CU 7.03Sorting for Recycling
The child sorts clean, real items into paper, plastic, metal, compost, and trash bins and learns that recycled things are made into new things.
Presentation
Search videos (opens YouTube in a new tab)- 1
Show the bins and name each one.
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Take out the newspaper: 'This is paper. It goes in the paper bin. It can be made into new paper.'
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Take out the bottle: 'This is plastic.' Place it in the plastic bin.
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Do the same with the tin can, the apple peel jar (compost), and the chip bag (trash).
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Invite the child to sort the rest of the basket.
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Check together with the control chart.
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Empty the bins back into the basket for the next child.
What catches the child’s eye
- The magnet clicking onto a steel can but not onto the foil
- The real items the child knows from home lunches
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Take on the job of sorting the classroom recycling each day
- Use a magnet to find steel cans
- Look at things made from recycled materials, such as a notebook or a fleece jacket
- Count the items in each bin and compare
Control of error
Each item has a small colored dot underneath matching its bin; the control chart shows the full sort.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Sorts the basket correctly
- Names what each bin is for
- Puts classroom waste in the right bin without reminders
Guide note
Use only clean, dry items. Cans must have smooth, rolled rims with no sharp edges. Leave out glass. Local recycling rules differ; match the bins to what your city accepts.