Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better
Four hands-on investigations into the school's own garbage, shade, water and electricity. Each one ends with students taking a real, evidence-based recommendation to the principal or caretaker.
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4 lessons in this unit
Lesson 1 · 50–60 minWhat's in our garbage?Teams wear gloves to sort one day of classroom waste into landfill, recycling and compost, weigh each pile and graph the results. They use the numbers to recommend one change to the principal or caretaker.
Lesson 2 · 50–60 minWhere would a new tree help most?Teams measure air and ground temperature in sun and shade, on grass and on pavement, to see how much shade cools the schoolyard. They use their numbers to recommend where the school should plant a new tree.
Lesson 3 · 45–60 minHow much water does a dripping tap waste?The class counts drips per minute from a slow-dripping tap, catches and measures the water, then scales it up to a day and a year. Students use the math to recommend how the school should report and fix drips.
Lesson 4 · 45–60 minIs our classroom wasting electricity?Students audit their classroom's lights and devices, check which are left on when nobody needs them, and read wattage labels to estimate the energy wasted in a school year. They finish with a poster or letter recommending one easy change.
Materials for the whole unit · one list, lesson by lesson
Lesson 1: What's in our garbage?
- Disposable gloves, latex-free1 pair per student, plus spares
- Kitchen scale that reads in grams, up to 5 kg (11 lb)1 for the class
- Plastic tub, bin or sturdy bag for sorting, labelled Landfill, Recycling or Compost3 per team
- Old shower curtain, tarp or newspapers to cover desks1 per team
- Printout of your town's recycling and compost rules1 per team
- Graph paper or chart paper and markers1 per team
About $25 for a class of 30 (gloves and a kitchen scale; free if you can borrow a scale)
Lesson 2: Where would a new tree help most?
- Thermometer (outdoor dial, liquid-in-glass with plastic backing, or cheap digital)1 per team
- Small card taped as a sun shade over the bulb or sensor1 per team
- Paper cup or small box to tent over the thermometer on the ground1 per team
- Metre stick or string 1 m (3 ft) long1 per team
- Stopwatch or timer, clipboard and pencil1 per team
- Optional: infrared thermometer, or a Field Logger set1 for the class
About $25 for a class of 30 (10 cheap thermometers)
Lesson 3: How much water does a dripping tap waste?
- Sink with a tap you can set to a slow drip (or a pinholed 2 L bottle per team)1 for the class
- Clean cup to catch drips1, plus 1 per team for drip bottles
- Medicine cup or oral syringe marked in mL (from a pharmacy)1 per team
- Kitchen measuring cup marked in mL1 for the class
- Stopwatch or timer1 per team
- Calculator1 per team
- Empty 2 L bottle, for showing how much water that is1 for the class
About $5 for a class of 30 (medicine cups or syringes); the rest is free
Lesson 4: Is our classroom wasting electricity?
- Clipboard, pencil and student sheet1 per team
- Calculator1 per team
- Teacher's 3-day on/off chart1 for the class
- Flashlight for reading labels in dark corners1 or 2 for the class
- Chart paper and markers for posters1 per team
Free (clipboards, pencils and calculators you already have)
Students treat their own school as the place to investigate. They sort and weigh one day of classroom waste, measure how much cooler the ground is under shade, catch and measure the water from a dripping tap, and audit the lights and devices in their classroom. Every lesson uses cheap, ordinary materials and a fair test, and every lesson ends with a short claim, the evidence behind it and a recommendation that goes to someone who can act on it.
By the end of the unit, students can measure a real environmental question at school, scale a small number up to a day or a year, and make a practical, polite case for change. The tone is hopeful: small, measured changes add up, and students can see their own recommendations put to work.