Kindergarten Lesson Plan: Belonging and Contributon

PLANNING THE LESSON - Part 1

Date: November 02, 2020
Grade: Kindergarten
Timeframe (time available): 45 Minutes
Curriculum Area: Belonging and Contribution
Title of Unit (if appropriate): The Four R’s of Recycling (Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle)

Context:
This lesson fit into my overall introductory unit planning.

Learning Expectations:

Academic:
Specific Curriculum Expectations from the section of "Belonging and Contributing" in The Kindergarten
Program (2016) document

“29.3 identify ways in which they can care for and show respect for the environment (e.g., feeding the
birds in winter, reusing and recycling, turning off unnecessary lights at home, walking to school instead
of getting a ride)”

“29.4 participate in environmentally friendly experiences in the classroom and the schoolyard (e.g., plant
and tend to plants; use local products for snack time; properly sort recycling)”

“25.3 express their thoughts (e.g., about a science discovery, about something they have made) and share
experiences (e.g., experiences at home, cultural experiences)”

Social (optional):

- Perspective-taking and collaboration with peers/partners while working on the sorting activity.
- Expressing thoughts and engagement with peers during music and movement and sorting activity.
- Recognizing their social responsibility towards the earth.

Big Ideas:
Reducing our waste by using less stuff, repair things rather than throwing away, reusing items more often,
converting waste into new items that can be used again for another purpose by recycling.

Connections to Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice:

-Instilling a sense of responsibility to respect, value and care for the environment by fulfilling our
individual role.
-Teaching to empathize and share the world’s natural resources with all citizens of the world, that include,
animals, plants, people and all species, by following the four R’s of Recycling diligently and responsibly.

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
Cross-curricular connections/Connections to students’ lives (local/global):
- Literacy through the word art and read-aloud.
- Music and movement through the song.
- Science through the entire lesson.
- Social Studies through the entire lesson.
- Creativity through the expression of music and movement and sharing their opinions, experiences and
thoughts in diverse ways with peers.
- Perspective-taking and collaboration while working in pairs.
- Students are given opportunities to reflect on the recycling practices in their homes and their past
experiences with reusing and repairing materials.
- Students are encouraged to reflect on their own individual recycling practices and actions (closing the
tap when brushing teeth); thus, connecting them to the environment and the footprints they leave globally
through their recycling choices.

Assessment:

Diagnostic (assessment for learning):

-Observation
-Anecdotal Notes

Formative (assessment for/as learning):

-Work Samples
-Personal Reflection
-Checklist
-Oral Reports

Summative (assessment of learning)

-Presentation
-Graphic Organizer (Sorting Activity)

Accommodations and Modifications – Differentiated Instruction:

- The lesson plan provides lots of examples of the reducing, repairing, reusing and recycling in all three
steps of plan.
- The use of song and movement to foster student expression, active engagement and interest.
- Students are given the choice of working with a partner for the sorting activity, which encourages peers
to collaborate with one another.
-Videos and visuals are included to reach a wide range of learners.
- The activity of read-aloud is included to make the learning fun and relatable for young learners.
- Word wall is also included in the lesson plan to provide a visual support and representation for ELLs
and all students.
- The lesson plan caters to the visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles due to the hands-on activity
and the inclusion of a song.
- Oral explanation with visuals
- Change space and seating

Materials/Resources:

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
Tech: Laptop with audio, projector, storybook, worksheets, scissors, glue, visuals

Homework/ Reminders/Personal Notes:

Bring an item from home that they or their parents repaired and reused.

DELIVERING THE LESSON - Part 2

Note: Timing & Grouping

Mental Set (5 Minutes)

Whole-class Activation Warm-up (Reflect and Share) (7-10 Minutes)

To tapping into student’s prior knowledge while encouraging a sense of expression and engagement, I
will start by asking two open-ended questions:

1) Can you think of a situation in which you wore your old clothes a lot of times or played with your
old toys many times? Or anything that you reused many times? Would anyone like to talk about
something that they use a lot and many times?
2) Do you remember a time when your toy or favorite object broke or maybe your clothes ripped but
then you or your parents fixed/repaired it and you were able to use it again? Would anyone like to
share?

