The first lesson sets the tone for the subsequent lessons in the Garbage Unit as well as the science units for the remainder of the year. Before introducing the materials and pictures the students will be exploring, it is critical to set the tone and expectations for the science learning in the classroom—particularly if students are used to learning science through textbooks and/or are not accustomed to working collaboratively.

In order to learn science, students need to be immersed in activities with phenomena that are engaging and interesting to them. There should be a lot of talk, excitement, and energy in the room. You want to give students permission to move around the room, talk with the students in their group as well as students from other groups, and share their ideas. For example, groups might want to look at a picture together and/or share objects from their garbage bag with others.

In a collaborative culture of inquiry, the questions and ideas of each student are respected and explored. Students need to learn to listen to one another and to use whatever language and means of communication (including diagrams) they have to ensure that they understand what others are thinking or asking. Ideas may be expressed in less-than-perfect English. For example, no one uses full sentences when thinking aloud. What matters is not whether the terminology or grammar used is correct and “scientifically accurate”; instead, what matters is that the effort to investigate and understand is occurring and that all students are participating in it. When the teacher asks questions, they should be to prompt thought or elaboration of ideas, rather than questions with an expected correct answer. When the teacher introduces specific science terminology, it should be because the students have reached a point in their exploration where that term will be useful to them and will become part of their ongoing conversations. The teacher must decide how and when to discuss these norms for scientific inquiry with the students depending on how much the class has already established norms for collaboration and inquiry, either in science or in other subjects.

Prior to beginning the lesson, group the students in groups of three. Be intentional about these triad groupings (see the Guide to Using the SISL Curriculum for guidance on grouping students to support language development).

If you have newcomer students in your class, you will need to take some time to meet with them before you begin the unit to explain that the class will be starting a new science unit about garbage. Take a few minutes to brainstorm with them different strategies they can use to understand class discussions (e.g., looking at images, gestures, noticing and using cognates). Acknowledge that they won’t be able to understand everything, but they should attend to images, print on the board, and gestures to comprehend what they can instead of only relying on translation from you or their classmates. Explain that these strategies will help them develop their English.

Be sure to have the word “Garbage” written where all the children can see it.

“I am going to give each group a bag of garbage.” Hold up a small bag of garbage.

“What do you see here? What do you observe? What is inside the bag?”

“I want each group to look at what is in their bag. You can take the garbage out, touch it, and move it around. When you are looking at your garbage, I want you to consider a few things: What do you observe? And what materials do you have in your bag?”

Give each group a bag of assorted garbage items, as well as gloves for each student. Give students a few minutes to explore the contents of their bags. Circulate through the groups, listening to their comments and conversations. If students are not talking, consider the following prompts:

• “What materials are in your garbage?“
• “What do you notice about the garbage?”

Tell the students that you want them to sort the garbage into smaller groups by category. Give them an example (e.g., everything that is plastic). Ask them to quickly sort their garbage into categories.

If a group is stuck, encourage them to visit another group and/or share materials with another group to create a new category. Remember, the knowledge and experience in the classroom is shared—no one group or person owns the ideas. When students are stuck, encouraging collaboration is a wonderful way to model the collaborative nature of the science classroom.

After students have spent a few minutes creating their categories, bring their focus back to the front of the room.

Ask each group to share one of the categories of garbage they created while sorting (see Guide to Using the SISL Curriculum for guidance on debriefing triad conversations). Use this sharing about their categories to introduce the idea of properties. Let students know how scientists use properties to identify materials.

For example: “I noticed that you created a group of garbage that is shiny. Scientists also sort and organize material into categories. You categorized those materials because they are shiny. Scientists have a word for describing materials. The description is called the ‘property’ of the material. A property is a description of a material that can used to identify the material.”

Encourage students to think of their categories in terms of properties, using a soda can as an example by asking:

• “What are the properties of this soda can?” (e.g. shiny, hard, bendable)
• “How can a property help us sort the garbage?”
• “What other properties do we notice in the categories of garbage we sorted?”

Create a chart that lists the different properties they used to categorize their garbage. Mention how an item can be categorized in multiple ways based on different properties. There is no one way to sort the garbage. Be sure to point out the different ways students categorized their garbage using different properties.

Point to the chart paper with photos of garbage that are up around the room.

“Now we are going to look carefully at some photos of garbage from different parts of the world. While we are looking at these pictures together, I want us to think about what we are seeing and what these pictures make us think about. You’re going to walk around with your triad and talk about what you notice, what you think, and what you wonder. Each group will have one marker and you’ll write your ideas on the chart paper.”

Do one photo as an example. Ask students what they notice and think about it and write their ideas on the chart paper. Don’t worry if their contributions are scientifically incorrect—there will be plenty of time during the unit to challenge misconceptions. Encourage ideas however they are expressed.

If a student struggles to express an idea, help them by asking probing questions or by reframing their wording and having them say if the reframing captures their intended idea. Do not use reframing to correct the idea or the language used; allow the ideas and language to flow naturally. Intervene only to stimulate that flow, rather than to direct it.

If students are not used to wondering or coming up with their own questions, model your own wonderings.

“Wow! That’s a lot of garbage. I wonder where it all came from. How did it all get there? I wonder what it is doing to the animals and people that live there.”

Then give each triad a marker and direct them to walk around the room together and discuss the images as a group. Tell them to write their ideas and wonderings on the chart paper just like you modeled. You can either give triads a certain amount of time at each picture and then have them rotate when you call time, or you can have them move freely between pictures when they are ready. If you choose the latter, remind them that if there are already a lot of students in front of a particular image, they should move to another one and return to the first one later when it is less crowded. Students should also read and respond to the ideas of other groups.

Introduce the SEN to the students. Let them know that this will be the place they collect their ideas, questions, and observations. Emphasize the importance of organizing their SEN by putting the date and a title for each entry.

Next, students will take some time individually to record the ideas they have based on what they observed in the pictures and discussed with their triad. You can either give students copies of Lesson 1-1: Ideas About Pictures of Garbage, have students draw a simple table in their SENs to write their ideas in, or record their ideas in a list in their SENs.

Before students begin writing, let them know that there are two types of writing.

“Sometimes you write only for yourself, to help you remember or make sense of ideas; and other times you write to share their ideas with other.”

Ask the students to return to their groups with their SENs. Say that you want them to share their ideas about the pictures of garbage with the people in their group. When students return to their groups, circulate amongst the groups listening to their conversations.

To end the lesson, ask each student to add at least two questions they are wondering about garbage after seeing the pictures. They should add their questions in the handout or in the table or list they made in their SENs.

Don’t be concerned if the students in the same group all write the same thing in their SEN. What is most important is that they are surfacing their curiosity about what they saw and experienced today.

Explain that they will share their questions and continue adding new ideas and wonderings in later lessons.