Recycling in Beaverton, OR

WebQuest for 7th Grade Science

Introduction

As the population of our Earth is increasing rapidly, humans are using resources and creating wastes at a tremendous pace. People are building cars, making computers, printing newspapers, and much more. All of these activities require resources from paper to steel to plastic. When you finish reading the paper or when the computer breaks, what do you do with it?

You can throw it in the trash that will get picked up by the garbage company. It feels like it is gone for good, right? BUT…..the garbage company just moves your trash to another place and puts it in a landfill. The landfill will eventually get full from everyone's trash being put into it and then the garbage company will need to dig another landfill -maybe in your neighborhood. Do you want a stinky landfill near your home?

A better solution is to RECYCLE your used items. Recycling is one great way to reduce our resource use and cut down the amount of trash going into landfills.

Task

The Mountain View Middle School K2 7th grade class has been chosen by the Beaverton City Council to compile information about recycling in the Beaverton community. From the information you collect, you will establish a web page with information about recycling. Your web page will help people find out how various items are recycled and how to do so here in Beaverton, Oregon.

You and a partner will choose one particular recyclable material/item to investigate (i.e., white paper, colored paper, newspaper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, plastic tubs, clear glass, colored glass, steel, oil, batteries, tires, computers, clothing, appliances, chemicals, paint).
Each pair will begin by investigating a background about the benefits of recycling.
Investigate the processes and products of recycling the specific material you and your partner chose to examine. Aspects of your material that you may want to look into are benefits of recycling this particular material, things made of this recycled material, things that can be recycled that have this stuff in it, and other information that interests you.
Discover how to recycle that item here in the Beaverton, Oregon area. (i.e. curbside recycling, Metro Household Hazardous Waste, second hand store, etc.) Include a business name, address, and phone number like you might see in a phone book.
Complete a web page with the information you discovered with a sort of marketing flair that encourages people to do recycle your particular material.
Talk to the class (oral presentation) for 3 to 5 minutes about the information you discovered in your investigation.

The entire class will contribute to the web page to provide a helpful guide for you and your family to find out how to make a difference for the Earth by recycling your household garbage.

Process

Part 1 Researching

Brainstorm with the entire class about what the final product will look like; list some topics which must be decided upon before the research is begun, decide what information should be included, discuss how you will know when you find it, and agree upon a final product format.
During the brainstorming session, the teacher will write a list of topics to be researched on the board.
Two students will volunteer to investigate each topic. This pair of students will be a team.
The teacher will go through one entry with the class so you will see the process.
Teams will get together and decide how they will work together to accomplish the task. One student should record information while the other uses the computer. These roles should be swapped midway through the research to allow each student computer time.
Begin your WebQuest research! Use the sites below to gather interesting information about Earth Day, general recycling, your specific recyclable material, and local recycling locations.
While visiting sites, complete the handout of questions. Remember to write down what you discover about recycling your material. And be sure to keep track of your sources (the web addresses where you found the information) for documentation.

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/kids/earthday.htm

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/earthday.htm

http://oregon.earth911.org/usa/master.asp?s=about&a=AboutUs/EarthDay/EDTips.html

http://www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/Factoids.htm

http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html

http://www.ci.beaverton.or.us/departments/recycling/

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/articles.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.metro.dst.or.us/rem/hazw/hazfacil.html

http://www.metro.dst.or.us/rem/hazw/hhhbook.html

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/hw/factsheets/HouseholdHazardousWaste.pdf

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/depots.htm

http://oregon.earth911.org/usa/

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/articles.htm

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/factsheets/BottleBill.pdf

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://oregon.earth911.org/usa/master.asp?s=ls&serviceid=1

http://www.metro.dst.or.us/rem/hazw/paint.html

http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=521

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/h2w.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/hw/pesticidedispose.html

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/hw/factsheets/ManagingWastePesticide.pdf

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/hw/factsheets/UsedAntifreeze.pdf

http://www.plasticsresource.com/

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/recyclng.htm

http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hhs/wste_rcy/articles.htm

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/Oregon.html

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/Electronics/Electronics.pdf

http://sci.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17996.html

http://sci.newsfactor.com/perl/story/10034.html

http://oregon.earth911.org/usa/master.asp?s=lib&a=electronics/elec_index.asp

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/factsheets/OregonFood.pdf

http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/factsheets/Grasscycling.pdf

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/solid/buyrec/index.htm

http://oregon.earth911.org/usa/master.asp?s=ls&cat=1&serviceid=5

Part 2 Compiling

Review your information according to the criteria established by the class in Step 1.
Using your "WebQuest Information Sheet" and the "WebQuest Handout", write up a summary of the information IN YOUR OWN WORDS. All research must be cited.
A written summary including how and where materials can be recycled. Include what products can be made from the recycled material. The final draft must be a professional looking, properly formatted product.
Present a summary of the information you discovered to the class in a brief 3 to 5 minute talk. This presentation should be clear, organized, and practiced. Written notes are allowed for reference, but it is important to address the class. Do not just read from a piece of paper.
Email the final report to the teacher.
Present the information summary to the class.

Evaluation

The chart below describes what you will need to do to receive points. There are 30 points available that will be awarded based on your contribution within 5 areas of the assignment. This project will be evaluated individually, but note that a portion of your grade will be based on your ability to work with a teammate.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Investigation of Recyclable Material	Little to no information provided (0 pts)	Provided information to allow others to understand the recycling process or location (2 pts)	Provided information to allow others to understand the recycling process and location (4 pts)	Provided information to allow others to understand the recycling process, products, and location (6 pts)
Individual Performance	No effort made take individual responsibility for work contribution (0 pts)	Completed some responsibilities in a successful manner (2 pts)	Completed most responsibilities in a successful manner (4 pts)	Completed all necessary responsibilities in a successful manner (6 pts)
Cooperative Work	No effort made to work cooperatively with partner (0 pts)	Worked cooperatively with partner some of the time (2 pts)	Worked cooperatively with partner most of the time (4 pts)	Worked cooperatively with partner all of the time (6 pts)
Webpage	No effort made to share investigation findings (0 pts)	Information is not presented in a clear manner or does not relate to the investigation (2 pts)	Most information is clear but with a few errors; relates to the investigation (4 pts)	Most information is clear, well written, & adequately synthesizes investigation information (6 pts)
Oral Presentation	No effort made to share investigation findings with class (0 pts)	Information is not presented in a clear manner or does not relate to the investigation; talk 1 to 10 minutes long (2 pts)	Some information is clear but with a few errors; relates to the investigation; talk 2 to 6 minutes long (4 pts)	Most information is clear, well presented, & adequately synthesizes investigation information; talk 3 to 5 minutes long (6 pts)

Conclusion

By completing this WebQuest activity, you and your lab partner will learn general information about the benefits of recycling and detailed information about one material type of your choosing. You will know how to use the Internet to research information and learn how to recycle materials in your own neighborhood. Finally, you will share this information not only with your classmates, but also with the world through your contribution to the creation of a class Internet webpage.

Why is it important to share what you have learned with others?
How else can you encourage others to recycle?
What other environmental issues may affect your life in the future?

also include some rhetorical questions or additional links to encourage them to extend their thinking into other content beyond this lesson. To foster the habit of lifelong learning, give them links to additional information here that they can pursue on their own.

Credits & References

Title Page picture from:http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/catbook/index.htm

Thank you to Dr. Mike Charles for teaching me the ways of the WebQuest.

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Last updated on 10/13/02. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page