Facing the Future is a US-based organisation that produces excellent teaching materials - some described elsewhere on this site.
Below is an invitation from Facing the future to review materials for an new unit on "stuff" - "all of the material products we buy and use, from cell phones to bananas."
"Have you ever thought about how and where all of our "stuff"* was created, who is involved in the process, and what happens when we toss it out? Facing the Future is developing a 2-week interdisciplinary unit on these topics appropriate for high school (grades 9-12). It is designed to engage students in learning about all the steps and impacts involved in creating and disposing of our "stuff." Lessons from this unit could be used in a science classroom to illustrate concepts such as resource extraction, carbon footprint, and systems design. In a social studies course, lessons could be used to teach about globalization, marketing and advertising, and cultural identity. All lessons are carefully designed to be engaging and thought-provoking.
We would very much like to have your feedback on this unit or any part thereof. A draft unit will be available for review in early December. Review must be complete by January 15. If you are interested in reviewing and testing components of this unit in your classroom, from a single lesson to the entire 2-week unit, please send an email tolaura@facingthefuture.org.
Reviewers will be acknowledged in the final curriculum, which will be available for free.
* "Stuff" encompasses all of the material products we buy and use, from cell phones to bananas."
This is a great idea. It
This is a great idea. It reminds me I saw last year a documentary on what happens to you Computer after you get rid of it. There are many facilities that claim to recycle it when in reality what they do is ship it off to China, and it winds up in one of two major places that are like graveyards for electronics, and are two of the most polluted places on the planet. Seriously they are like mega-superfund sites. Maybe something on that would be good to learn about. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of this documentary