Mrs. French's Planet Protecters

Introduction

by Haley French

Have you ever thought about... 

  • What happens to items that you throw away?
  • How you can use natural resources wisely?
  • Why should you reduce, reuse, and recycle?
  • What are some problems we face with trash and climate change?
  • What you can do to encourage others to help protect our planet?

This web quest is designed to help fourth grade students analyze

  • process of disposing of waste
  • the impact of using natural resources wisely
  • individual responsibilities to reduce, reuse, and recycle
  • how pollutants affect our planet
  • solutions for clean air and water

 

Task

This web quest will take you on a five day journey that addresses some of the problems we have on our planet with waste. In completion of the following tasks, you will consider different ways we can each do our part to help take care of our planet. When we think about what we are using and throwing away, we can make smarter decisions about creating less waste. You will develop some basic knowledge about our planet's natural resources. It is important for everyone to understand and consider problems we face with pollution and climate change. It is also helpful to encourage others to become planet protectors, as well.

Print the following TASK LIST to keep track of completed tasks.

Monday - Landfill Activity and Journal Entry

Tuesday - Follow That Trail

Wednesday - The Case of the Broken Loop

Thursday - Trash and Climate Change

Friday - Share Projects:  Planet Protector Help Wanted Posters

 

Process

STEP 1

Separate students into groups of four, giving each student a job and responsibilities:  Captain, Scribe, Presenter, and Timekeeper.

  • The Captain will read aloud directions or discussion questions and help students in their group access links.
  • The Scribe will make notes and/or draw ideas generated by the group.
  • The Presenter will explain what the group has accomplished.
  • The Timekeeper will give reminders of time and help keep the group focused.

STEP 2

  • The Captain will lead discussions based on essential questions located on anchor chart in classroom. Discussion questions can be pulled from lessons within the links or the questions located on the introduction page.

STEP 3

  • The students will work with a partner to complete daily tasks provided in web links.

STEP 4

  • The students will work independently to complete their assignment.

STEP 5

  • Each group member will take turns sharing their completed assignment with their group and then with the class.

 

 

 

Evaluation

Monday - Landfill Activity and Journal Entry

Tuesday - Follow That Trail

Wednesday - The Case of the Broken Loop

Thursday - Trash and Climate Change

Friday - Share Projects:  Planet Protector Help Wanted Posters

This is how your work will be evaluated and scored.
 

Beginner

5 Points

Basic

10 Points

Proficient

15 points

Advanced

20 points

 Score

GROUP DISCUSSION

 Participated minimally in group discussion as a speaker and listener. Needed help staying on task and subject. Participated in group discussion as a speaker and listener. Stayed on task and subject with less than 3 distractions. Participated proficiently in group discussion as a speaker and listener. Stayed on task and subject with no distractions. Participated in group discussion with advanced knowledge as a speaker and listener. Stayed on task and subject with no distractions.  
ACTIVITY Activity was incomplete. Activity was incomplete, but does show some knowledge of  Worked well with others in group to complete activity directions with work being shared equally among all members of the group. Impressive final product. Worked well with others in group to complete activity directions with work being shared equally among all members of the group. Outstanding final product.  
ROLE Minimally fulfilled duties individually or within the group. Fulfilled basic duties, with some reminders. Worked well with others in the group to complete tasks associated with role. Worked well with others in group while completing all tasks associated with role.  
JOURNAL ENTRY Expressed minimal knowledge of content in journal response with very few mechanical and grammatical errors. Expressed basic knowledge of content in journal response with very few mechanical and grammatical errors. Expressed proficient knowledge of content in journal response with very few mechanical and grammatical errors. Expressed advanced knowledge of content in journal response with very few mechanical and grammatical errors.  
USE OF VOCABULARY Minimal use of vocabulary terms associated with the lesson. Basic use of some vocabulary terms associated with the lesson. Proficient use of most terms associated with the lesson. Advanced use of all terms associated with the lesson.  

Conclusion

Take a few minutes at the end of each lesson to answer the following questions in your journal. Your responses should reflect what you have learned by using vocabulary and content knowledge associated with the topic.

What did you learn about...

  • What happens to items that you throw away?
  • How you can use natural resources wisely?
  • Why should you reduce, reuse, and recycle?
  • What are some problems we face with trash and climate change?
  • What you can do to encourage others to help protect our planet?

Credits

Additional Resources: 

Teacher Page

STANDARDS: CCSS ARKANSAS SCIENCE FOURTH GRADE

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

 Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account. (4-ETS1-1)

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions

 Research on a problem should be carried out before beginning to design a solution. Testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions. (4-ETS1-2)

  •   At whatever stage, communicating with peers about proposed solutions is an important part of the design process, and shared ideas can lead to improved designs. (4-ETS1-2)

  •   Tests are often designed to identify failure points or difficulties, which suggest the elements of the design that need to be improved. (4-ETS1-3)

    ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution

     Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints. (4-ETS1-3)