This document outlines a webquest activity for students to research waste management and recycling. Students will conduct an experiment to track the amount of waste they produce individually over a week. They will then compare their results to national waste averages and estimates for their state. Using their research and experiment findings, students will create a presentation made entirely from recycled materials about how to help a fictional town called Trashville reduce waste and improve recycling habits.

1. Reuse Your Refuse Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] A WebQuest for 7 th -8th Grade Mathematics Designed by Alana Stewart [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

2. Introduction Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] On a road trip across the United States, you somehow get lost and stumble upon the city of Trashville. Oooh! What a mess! The city is overrun with garbage, and its residents don’t seem to care. This gets you thinking… How much do I care about recycling? How much trash do I create? How much trash is produced in my community? What can I do to reduce waste? What can I do to clean up the city of Trashville and teach their people the importance of recycling?

3. The Task Student Page Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] You will need to research and develop information and statistics on issues of waste management such as: landfills, recycling, health, and ways to reduce waste. With this information, you will create a 3 minute presentation describing how to help clean up a town like Trashville and teach its people the importance of recycling. Title

6. The Process (contd.) Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] 3. Experiment (Part II) – National Comparisons Go to http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm and find the graph “Trends in MSW Generation 1960-2006.” Compare this graph to the graph you made in Part I. Are you above or below the most recent national average for lbs waste produced per person per day? Now, look through your trash to see what could have been recycled. Take these items out and weigh your garbage bag again. By how much was your waste reduced? Now are you above or below the national average? Record your findings on the worksheet linked below. Worksheet – Experiment (Part II & III) Process contd…

7. The Process (contd.) Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] 4. Experiment (Part III) – State Comparisons Go to http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/swreport/swreport.htm to find waste statistics for Colorado. (You can try doing this for other states using this website - http://www.epa.gov/msw/states.htm ) If everyone in the state reduced their waste as much as you did, estimate how much waste would be reduced in Colorado in one year. (You will need to find the population of Colorado and convert your garbage weights to tons (1lb = .0005 tons)). What if this pattern continued for 5 years? How much waste would be reduced then? Record your findings on the worksheet linked below. Worksheet – Experiment (Part II & III) Process contd…

8. The Process (contd.) Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] 4. Experiment (Part III) – State Comparisons Go to http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/swreport/swreport.htm to find waste statistics for Colorado. (You can try doing this for other states using this website - http://www.epa.gov/msw/states.htm ) If everyone in the state reduced their waste as much as you did, estimate how much waste would be reduced in Colorado in one year. (You will need to find the population of Colorado and convert your garbage weights to tons (1lb = .0005 tons)). What if this pattern continued for 5 years? How much waste would be reduced then? Record your findings on the worksheet linked below. Worksheet – Experiment (Part II & III) Process contd…

13. Conclusion Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Now that you have knowledge about your own waste production as well as waste production in America, recycling, and other efforts to reduce trash… Will you change anything in your life or daily habits to be more earth-friendly? Why or why not? If yes, how?

14. Credits & References Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/index.html http://earth911.org/support/environmental-glossary/ http://www.brightsurf.com/search/r-a/Recycling/1/Recycling_news.html http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/United_States_Recycling_Statistics http://www.dumpandrun.org/garbage.htm http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1590/is_13_57/ai_73537925 http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/swreport/swreport.htm http://www.epa.gov/msw/states.htm http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/mainmap.htm http://www.cleansweepusa.org/ http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/students.htm http://www.gpi.org/recycling/ http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/reduce.htm http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Focus_Waste_reduction Include a link back to The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials.

15. Reduce Your Refuse [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page A WebQuest for 7 th -8th Grade Mathematics Designed by Alana Stewart [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

16. Introduction (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Begin with something that describes the origin of the lesson. For example: This lesson was developed as part of the San Diego Unified School District's Triton Project, a federally funded Technology Innovation Challenge Grant. In this second paragraph of the introduction, describe briefly what the lesson is about. Remember, the audience for this document is other teachers, not students. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

17. Learners (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Describe the grade level and course that the lesson is designed to cover. For example: "This lesson is anchored in seventh grade language arts and involves social studies and math to a lesser extent." If the lesson can easily be extended to additional grades and subjects, mention that briefly here as well. Describe what the learners will need to know prior to beginning this lesson. Limit this description to the most critical skills that could not be picked up on the fly as the lesson is given. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

19. The Process (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page You can paste in the process description given to students in the “student” process slide and then interleave the additional details that a teacher might need. Describe briefly how the lesson is organized. Does it involve more than one class? Is it all taught in one period per day, or is it part of several periods? How many days or weeks will it take? Is it single disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary or what? If students are divided into groups, provide guidelines on how you might do that. If there are misconceptions or stumbling blocks that you anticipate, describe them here and suggest ways to get around them. What skills does a teacher need in order to pull this lesson off? Is it easy enough for a novice teacher? Does it require some experience with directing debates or role plays, for example? If you're designing for a one-computer classroom or for pre-readers and are creating a facilitated WebQuest in which the teacher or an aide controls the computer and guides discussion, you can link from here to the Teacher Script page which would contain a printable script for the facilitator to follow. Variations If you can think of ways to vary the way the lesson might be carried out in different situations (lab vs. in-class, for example), describe them here. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

21. Evaluation (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page How will you know that this lesson was successful? Describe what student products or performances you'll be looking at and how they'll be evaluated. This, of course, should be tightly related to the standards and objectives you cited above. You may want to just copy and paste the evaluation section of the student page ( Evaluation ) into this space and add any clarifications needed for another teacher to make use of this lesson. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

23. Conclusion (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Make some kind of summary statement here about the worthiness of this lesson and the importance of what it will teach. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

24. Credits & References (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using. Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources or help. List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well. Include a link back to The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion