Reduce plastic rubbish!

Year 4
Stem Unit Preview

Problem / Challenge

Students expressed the desire to reduce the volume of plastics in our school ground following Waimea Clean-up Day when an audit revealed that most rubbish collected was plastic.

Brief

In teams of three students create a sustainable food container which uses biodegradable materials and does not contribute to the plastic pollution problem.

Resources

Unit Preview (PDF, 345KB)
Planning Template (Word, 2.3MB)

Australian Curriculum Links

Science

Science Understanding

Natural and processed materials (ACSSU074)

Science as a Human Endeavour

Science helps people understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE051)

Science Inquiry Skills

Questions and predictions (ACSIS053)
Plan an investigation (ACSIS054)
Elements of fair tests, measuring and recording data (ACSIS055)
Data representation (ACSIS057)
Comparing data with predictions (ACSIS215)
Reflecting on the investigation (ACSIS058)
Communicate scientific ideas and information (ACSIS060)

Design and Technologies

Technologies and society

Occupations and factors impacting on the design of products, services and environments (ACTDEK010)

Materials and technologies specialisations

Suitability of materials, systems, components, tools and equipment (ACTDEK011)

Design Process

Investigating and defining (ACTDEP024)
Generating and designing (ACTDEP025)
Producing and implementing (ACTDEP026)
Evaluating (ACTDEP027)
Collaborating and managing (ACTDEP028)

Mathematics

Measurement and Geometry

Use scaled instruments to measure (ACMMG084)
Compare areas of regular and irregular shapes (ACMMG087)
Compare and describe 2D shapes (ACMMG088)

Statistics and Probability

Data collection (ACMSP095)
Data displays (ACMSP096)
Evaluate the effectiveness of data displays (ACMSP097)

School Overview

Waimea Heights is a government primary school, located in Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania close to the city and overlooking the Derwent River. The school caters for approximately 390 students.