Using the theme of Interdependence, students can discover an interactive way of getting familiar with the ideas and vocabulary from Annie Leonard's "The Story of Stuff".

1. The Story of Stuff
Classroom Activity

2. Learning Goals
• To discover how my usage of goods and
services is affecting those workers that
make them.
• How do I contribute to interdependence in
the world around me? OR to the
businesses that surround ML? OR to this
country?

3. The System
Extraction
Refinement $
Retail
Disposal $
GOVERNMENT
$ $ Consumption $

4. The Main Idea…
• The environment of our planet is limited.
The system in which we produce and use
things is leading to an evitable loss of
natural resource avialbility.

5. Vocabulary
• Extraction: To remove, in the
Story of Stuff, this refers to
mining, hunting, logging, etc.
• Refinement: Mixing natural
products from the earth with
man-made poisons
(chemicals) to create the
products we use everyday
• Manufacturer: The factory or
company that is creating the
products we use everyday

6. Vocabulary
• Retail: The stores and
companies that sell the
products to the
consumers
• Corporation: The
companies in charge of
selling and putting
together the products for
consumers
• Consumer: Someone
who is buying or using
products
• Consumption: The
action of using products

7. Vocabulary
• Disposal: Removing
garbage from one
place and putting it all
together in another. In
the Story of Stuff, this
refers to landfill, and
incineration.

8. Group Activity
• In a group of 4 or 5 students, Discuss with each other the topic
given to you by your teacher.
1. Where do the natural resources come from?
2. Who makes the products?
3. Who buys the products? (discuss specific types of people and
specific products)
4. Why do people buy these products? (discuss specific products
and what they do in society)
5. Where does the money go from the purchase of the product?
6. How can we change this?

9. Jeopardy Rules
• Winner is decided through group with the most
points OR if time is a factor, the first group to
2500 points wins.
• A group will only have 1 minute to say the
answer
• If an answer is incorrect from a group it goes to
the group to first put up their hand afterwards.
• A group must ALL agree on an answer before
sharing it with the class.

10. The Story of Stuff
Extraction Refining Retail Consumption Disposal
1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5

11. 1. Extraction
• Question: What is Extraction
• Answer

12. 1. Extraction
• Extraction is the removal of natural
resources from the Earth.
• Game On

13. 2. Extraction
• What are 3 different types of Extraction?
• Answer

14. 2. Extraction
• Mining, Hunting, Fishing, Logging, etc.
• Game On.

15. 3. Extraction
• What is an easier way of saying Extraction
according to Annie Leonard?
• Answer

16. 3. Extraction
• Trashing the planet
• Game on.

17. 4. Extraction
• Name four natural resources that are
extracted.
• Answer.

18. 4. Extraction
• Fish, Trees, Ore/Rock, Gold, Vegetables,
water, animals, etc.
• Game on

19. 5. Extraction
• What is a fancier way of saying
Extraction?
• Answer.

20. 5. Extraction
• Natural Resource Exploitation
• Game on

21. 1. Refining
• What happens in the refining step of
“Stuff”?
• Answer.

22. 1. Refining
• Natural resources are mixed with man-
made chemicals to create the products we
use everyday.
• Game on.

23. 2. Refining
• What items can you think of that are
commonly refined?
• Answer.

24. 2. Refining
• Metals for cars; Wood for buildings; stones
for concrete; fossil fuels for petroleum; etc.
• Game on.

25. 3. Refining
• What does Annie Leonard say is released
into the air and products during
production?
• Answer.

26. 3. Refining
• Toxins
• Game on.

27. 4. Refining
• Why did Annie Leonard say Flame
Retardant Pillows are so bad?
• Answer.

28. 4. Refining
• These pillows have a chemical put in them
that is harmful to the brain, this is done in
the production process.
• Game on.

29. 5. Refining
• What is the name of a product that causes
cancer?
• Answer.

30. 5. Refining
• Carcinogen is the word we use to describe
something that can activate cancer inside
of someone
• Game on.

31. 1. Retail
• Name a famous North American Retail
store.
• Answer.

32. 1. Retail
• Walmart, Nike, Apple, etc.
• Game On.

33. 2. Retail
• Where do the goods from a retail stoer
come from?
• Answer.

34. 2. Retail
• Factories in third world countries.
• Game on.

35. 3. Retail
• How do prices stay so low in stores?
• Answer

36. 3. Retail
• Employee Exploitation.
• Game on.

37. 4. Retail
• Who buys the products from the store?
• Answer.

38. 4. Retail
• The consumers. We are the ones who buy
the products.
• Game on.

39. 5. Retail
• Why is it bad that people are consuming
things so quickly?
• Answer.

40. 5. Retail
• If people continue to consume things so
quickly, there will be a need to raise the
production of more things.
• Game on.

41. 1. Consumption
• What is a consumer?
• Answer.

42. 1. Consumption
• People who buy things or CONSUME
things and put into the economy.
• Game on.

43. 2. Consumption
• Who tells us to consume products?
• Answer.

44. 2. Consumption
• Corporations and the government tell us to
consume and purchase more products.
• Game on.

45. 3. Consumption
• Why is it bad that we are consuming so
much?
• Answer.

46. 3. Consumption
• We will eventually run out of resources not
only to make them, but to keep living on
this planet.
• Game on.

47. 4. Consumption
• What is the name of the cycle that
consumers spend their life in?
• Answer.

48. 4. Consumption
• Watch-Work-Shop … repeat
• Game on.

49. 5. Consumption
• Why does watching TV, and Shopping get
blamed for consumer’s apathy.
• Answer.

50. 5. Consumption
• TV tells people what to buy and buying the
items makes them spend all their time
working to afford it.
• Game on.

51. 1. Disposal
• What does disposal mean?
• Answer

52. 1. Disposal
• To throw out or remove.
• Game on.

53. 2. Disposal
• Where does garbage go when you throw it
out?
• Answer.

54. 2. Disposal
• Landfills, incarcerators, and recycling
plants.
• Game on.

55. 3. Disposal
• Why is incarceration so deadly to us and
the environment?
• Answer

56. 3. Disposal
• When garbage with chemicals in the
products is burnt, DIOXIN is released and
this is a super toxin due to the physical
and chemical change to man made
products.
• Game on.

57. 4. Disposal
• What do disposal companies do when
they have no more room in their own land
to get ride of the garbage?
• Answer.

58. 4. Disposal
• Take it to other countries.
• Game on.

59. 5. Disposal
• What is the irony of the garbage disposal
companies?
• Answer.

60. 5. Disposal
• They create just as much garbage to
complete the job as they do clean.
• Game on.

61. Final Jeopardy!
• What is the name of the Lady who has
studied, researched and presented all this
information to you in “The Story of Stuff”?
• Annie Leonard

62. The Story of Stuff
Exit Ticket
• With the class time left, students should
make a list of things the use everyday but
could simply have avoided purchasing in
order to consume less.

63. References
• Title. Director. Other significant information as pertinent
(e.g., Writer, Performers). Original Release Date, if
relevant. Distributor. Year of Release. Medium [Film or
DVD or Videocassette or Filmstrip]
• The Story of Stuff. Louis Fox.
Annie Leonard. storyofstuff.org.
2007. Video