After listening to student’s experiences, I will share an incident of when I ripped my headscarf. I will tell
the students that in this situation, I had two options. The first option was to fix it by sewing it. The second
option was to throw it away and buy a new one. I will further share that I decided to play my part in
taking care of the environment/earth by reducing waste and reusing things. So, I asked my mom if she
could help me to fix it by sewing the ripped part for me, and this allowed me to reuse the same scarf for a
very long time. While sharing my experience, I will also show them the same scarf to allow for a tangible
experience.

Sharing the Purpose/Objectives (in student language)

Today we will be learning about how to take care of our environment and the earth by learning about the
four R’s of Recycling, which are Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.

Body: (35 Minutes) (Input, Modeling, Check for Understanding, Guided Practice, Independent
Practice)

Whole Class KWL Chart Activity

To assess children’s prior knowledge as well as provide a visual of new vocabulary words for ELLs and
all students, we will add the following words on the word wall as a class:
- Environment
- Earth
- Reduce
- Reuse

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
- Repair
- Recycle
- Waste
- Trash

This will support students as they learn and become familiar with the new words. It will also allow them
to see the relationships between these words during the read-aloud.

Whole Class Read-Aloud Activity

To introduce the topic of the Three Rs of Recycling, I will start by doing a read-aloud of the storybook
called, “George Saves the World by Lunchtime” written by Jo Readman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8CLhNvaEFI

Microteaching

A mini video lesson of five to seven minutes will be given to reach a wider group of young learners. The
mini-lesson will be on what is environment and the ways in which we can keep it clean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEk6JLJNg0U

At the end of the video, I will explain with visuals and talk about how we can follow the four R’s of
Recycling:

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
-Reducing garbage means using less things, for example, using both sides of the paper, bringing a lunch
box from home Reducing natural resources means using less water than usual and turning off the tap
while brushing our teeth, using less electricity by switching off light when it is not needed, walking to
school rather than taking the car.

-Reusing means to use things many times in different ways or giving it to someone else rather than
throwing it away. For example, using a refillable water bottle rather than plastic water bottles,
exchanging plastic bags for bags that can be reused.

-Repair means to fix when something breaks rather than throwing it away and buying a new one.
As a class, we will reflect on the questions in this visual.

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
-Recycle means to change materials that are thrown into new things. For example, if we recycle
newspaper by putting it in the right bin of recycle, then it gets turned into new newspaper, construction
paper that we use at home and in school, cat litter and so much more.

Sorting Worksheet Activity with a Pair/Partner

After the mini-lesson, students will work on a sorting worksheet with a pair. The worksheet asks
them to cut and glue the different waste pictures in the correct section where they belong. This
worksheet was taken from the following source:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/reduce-recycle-and-reuse-6341415

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – “The 3 'R's Song”

After the activity, student will engage in music and movement by singing “The 3 R’s Song”. I
will first play and sign the song as the student listen and watch the video. I will sing and play the
song a second time while encouraging the students to join in the singing with me. To further ease
student’s engagement, I will encourage students to join-in on the singing of the repeated lines in
the songs if they are unable to sing the entire song. The repeated lines in this song are:
Let’s reduce, throw less rubbish.
Let’s reuse, use it in a new way.
Let’s recycle, make it into something new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pya_ljE3l3w

Bloom's Taxonomy:
__Remembering (check)
__Understanding (check)
__Applying (check)
__Analyzing (check)
__Evaluating (check)
__Creating (check)

Multiple Intelligences:
__Verbal/Linguistic
__Logical/
Mathematical
__Musical/
Rhythmic
__Body/
Kinesthetic
__Visual/Spacial
__Interpersonal
__Intrapersonal
__Naturalist
__Existential

Closure (5 Minutes)

Revisit Word Wall

Revisit word wall to provide multiple opportunities for students to get visual support throughout
the lesson plan. It also enhances independence and self-confidence in their learning, as they
recognize that they are walking away with new knowledge.

