Project Globalisation

Project Globalisation: GARBAGE

Why did we choose ‘garbage’?

For the Globalisation project we have chosen to work with the environmental aspect of the courses. We would like to work with garbage because we think it is important that children learn to recycle but also learn how to consummate wisely. The planet needs to be protected for the future generations. The children are our future and they need to think about their environment and how to create new possibilities out of used objects.
We can’t keep consuming everything and we need to think about our planet. This fits perfectly with Globalisation because at the rate we keep going our planet will be destroyed, after all we are the ultimate consumers.

What are the negative aspects of garbage?

Because we keep producing products, our garbage is piling up. Our sources are not inexhaustible, so we need to find a way to keep reusing. We need to start with the way of thinking. The children in our classes are very important and they need to know that they can’t buy everything without thinking of the consequences. It is our job as teachers and role models to give a good example and to learn them that recycling is very important. Some people throw their garbage away and this pollutes our environment. This is the reason why we started this project. The children need to think for themselves, take responsibility and look at garbage in a different way. They need to see the possibilities and open their minds.

Project week

For this theme we have worked out different activities based on the age groups in a primary school in Belgium. It is going to be a project during one week from the age of six till twelve. Before noon, the teachers will teach the children where garbage comes from, where it goes when it is recycled, how the ‘garbage factory’ works…. In the afternoon, the activities will take place. At the end of the week the students will come together to do a final activity.
What happens if we dump garbage? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bspSOAmPgbE 

1st grade (six till eight years old)

-      Garbage can be used to produce items or products instead of using alone. The children will learn to see the garbage as craft material. The teacher will provide them with different kinds of material like plastic, carton, paper, buttons, crowns…. The children can choose their material and they are going to make masks, faces out of them. The products will be put in an exhibition for the rest of the school. -       Young children like to play and in their eyes everything can be a game, so why should garbage any different? We thought about old games and this one came in our mind. The cans will be put on each other in a triangle shape. There will be four cans as the base, three cans on top, on the three cans two cans and on the top one. The children can stand on two meters distance from the cans and throw the ball. When the cans are knocked over, the children win. -      Garbage can also be used for music. We will show the children a video where people pretend to be rain by using their body. This is going to be an introduction to a music instrument that makes a rainy sound. We are going to teach the children how to make musical instrument out of garbage. This is going to be a ‘shake box’ and an instrument that pretends to be rain. The children can color or decorate the instruments afterwards.

Useful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcN1oMeFMJI (video of making rain as an introduction to musical instruments)

2nd grade (eight till ten years old)

-      Garbage can be used to produce items or products instead of using alone. The children will learn to see the garbage as craft material. The teacher will provide them with different kinds of material like plastic, carton, paper, buttons, crowns…. The children can choose their material and they are going to make fantasy animals out of them. The children will get their inspiration out of the book ‘The multi-colored chameleon’ that the teacher will read to them. The products will be put in an exhibition for the rest of the school. -       Children like to play and in their eyes everything can be a game, so why should garbage any different? We thought about old games and this one came in our mind. The children will decide in which area they will play (for example: garden, park…). One of the children will be ‘it’ and will be the one who will start counting. This child will stand in the middle of the area together with the can. When the child is done with counting, the other children have to be in their hiding place. If the child sees somebody, he will call out his name and they will run to the can. If the child who called out the name is first, then the one who is called is out. If somebody else managed to kick the can, everybody else who was out is free again. -      Garbage can also be used for music. We will show the children two videos where people can make music by using objects around them. In this case they are using brooms to make rhythms. In the other video they use pipes to produce songs. Our course can be divided into two parts.  In the first part they will make musical instrument out of garbage such as a panpipe and a drum. In the second part, they will use pipes, panpipes and the drums to produce music themselves. They can copy songs and play rhythm games where every student has to invent a rhythm. They can switch musical instruments.

Useful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ7aYQtIldg&feature=kp (video: making music with brooms)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwhAZCIxdjs (video: making music with pipes)

3th grade (ten till twelve years old)

-      Garbage can be used to produce items or products instead of using alone. The children will learn to see the garbage as craft material. The teacher will provide them with different kinds of material like plastic, carton, paper, buttons, crowns…. For this lesson, we are inspired by ‘Panamarenko’. He was a Belgian artist who created fantasy vehicles out of garbage. We want the students to be inspired so they will see paintings and pictures out of Panamarenko’s work. First, they will brainstorm and try to sketch their vehicle on paper. Then, they can work it out with the materials. These products will be put in an exhibition for the rest of the school. -       ‘Spin the bottle’ is a quiz game for the older children. There will be an empty bottle in the middle and one of the children has to spin it. The child who is pointed out by the bottle has to answer a garbage question. The child who spinned it has to take the question in the middle and has to read it out loud. The child who answered the question can spin the bottle next. If the child cannot answer the question, a fellow student can help him out. -      Garbage can also be used for music. We will show the children a video where people can make music by using objects around them. In this case they are using cups to make rhythms. Our course can be divided into two parts.  In the first part they will make musical instrument out of garbage such as a banjo and a guitar. In the second part, they will use the banjo and the guitar to produce music themselves. They can copy songs and play rhythm games where every student has to invent a rhythm. They can switch musical instruments. When the teacher starts the ‘Cupsong’, the children have to try and keep the rhythm with cups.

Useful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSbXsFE3l8 (video: the ‘Cupsong’)

General activities for all grades (six till twelve years old)

-      The children will have an excursion to a container park. This is an area where the people of the community keep all the garbage. The garbage is separated into containers and the people of the community can get their garbage and recycle them there. It is important to plan an excursion because the children need to see where the garbage goes in the end. They can get extra information on how to recycle and get a tour around the park. -      It is important to keep the environment clean and it’s up to everybody to step in and be responsible for the place where they live. That is why the children need to be motivated to clean up the school and help the community to strive to a healthy environment where children can play safely.

End activity for all grades (six till twelve years old)

-      As an end activity it would be nice to let the children reproduce something. They will make new paper out of old paper. At the beginning we will show the children a movie on how to make recycled paper. The children of the third grade can help the children of the first grade during the activity. 1.     Cut the old paper into little pieces. 2.    Put the pieces into a hot bath. Stir them up and let them soak. 3.    Use a sieve to sieve the paper and use an old newspaper to drain the water out of the sieve. 4.    Put the new paper on a table and let it dry. 5.    You have your new self-made paper.

Useful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAl_7IDYfVc  (papier recycleren)