Sustainability

Challenge 1: Let’s do Lunch- Teacher Lesson Plans

Print the lesson plans here

Lesson aims

To familiarise students with the way that specific properties suit certain materials for particular jobs.
To encourage students to recognise that many packaging materials use non-sustainable resources and that we need to consider sustainable alternatives.

Lesson objectives

Students will be expected to:

Work effectively within a group
Discuss within a group
Communicate effectively with others
Understand that the properties of a material will govern the uses which it can be put to
Understand that certain lifestyle choices can have a detrimental effect on our hearts and effectively shorten our lives.

Lesson Outcomes

By the end of this lesson:

All students will be able to appreciate that the properties of a material will govern the uses which it can be put to.
Most students will be able to appreciate that the use of non-sustainable resources to support current lifestyles will need to be reconsidered because of the effect that this is having on the planet.
Some students will be able to appreciate that there are many different factors which will determine whether consumers will choose sustainable over non-sustainable products.

Curriculum links

KS4 Science

Communication skills: 3a,c
Applications & implications: 4a,b
Chemical & material behaviour: 6c,d
Environment, Earth & universe: 8b

KS4 D&T

Developing, planning & communicating ideas: 1b,c,e
Knowledge and understanding of materials & components: 4b,e

Lesson Requirements

Time required

One hour.

Pre-Lesson preparation required

It will be necessary to pre-prepare an ‘average’ student lunch box. This might consist of:

Home made sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil
An apple
A packet of crisps
A drink in a plastic bottle
A cereal bar
A cake wrapped in cling film

Materials and equipment required

For the students (per group)
- A copy of the Student Activity Sheet
For the teacher
- A pre-prepared lunch box as detailed above

Prior knowledge required

Students should be aware of the link between our consumption of non-renewable resources and issues such as climate change and pollution. They should be familiar with the meaning of the term sustainable as something which is able to carry on into the future with no negative impacts on the environment.

Lesson structure (including approximate timings)

Housekeeping (4 minutes):

Introduction of lesson and explanation of aims and objectives. Arrange students into teams of three or four.

Intro. Activity (15 minutes):

Give each team one minute to write down a definition for the term sustainable.
Each team can then feedback their definitions and there can be a brief discussion to decide on the best definition.
Teams can also be asked to consider why sustainability such an important issue at the moment. Students will probably be aware that fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and that we burn them to produce energy and in the process they give off carbon dioxide which is a major cause of global warming and climate change.
Students can be asked to think of other uses to which we put non-renewable resources. The key use to focus on here will be the manufacture of consumer goods and the ‘disposable culture’ we currently live in.
At this point bring out the pre-prepared lunch box and ask students to look at the box and contents and consider what packaging is used, what it is made from, whether it is likely to be made using renewable or non-renewable resources and how it will be disposed of or recycled. The Student Activity Sheet accompanying this lesson plan will help with this.

Team Activity (35 minutes):

As a team, students now need to consider why these particular materials have been used to create the packaging. How do the properties of the materials from which the packaging is made relate to the function of the packaging?
Students will also need to give each packaging material a sustainability rating based on the raw materials from which it is made and whether or not it can be recycled. The Student Activity Sheet accompanying this lesson plan will help with this.
Each team could then offer feedback regarding their findings for a particular piece of packaging.
Teams can then work on the preliminary design their own piece of packaging. This packaging could be for a particular food or drink item or it could be the lunchbox container itself. The objective here is for teams to design their packaging to be as sustainable as possible.
Teams will need to consider whether the materials they have selected have the correct properties for the job they need to do, whether they come from renewable or non-renewable resources and whether or not they can be reused or recycled.
They may also wish to consider whether these sustainable packaging materials are likely to be more or less popular with consumers and why this might be.
Technology teachers may wish to consider placing more emphasis on the design process and ask students to consider how their packaging could be mass produced, what kind of tooling etc might be necessary.
If time allows, each team can give a one minute presentation on their packaging, explaining how they have tried to make it sustainable.

Closing (6 minutes):

Summarise key points:

By overly relying on non-renewable resources the human population is putting a great deal of pressure on the global environment and this may lead to irreversible changes which could be catastrophic.
Tackling an issue as large as climate change will require changes to be made to all aspects of society, not just how we produce energy.
Regardless of whether the materials we use are from sustainable or non-sustainable sources we still need to ensure that their properties match the required functions of the products we will make them into.
End.

Extension/Homework

This activity could be extended for technology classes by giving teams the opportunity to create a prototype of their packaging.

Science students could investigate how different types of plastic are used for different packaging purposes and which types of plastic can be recycled.

Differentiation

Adapt discussion sessions to suit ability and age group.
Provide extra support during group activity for those students who require it.
Higher ability students could be asked to add more detail in the activity requiring them to link material properties with product function.

Risk assessment

It is the responsibility of the supervising teacher to carry out all risk assessments with regard to this activity and to make sure that any such risk assessment complies with the requirements of the particular institution in which it is being conducted.