Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________ Period: ______
Print pages 1 to 4 for every student. Page 5 is the compost sort card set, one per group of four, printed and cut apart.
DAY 1
Part 1. Sustainability, in your words
Something is sustainable if ________________________________________________
Line 2: _____________________________________________________________________________
Three farm methods
| Method | What the farmer actually does | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| Crop rotation | ||
| Drip irrigation | ||
| Integrated pest management (watching for pests and using the smallest fix that works) |
Which one surprised you? ______________________ Why?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________________________
Part 2. Plant it and keep it alive
My plant: ______________________ Planted on: ______________
My care plan
| Question | My answer |
|---|---|
| How much water each time? | |
| How often? | |
| How much light does it need, and where in this room gets it? | |
| Who waters it if I am absent? |
Watering chart, four students per week. Write your name in the week you signed up for.
| Week | Names |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | |
| Week 2 | |
| Week 3 | |
| Week 4 | |
| Week 5 | |
| Week 6 |
Part 3. Compost sort
Sort the ten cards. Write each card in the right column. In the DOES NOT GO IN column, write a reason next to each card.
| GOES IN THE COMPOST | DOES NOT GO IN, and why |
|---|---|
The card my group argued about: ______________________
Why we argued: ______________________________________________________________
The rule in one sentence: things that used to be a plant break down. Things that came from an animal, or have oil or grease on them, ___________________________________.
Part 4. Packaging: protection against waste
The cucumber question
A cucumber wrapped in plastic stays fresh about three times as long as a loose one.
What gets better with the wrap: _____________________________________________
What gets worse with the wrap: ______________________________________________
Our three packages
| Package | How many layers? | What is each layer doing? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. |
Circle the one your group will redesign tomorrow.
The two criteria for tomorrow
- ___________________________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________________________
Day 1 exit card
Sustainable means ___________________________________________________________.
One thing that makes food production more sustainable is _____________________.
DAY 2: The redesign
Step 1. Define the problem
Our package: ______________________________
The problem in one sentence: ______________________________________________
Line 3: _____________________________________________________________________________
Step 2. Criteria and constraints
Criteria (what the new design has to do):
- The food still gets protected: ____________________________________________
- The waste goes down: ______________________________________________________
Constraints (rules the design cannot break). These are given to you:
- The food has to survive shipping in a truck and being stacked three high.
- The food has to last at least two weeks on a store shelf.
- The package has to say what is inside and carry a Nutrition Facts panel.
Step 3. Brainstorm four ideas, then pick one
| # | Idea | One problem with it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 |
The idea we picked: ______ Why that one: ___________________________
Step 4. Prototype
Build the model. Then draw it here and label every part.
Step 5. Test it
Your teacher will ask you to drop it and stack three. Write what happened.
Drop test: ___________________________________________________________________
Stack test: __________________________________________________________________
Step 6. Justify
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| How many layers did the original have? | |
| How many does ours have? | |
| What protects the food now? | |
| What did we remove, and what was that layer doing? | |
| What got worse in our design? |
Our thirty-second pitch, in two sentences:
Answer: _____________________________________________________________________________
Line 2: _____________________________________________________________________________
Class total: how many layers did the whole class remove today? ______
Page 5: Compost sort cards
Print one set per group of four and cut apart. Each card has the item name and a small picture.
| 1. Apple core | 2. Coffee grounds and the paper filter |
| 3. Eggshells | 4. Banana peel |
| 5. Plain paper towel (no cleaner on it) | 6. Chicken bones |
| 7. Leftover buttered noodles | 8. Cheese rind |
| 9. Lettuce that went slimy in the fridge | 10. Plastic produce sticker |
Grade 8 stretch: the cost line and the hard question
Cost line
| Question | Our estimate | How we would find out for real |
|---|---|---|
| Does the new package cost the company more or less to make? | ||
| Does it cost more or less to ship? | ||
| Would the store charge the same price? |
The hard question
Name one case where more packaging is the sustainable choice. Explain why in three or four sentences.
Answer: _____________________________________________________________________________
Line 2: _____________________________________________________________________________
Line 3: _____________________________________________________________________________
Line 4: _____________________________________________________________________________
The teacher key for this handout is behind the teacher sign in. Teacher key