Design for Learning

Instructor: Autumn Combs

Area: Science

Title: Use it Again!

Date: Day 3

Grade Level: 3rd

Estimated Time: 50 min

Standards Connection:
Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and
protecting the environment.
Recognizing the impact of society on human health and environmental conditions
Learning Goals:
When given an interactive multiple choice Plickers quiz, students will correctly answer both
questions with 100% accuracy.
Evaluation of Learning Goal:
The teacher will use Plickers to create a web-based assessment for the end of the lesson. There
will be two questions on the assessment. One will have the students define reusing and the other
will have the student identify a way that reusing helps the environment. Students should
correctly answer both questions. If a student incorrectly answers either of the questions or both
of them, they should be pulled for small group instruction so that misconceptions can be cleared
up.
Engagement:
Teacher will bring in scarf. Today I brought in something that I like very much. Hold up scarf for
students to see. This is a scarf. Put the scarf on and model it for students. Do you want to know
why it is so special to me? It is special because my sister made it for me for Christmas this past
year. Walk around the classroom with it allowing students time to look at it and feel it if they
want. Do you want to know something really cool? She found an old shirt that didnt fit her
anymore, and she cut it up and made me this scarf. She could have thrown the shirt away since it
didnt fit her anymore but she decided to use it to make something else. She reused it!
Learning Design:
Teaching
Today we are going to talk about how doing things like this (reusing) can help our environment.
Before we get started, I want you to get your 3 Rs graphic organizer out. As teacher waits on
students, teacher should put the slide of the landfill up for a visual. Who remembers what this is?
Call on student raising their hand. Yes! We said yesterday that it is a landfill. And what is so bad
about a landfill ______? Give student time to answer. Yes! It causes pollution which is harmful

to our environment and to us as humans. It is important that we cut down on the amount of waste
that we send to the landfill on a regular basis. Talk to your group about one way that we can
help cut down on the amount of waste that we send to the landfill. Teacher should walk around,
taking notes of student conversations. If needed, probe students that we just learned about this
way yesterday. I heard ______ say something while sharing with his group. What were you
saying _______? Give time for student to answer. Yes! Reducing is a way that we can cut down
on the amount of waste that we send to the landfill because we are not using as many resources
when we reduce; therefore, we are cutting down on the amount of waste that we send to the
landfill. Remember Ms. Combs lunchbox? I reduce when I use it because I cut down on the
number of plastic bags I use to carry my lunch. Lets talk about another thing that will help to
cut down on waste in our landfills. Teacher should turn to slide 9. Another way that we can cut
down on the waste that goes to the landfills is by reusing. Reusing is when you use something
more than once instead of throwing it away. Look at this picture that I have on the slide. This is a
thrift store. Have any of you been to a thrift store? Call on student who has their hand raised.
_______, what is a thrift store? Give student time to briefly share about his/her experience at a
thrift store. I love thrift stores. You are right, they are stores where you can take old clothes that
you cant wear anymore and they resell them for a cheap price. But, I have a question. Why is
this reusing? Talk to your group. Teacher will walk around to the different groups, facilitating
conversation and making notes about points that students have. Ok, back to me. I heard _____
say something interesting. Do you mind sharing? Wait for student to share. Ok, so since people
take their old clothes to this thrift store instead of throwing them away, other people can come
into the store, buy them, and reuse them. This prevents waste by keeping the old clothes out of
the landfill. Now lets look at the other picture that I put on this slide. This is a bouquet of
flowers in a mason jar. Do any of you know what a mason jar is? Scan room for raised hands. It
is like a jam or jelly jar. So this person ate all the jelly out of the jar, washed it out, and reused it
for a flower vase. Talk to your group for a minute. See if you can come up with another way to
reuse. Allow students time to talk about other examples of reusing. Teacher should walk to each
table as the students are talking. Facilitate conversation if some students are having difficulty.
Back to me. I heard some great examples of reusing from the different groups. Would someone
like to share? Call on student raising their hand that you made note of saying something on task.
______, what did your group talk about? Ok, so you said that you can reuse scrap pieces of
paper to write notes on. That is a good idea. Addressing the rest of the class. Hold on to your
ideas because you are going to be able to share soon. We are going to do an activity where you
will be able to talk about all your ideas. Put your Three Rs Organizer in your social science
folder for tomorrow, and get out your science notebook.
Practice:
Teacher should turn to slide 10. Now, I am going to give you a chance to practice with this idea
of reusing. You can use your ideas from the activity that we just did if you want to but I want you
to write a story. The story should be about reusing. Whichever you choose is fine. Write todays
date and REUSING at the top of your next available page of your notebook. For our story, we
are going to write a comic. Teacher should point out the comic strips that are on slide 10. Your
story can look like this but remember that graphic novels have pictures and thought bubbles for

