K-3 : Lesson Plan #3
Invention

Objective: The students will create an invention using pieces from the trash or recycling bin.

Materials:

  • Letter to Parents to Collect Items
  • Objects brought in by students that would normally be thrown away or put in recycling bins.
  • Art supplies, such as glue, tape, markers, crayons, string, paints, scissors, etc.

Procedure:

  1. Discuss/review garbage going into landfills and the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling to care for the environment.
  2. Display different collected objects and brainstorm with the students what they could be made into. For example, a milk carton could be decorated and used as a watering can, an empty shoebox can be used for a rock collection, or a paper towel tube could be a telescope.
  3. Allow the students access to the collected items and the art supplies. They may then create new inventions and/or artwork using these objects.
  4. Display the art and inventions in a “ Reused Creations Art Gallery .”