Day+5+(Friday)

Students will understand the following: 1. Biodegradable materials are those that are capable of disintegrating easily in nature. 2. Discarded items made of biodegradable materials take up less room in a landfill and are therefore preferable to items made of materials that take many years to break down. 3. Inventions that use only biodegradable materials are more “friendly” to the environment than others. 4. Research methods using the Internet. Begin developing creation/marketing techniques and skills. 1. Review with your students what they know about biodegradable materials. Be sure they understand that biodegradable materials are those that disintegrate easily in nature. 2 . Continue the discussion by asking students why biodegradable materials are more “environment friendly,” and therefore preferable to those that are not. 3. Tell your students that in the early 1990s, a young student invented a golf tee made entirely out of biodegradable substances. Discuss with the class why this invention was important. (Millions of golf tees are used each year, and many people leave them on the golf course after they have used them. Standard golf tees take a long time to disintegrate.) Then challenge students to come up with their own biodegradable inventions. 4. Divide the class into pairs or small groups, asking each group to dream up a product that consists only of biodegradable materials they can find in their homes or outside. 5. Have them begin by brainstorming ideas **while researching on the Internet** for products and recording their ideas. 6. Students should then write a list of materials they would need for each product and then determine which idea seems most practical. They should research their materials to make sure they are, in fact, biodegradable. 7. Once groups have chosen their inventions, they should either make models of their products or draw detailed diagrams, showing how and where each material would be used. 8. Have groups create marketing campaigns to convince other people to purchase their environment-friendly products. Have them **post these campaigns on the class website**. This way they can see and learn from other’s ideas. OR They can present them the following week as a PowerPoint presentation. 1. Do you think that one day most of our clothing or other everyday items, such as notebooks or paper cups, will be made from recycled materials? What changes would have to be made to society in order for this to occur? 2. Are you more likely to buy a product if you know it is made from recycled materials? What if that product isn't quite what you're looking for—not as close, say, as a similar nonrecycled product? What if it was more expensive? 3. Discuss whether you think some countries are more interested in recycling and the environment than others. Explain your answers. 4. Explain the reasons why someone might not choose to recycle in their home. Discuss the things you could say to this person to convince him or her to recycle. 5. Think about the packaging that you see in grocery stores today. Discuss and debate whether most products are packaged in an environmentally friendly way. 6. Hypothesize the reasons why some communities have set up elaborate recycling programs while others have no recycling programs at all. ** EVALUATION:  ** You can evaluate your students on their products and marketing campaigns using the following three-point rubric: - **Three points:** Products use only biodegradable materials; models or diagrams clear and carefully executed; marketing campaigns persuasive and creatively conceived - **Two points:** Products use only biodegradable materials; models or diagrams adequate; marketing campaigns moderately persuasive - **One point:** Products use only biodegradable materials; models or diagrams unclear or inadequately executed; marketing campaigns weak
 * TITLE: Create Your Own Biodegradable **
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