the characters. The story needs to be about reusing but be creative with it. Have fun! You will be
working with a partner so you need to be respectful of their ideas and work as a team. Divide
students into pairs. Give them time to write a story using the ideas that they have about reusing.
Teacher will walk the room to facilitate writing and read over their writing as they finish. She
will also make sure that students are remaining on task. After time is up, call their attention back.
I need you to go back to your seats please. I read some great reusing stories today! You will have
time to finish during the week, but for now I would like for you to put the notebook away and get
out your Plicker card.
Assessment:
To end our lesson today, we are going to take a short little quiz that Ms. Combs made on
Plickers. Wait for students to get their Plickers out. These will be used for them to answer
questions that will provide the teacher with data about the lesson for the day. Open the Plickers
webpage on the computer, go into the Live view of the page. Open app on phone. Choose the
definition question first. Reusing means that: you use a resource more than once instead of
throwing it away, you collect a resource so that it can be made into a new product, you use less
of a resource to prevent waste. Take your time. Think about it and when you think you have an
answer, hold up your card for me to scan. As students begin holding up their cards for the
teacher to scan, the teacher should be using the app on the phone to get their answers. The
camera is used on your phone. The teacher will scan each Plicker card to make sure that a
response is recorded for each student. Do this for the second question as well. Reusing helps the
environment by: adding waste to the environment, using all the resources, or creating less waste
and saving resources. When you have made a decision on your answer, hold your Plicker up so
that I can scan it. Scan all Plicker cards. Good work today! You all worked very hard and
learned a lot today. I can tell because everyone did so well on their quiz. You may go ahead and
put these away.

Closure:
Once your Plicker cards are in your desk, you may get out your art from yesterday. Now that you
have been thinking about reusing materials we are going to continue with our art projects. Can
someone tell me how reusing plays a role in our projects? Teacher will call on student to answer.
Yes! We are coming up with new ways to use our materials. We are reusing the materials. Allow
students time to work on their projects.

Resources and Materials:

-

Science notebooks
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Google Slides Presentation
Three Rs graphic organizer

Projector
Clipboard with paper for notes
Plickers on computer
Student Plicker Cards
Plickers app on phone
Bag of recyclables
Markers
Scissors
Glue
Special Scarf

Extensions/Accommodations:
J and S- These students will work on their writing at the back table with Ms. Combs.
J, P, and L will be encouraged to use a larger comic strip so that they can be more creative and
detailed in their reusing story.

Reflection:
Data: All students who were present during the lesson and participated in the Plickers
assessment scored a 100% on both questions. There were no students who needed remediation in
this area. The data shows that this lesson was effective in teaching the material and that the
students were able to correctly identify the material for the assessment. There were three students
who did not participate in the test. Two of them were out of the room receiving special education
services.
If this lesson were retaught, I would change the way the comic strip writing activity was
presented to the students. I did not provide much of an example for them to follow because I did
not think of how helpful it would be. An example would have helped my kids have more
confidence in beginning their writing. I also would give them a copy of the comic strip. I did not
during this lesson because I was trying to cut down on how many things we are gluing in the
notebooks (they are getting thick) and I thought it would take less time to just draw the strip in
the notebook. This was wrong though. The students took a while to simply draw the strip the way
they wanted it to look.

Reusing Plickers Questions

1. Reusing means that
a. you use a resource more than once instead of throwing it away
b. you collect a resource so that it can be made into a new product
c. you use less of a resource to prevent waste
2. Reusing helps the environment by
a. adding waste to the environment
b. using all the resources
c. creating less waste and saving resources

Reusing Plickers Questions Rubric

1. Reusing means that
a. you use a resource more than once instead of throwing it away
b. you collect a resource so that it can be made into a new product
c. you use less of a resource to prevent waste
2. Reusing helps the environment by
a. adding waste to the environment
b. using all the resources
c. creating less waste and saving resources

Plickers Question/Data

Plickers Question/Data