Presenting Sorting Waste Activity

Students will be invited to share and explain their sorting activity with their partner to the class.
Those students who volunteer will explain why they sorted the pictures of the different waste in
that way. Other students in class will be encourage to ask questions or give comments and their
opinions.

Homework/ Reminders:

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
Bring an item from home that they or their parents repaired and reused.

Reflections: Include Successes, Challenges, Changes, Next Steps.

Extension can include:

- Students asked to bring an item from home that they or their parents repaired and reused.
- Students sort the recycling of their classroom or entire school.
- Planting and caring for flowers/plants in the classroom. Responsibilities to take care of the plant can
rotate amongst students each week (watering, making sure the sunlight is reaching the plant).

Reflection
My lesson plan relates to the issue of environment and recycling to build awareness of
caring and respecting the environment for sustainability. I choose this lesson because I share a
passion for learning and teaching about sustaining living to make this earth a haven for all living
and non-living creatures. I planned my lesson with several videos, visuals and a song to cater to
the young learners, as students cannot read in Kindergarten. Hence, I created opportunities for
young learners to actively engage and learn about recycling through hands-on and
physical/movement activities with minimal directional time. I also included a read-aloud about
the four R's of recycling to foster their sense of imagination and creativity about recycling, as
well as, to encourage reflection and critical thinking regarding the important role they play in
keeping the environment clean. Another reason I planned my lesson on recycling is that during
my time in the course, I gained a deeper understanding of the connections between
environmental damage, world hunger, consumerism and exploitation of natural resources. As
Martusewicz et al. (2011) illustrate that “hunger is not a result of ignorance or
“underdevelopment”; it is a result of exploitation” (p. 7). The understanding of the exploitation
of natural resources from this article encouraged me to include the teaching of reusing, repairing
and reducing in our everyday life. This was in an effort to teach young learners from an early age
to avoid taking “for granted, our daily trips to Costco, filling ever-larger shopping carts”
(Martusewicz et al., 2011, p. 6). While planning my lesson, I was largely motivated by Haluzu-
DeLay’s (n.d.) idea of treating all living and non-living creatures/entities with fairness and
justice who shares equal rights as citizens with us, similar to the Aboriginal ways of thinking
about the world. Therefore, by designing and implementing hands-on, as well as, reflective
activities on the four R’s of recycling, my goal was to encourage students to realize that we are
not separate from our environment/nature. Instead, we are one and we support each other in
different ways; thus, resulting in transformative learning. While planning, I also drew from the
“transformative learning practice” by Kozak and Elliott’s (2014) research by “learning in and for
the community” (p. 9) through the lesson. Rather than focusing only on the growth and education
of the students, I was influenced by the idea of creating transformative learning, which motivated
me to create activities that focused on strategies to support our community and environment.

‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011
 References
Dan. (2019, August 1). Reduce, reuse, recycle – the 3 ‘R’s song [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pya_ljE3l3w
Earth Day Printables - FamilyEducation. (2020). Retrieved 3 November 2020, from
https://www.familyeducation.com/entertainment-activities/earth-day-printables
Haluza-Delay. (n.d.). Educating for environmental justice. The King’s University College. Retrieved
from https://pepper-mt.oise.utoronto.ca/data/note/662359/Martusewicz%20et%20al%20Eco-
justice%20Ed%20ch%201.pdf
Kozak, S. & Elliot, S. (2011). From Ecosystem to ‘Edusystem’. In Connecting the Dots: Key Learning
Strategies for Environmental Education, Citizenship and Sustainability. Toronto: Learning for a
Sustainable Future. (pp. 4-9) http://lsf-lst.ca/dots
Malcolm, M. (2015). 25 Plastic Bottle Crafts for Kids. Retrieved 28 October 2020, from
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mt.oise.utoronto.ca/data/note/662359/Martusewicz%20et%20al%20Eco-
justice%20Ed%20ch%201.pdf
Ms Fidler. (2020, April 22). George saves the world by lunchtime [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8CLhNvaEFI
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‘Creating the Dynamic Classroom, A Handbook for Teachers, Revised Edition’, Schwartz/Pollishuke, Pearson Publishing, 2011