Interdependence and Health Effects

Grade 4 Social Sciences

Outcome:  Resources and industry - make connections among resources, industry, employment, economy, conservation and meeting needs

Objectives

• Students will distinguish between meeting wants and meeting needs.
• Students will consider the effect our electronic wants can have on resources, industry and conservation.
• Students will write a persuasive essay, comic strip or poster dealing with one of the following topics:
• persuading people to carefully consider their electronic wants based on their effect on resources and industry
• persuading people to properly dispose of electronic equipment 

Lesson 1

Instructional Procedures:

1. Discuss the concept of wants and needs.  Needs are what we need to survive, wants are the extras in life.
2. Brainstorm a list of wants and needs with the class.
3. Examine the lists with the students looking for patterns. You want the students to realize how many of the wants run on either electricity or battery power.
4. Pose the series of questions:
   • Where do electronics come from before they reach the store? (industry)
   • What are some of the materials they are made of? (resources)
   • If nobody were to upgrade or buy a new electronic “want” what would happen to the electronics industry?
   • Make a list of “pros” and “cons” for upgrading or buying a new “want.”

Ask students to bring their responses to these questions to next class. 

Lesson 2

Instructional Procedures:

1. Allow the students to share their answers from the question assigned to them last class.
2. Show students a video on the importance of electronics recycling - "E-Waste is Flooding the World" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW5AUttCYB4&feature=related  (The first 1:39 is the most important; the rest refers to e-waste awareness in India.)
3. Discuss the video and what it is trying to show us.
4. Why is throwing out electronics so bad?  Brainstorm with students.  You may choose to show another video to students to get them thinking (there are many on YouTube to choose from). There are three main points to look for:
   1. Dumped electronics take up land.
   2. There are people and organizations that could use our unwanted electronics.
   3. There are chemicals in the electronics that are dangerous to our and our environments health. (See Teacher Information Sheet for the types of chemicals, and their effects on human health.)
5. Discuss how their “electronic wants” can be properly dealt with. Reusable items can be sold through garage sales, eBay, etc.  Electronics are also sometimes welcomed by charitable organizations, which either resell the items or distribute them to people who are in need. Broken or unusable electronics are collected by SARCAN. 
   
   To find other places where electronics can be recycled in your area visit http://www.saskwastereduction.ca/dbase.php.
   
   Following is a link to a video explaining the electronic recycling program run by SWEEP in Saskatchewan: http://www.sweepit.ca/consumer-information/recycling-process 
6. It is also important that the students understand that when they buy most electronics in Saskatchewan they are charged a recycling fee.  This fee is in place to help cover costs associated with the recycling of electronics.  This fee may help a person decide to keep their current electronics longer before replacing or may choose a less environmentally damaging “want”.
7. Discuss with the students why it is important for us consider our electronic “wants” before we buy and the long term repercussions if we don’t.
8. Have students write a persuasive essay convincing people to carefully consider their electronic "wants" or to properly dispose of electronic equipment while keeping in mind the effects on industry and resources OR create a comic strip or poster dealing with the same.

 Printable PDF version including teacher reference sheet

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