about the wasted water and the money, not feelings.
Sentence 1: ___________________________________________________________
Sentence 2: ___________________________________________________________
The teacher key for this handout is behind the teacher sign in. Teacher key