Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Introducing the 4Rs

30 minutes

Find Out: 4Rs posters

15 minutes

Take Action: 4Rs card game

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions & success criteria

Students will:

use prediction skills to understand topic-specific vocabulary.

Students can:

participate in a sorting activity
create a poster based on one of the 4Rs.

Tune In: Introducing the 4Rs

Step 1

Begin by writing the following keywords on the board:

reduce
reuse
repair
recycle.

Explain to students that they have two minutes to work quietly on these words, focusing on predicting their meaning. Encourage students to think about where they have heard, seen, or used these words.

Prediction is a key literacy comprehension skill that helps students actively engage with a text by using prior knowledge and context clues to anticipate what will happen next. This strengthens critical thinking, inferencing, and understanding while motivating students to read. Reflecting on predictions also deepens comprehension and encourages self-assessment.

Students can share their ideas with the class. Consider the following definitions to guide your discussion and record these on the board:

reduce - make something smaller or use less of something
reuse (re+use) - use something again
repair - to fix something
recycle (re+cycle) - taking something that could be thrown away and turning it into something new.

Step 2

Explain to students that all these words are commonly used when discussing waste. Invite students to consider how they might be applied to waste, particularly when considering how to make less waste. Students should share their ideas through class discussion and offer examples of how we can reduce, reuse, repair and recycle when it comes to waste. For example:

Reduce - make less waste by doing things like taking your shopping bag to the supermarket or using a refillable water bottle rather than buying water in a bottle.
Reuse - items such as glass jars are great for storing things in and can be reused over and over again before being put in the bin.
Repair - many broken items can be repaired instead of being thrown away.
Recycle - making sure your waste items go into the correct bins means that they will get recycled and can be turned into new objects that we can use.

Find Out: 4Rs posters

Step 1

Break the class into groups and assign each group one of the 4Rs. Invite students to work in their groups to discuss:

What does your ‘R’ mean?
What are some examples of how this ‘R’ can be used when discussing waste?

As groups discuss these questions, move between groups to ensure each group understands the meaning behind its R.

Step 2

Students will now continue working in their groups to create a poster that explains their R in more detail. Using markers and coloured poster cards each group would create a poster that includes:

a title
a definition
an example of their R-word in a sentence
images that supports their R (such as drawings of a waste item being reused or repaired).

Remind students that their posters should be eye-catching and visually appealing. They can include images and colours to help share their ideas. In addition, when creating their R-word sentence, they could try to write a sentence that is memorable and helps spread the message behind their R.

Learning support: Model using the four words in a sentence to students, for example:

We can reduce our food waste by using a compost bin.
We can reuse the ice cream container to store dog food.
We can repair the broken zip on your school bag instead of buying a brand-new bag.
We can recycle cans and bottles at our local council.

Learning extension: Students could include detailed examples of how to use this R with the waste we make in our daily lives.

Step 3

Provide students with an opportunity to present their posters to the class and to talk through their sentences and examples (if used).

Take Action: 4Rs card game

Step 1

Students can work in the same or different groups. Explain that they will be working in groups to play a 4Rs game.

Give each group one copy of each of the 4Rs Card Game. Ask groups to cut up the sheets along the dotted lines so that there are a total of 32 cards.

Explain the rules of the game (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Place all the cards face down so that the blank sides are facing up.
The students will need to work out a fair way to decide which player goes first.
The first player picks up two cards.
The aim is to match a picture card with the correct R card.
If a player picks up two cards that are a matching pair e.g. ‘RECYCLE glass’ and ‘Place glass in recycling bins’, the player can claim the two cards and place them in their stack. The player can then turn up two more cards and so on until the two cards they turn up are not a matching pair. The next player to their left then has a turn.
Each player takes turns to pick up any two cards, look at them and turn them face down again in the same place
The game continues until there are no further cards left on the floor or table.
The winner is the player that has the most number of matching pairs of cards.

Step 2

Begin the game! Students can repeat the game as often as time allows, ensuring that all students get a turn.

Reflection

Engage students in a class discussion around the following:

Are there any examples of how we already use the 4Rs for waste in the classroom or around the school?
Can you suggest other ways to encourage more 4R actions to reduce waste at our school?

The 4Rs of Waste

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

The 4Rs of Waste

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables