What can I do? Part one

Lesson overview

The last two lessons in this unit challenge students to work collaboratively to create a campaign based on the 6 Rs. First students find out about innovation, development and policy changes that have recently occurred. They are then briefed on their mission – to reduce the amount of plastic consumption in their school community. In groups students then design and implement their campaign, planning and launching it over the following week.

Learning outcomes
  • Name the 6 Rs and explain what each one means
  • Understand developments in technology and innovation regarding plastics pollution
  • Discover how recent policy has been proposed and enacted relating to plastics pollution
  • Reflect on how they can make a difference
  • Work collaboratively to plan a plastics pollution campaign
Lesson steps
  1. The 6 Rs (5 mins)
    Students find out about each of the 6 Rs and make suggestions of how they could do more of each one.
  2. Innovation and technology (10 mins)
    Students find out about some recent innovations designed to improve plastics pollution, focussing on young people’s contributions.
  3. Plastic policy (5 mins)
    Students discover the changes to policy that have been recently enacted and discuss whether they believe enough has been done.
  4. Now it’s your turn! (10 mins)
    Students will be enacting real change in their school environment. They receive their brief and mind map their ideas.
  5. Plan your campaign (30 mins)
    In groups students begin to plan their campaign, create a ‘to do’ list and allocate responsibilities. They can then begin working collaboratively on their tasks.

An interim lesson can follow this lesson for students to continue to work on their campaigns, measure progress, make changes and / or work on promoting their cause. They might wish to conduct surveys during this time, analyse their data and make promotional materials.