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Brad Wohlgemuth Thornton Twp. H.S.
151st and Broadway
Harvey, Ill. 60426
Grade level 9-12
Students will match the vocabulary words with the definitions.
Students will explain the benefit of recycling to the environment.
Students will list three things they can recycle at home.
Students will list several ways that home recycling can be profitable.
Students will discuss how recycling may help solve the landfill problems in
Students will name and locate on a map three different landfill areas in the
south suburban area.
The following materials will make one game packet for a class of fifteen.
250-Index cards any size (number depends on class size, each game set requires
50 cards 25 red and 25 blue)
3 18"X 24" Posterboard 1 Overhead projector
1 X-acto knife or razor blade 3 Transparencies
1 Ruler 15 Pencils (regular school pencil)
1 Overhead projector 15 Sheets of graph paper
1 Map of local area (road map ) 300 Poker chips red, blue, and white
A. Discussion on landfills and problems that relate to the landfills.
B. Talk about the amount of waste an individual family creates and what it
contains e.g. plastic bottles 8.7%, newspaper 41%, aluminum 8.7% and glass
8.2% and misc. 35.6%
C. Show grids on overhead.
1. Grid one shows one square, the square represents the garbage one family
creates in one day.
2. Grid two shows five squares, the squares represent the garbage of five
families in one day.
3. Grid three shows twenty-five squares representing the garbage twenty-five
families create in one day.
4. Talk about the number of families in the area and the amount of garbage
created by those families.
D. Intro to home recycling, what materials can be recycled and the benefits to
the individual and the environment.
E. Simulation game (for instructions and rules send a self addressed 8 1/2 X 11
envelope to the address above)
F. Graph the results of the simulation.
G. Discussion on the problem of volume in recycling and demonstration of
reducing volume and setting up home recycling centers.
H. Homework assignment.
The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate to students the effect of
recycling on the environment by reducing the amount of garbage going to the
landfill. In addition, the economic advantages to the recycler and the
community will become evident after playing the game. The lesson will give the
student the opportunity to experience some of the problems related to recycling
in the home and in the community.
Laurence Sombke, The Solution to Pollution, published by Master Media Ltd.