Here is what we have worked up to present at the Topeka Water Festival. It is an exchange between two JDLA presenters with open questions to our audience. We only have twenty minutes with 20-25 fourth graders and we want to allow then to decorate their new reusable bags so our presentation is pretty short. Here it is…..
Hello! Welcome to our station!! We are from John Dewey Learning Academy and we have a great project for you today but first ….
Who thinks plastic bags are bad for the environment??
Why?
You are correct! Plastic bags are bad for the environment because they turn into litter. The litter is pretty ugly but also, since plastic bags never bio-degrade (turn into dirt) they get ripped up and shredded and sometimes look like food to animals. When the animals eat the plastic they get sick or die.
Plastic bags are also bad for the environment because they are made from oil. Oil is a non-renewable resource. Making plastic bags uses up a lot of energy, energy comes from Natural Gas, another non-renewable resource.
Who thinks paper grocery bags are bad for the environment??
Why?
Paper bags are bad for the environment even though they are technically bio-degradable they don’t bio-degrade easily. When they go into a land fill they don’t degrade instead they release methane gas into our environment. Also, the energy used to make the paper into a bag is excessive when we really don’t need paper bags to hold our groceries.
What is a non-renewable resource?
Yes! Non-renewable means it is naturally occurring and that we can’t make any more of it and we can’t recycle and reuse it after the first time.
What would happen if we run out?
If we use up our natural resources on things that aren’t really important to our world we won’t have resources for important things like making and harvesting food, heating and lighting our homes and driving to our jobs! If we can’t make more of something then we should be really careful about how we use it. This includes all of our non-renewable resources – oil, natural gas, coal – fossil fuels.
Does anyone actually really need plastic bags?
Why do we have them if we don’t really need them??
You are all right on target! We hope that this has given you some things to think about today. We hope that you can help us change the world by taking a re-usable bag home with you today! Tell other people about what you have learned and learn more – do some internet research on your own about this issue. Remember, don’t use up non-renewable resources on things that you don’t really need. Use reusable bags to shop!
Now, we want each of you to take a reusable bag and use these sharpies to decorate and personalize them. You MUST put your name on the bag somewhere. We don’t have a lot of time but we would like you to personalize your bags with a theme of reduce, reuse, recycle or the environment. We have some templates of the earth, the recycle symbol, peace sign and some animals. Use your bag to make a statement about not using plastic bags!
Please remember, if you aren’t finished today you can finish at home with sharpies. Don’t use washable markers, they wash off! Also, please make sure the markers get their lids back on tightly when you are finished!
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