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Re-Think Activities
An educational Unit for children up to Grade 4
Written by Valerie Thom, B.Ed. and edited by Allard W. van Veen, APR, Fellow, CPRS

This unit has six chapters, each filled with information, ideas and projects. Words in bold and in italics are featured in the glossary which you can reach by clicking here

LITTER AND OUR ENVIRONMENT: ACTIVITY 1 -   What Is Litter?                                             K – 3

Skills: word associations

Time: one class period

Learning Objective: students will list the words they associate with the word litter, students will make their own definition of litter.

NOTE: LITTER: ACTIVITY 4 discusses the concept of "away" in greater detail. LITTER: ACTIVITY 3 discusses the sources of litter in greater detail.

Materials and Equipment: samples of litter.

1. Using a book on litter, a photograph, a short walk outside, or a few samples, introduce the topic of "litter" to the students.

2. Have students brainstorm words they associate with litter. List their words.

3. Ask students to write their own definitions of litter OR write a class definition together. (With a kindergarten class you may wish to illustrate their ideas as well.)

4. Have students copy, then illustrate the class definition.

Discuss with the students:

• What do we mean when we say "throw away"?
• Is there such a place as "away"?
• Is all litter bad for the environment? (e.g. an apple core thrown away in a forest will biodegrade into useful nutrients, but may attract rodents if left on a city street.)
• Why do people litter?
• Who do you think litters—do you? When?
• What else, other than people, might be sources of litter? (e.g. wind or animals, carelessly loaded trucks, etc.)
• How do you think these other sources of litter could be controlled?

For Older Students:

You may wish to have older students research "natural litter" and its importance to the environment such as the leaf litter on a forest floor. Have students compare the environmental effects of "natural" litter compared to those of "man-made" litter.

Click here to return to the Index for Chapter 6 and more activities

Click here to return to the Index for Re-Think