Teacher field guide
Social policy
Before it reaches the bin
Could the crew make less waste before anyone reaches the recycling bin?
Cities spend public money collecting and managing waste, and the costs of landfills and pollution don’t land evenly on every neighborhood. Students who look upstream at what gets bought and reused can make real changes at school events and ask better questions of their local government.
What students make
Materials sheet plus 3–4 sentences
The civic idea
Words that do the work.
- Waste hierarchyJerarquía de residuos
EPA’s ranking that generally prefers reducing and reusing before recycling, and recycling before disposal.
Dec wants to change the parts order, not just sort the packaging.
- Source reductionReducción en la fuente
Preventing waste before it’s created, like buying less or choosing less packaging.
Ordering replacement parts together could cut the packaging box in half.
- Local acceptanceMateriales aceptados
What your local collection program actually takes, which varies by city.
The cups say “recyclable,” but the crew checks whether their city accepts them.
- Public serviceServicio público
A service government provides for everyone, like trash and recycling pickup, paid for with public money.
Every bag the Common Room sends to the curb is part of a city service with a cost.
- Trade-offTensión entre opciones
A choice that helps one goal while limiting another.
Reusable cups cut waste but need washing and may not work for everyone.
- Measurement boundaryLímite de la medición
The limits of what a comparison counts, like transport or washing energy.
Anika says any comparison needs a boundary before claiming a repair saves money or energy.
Half this box is packaging around tiny parts. Before we redo the recycling sign, can we just order smarter?
The evidence
Handle the case file.
Every artifact comes with a question. The captions are the lesson.
FORMDelivered Tuesday to the theater shop
Parts order with packaging
NOTICECurrent sanitation guide
City accepted-materials list (illustrative)
BUDGETLast Friday’s event
Screening supply list
Use it in your tools
Take it into class.
Share it, schedule it or edit it in the apps your school already uses.
In the real world
This isn’t just a story.
Real reporting, clips and research on the same question. The crew is fictional; these are not. Each link opens the original in a new tab.
The workshop
45 minutes, block by block.
5 min
The packaging box
TeacherDescribe Dec’s full box of packaging from replacement parts.
StudentsGuess: where did this waste start?
CheckGuesses point upstream to ordering.
8 min
The hierarchy
TeacherShow EPA’s hierarchy; stress it’s a general framework.
StudentsPlace five items (packaging, cups, chairs, parts, flyers) on the hierarchy.
CheckStudents place reduction options above recycling.
10 min
Check local rules
TeacherHand out the city’s illustrative accepted-materials list.
StudentsCheck whether the “recyclable” cups are accepted.
CheckStudents find the label and the local list disagree.
10 min
Materials sheet
TeacherModel the event materials sheet.
StudentsFill in item, number used, reduction option, disposal rule, trade-off.
CheckEach row has a trade-off, including access.
9 min
One change
TeacherAnika’s rule: pick one repeated item and measure.
StudentsDraft a proposal for one change and how to measure it.
CheckProposal has a before/after number.
3 min
Exit
TeacherAsk: could reducing waste create an access problem?
StudentsName one and how you’d find out.
CheckAnswer mentions asking people affected.
Differentiated routes
One case. Seven ways in.
Each route changes what students read, make and prove, not only how long it takes.
Middle school
Grades 6–8: Make a materials sheet for the next Common Room screening and pick one change to try.
- Sources
- The EPA hierarchy graphic and the illustrative supply list.
- Product
- Materials sheet plus 3–4 sentences
- Raises the rigor
- Explain how you’ll know if the change worked.
Supports
- Picture hierarchy
- Sheet template with the first row filled in
- Frames: “We use __. We could __. A problem might be __.”
- Group work
Success looks like
- Lists items and quantities
- Picks a reduction or reuse option
- Names a trade-off
- Includes a way to measure
High school
Grades 9–10: Write a proposal to the event organizers for one purchasing change, with a measurement plan.
- Sources
- EPA hierarchy, illustrative supply list and local accepted-materials list.
- Product
- Proposal, 250–350 words
- Raises the rigor
- Address one access or cost concern.
Supports
- Proposal template
- Before/after data table
Success looks like
- Specific change
- Uses the hierarchy accurately
- Checks local acceptance
- Measurement plan and access concern included
High school
Grades 11–12: Investigate a real school event’s waste with a defined boundary and recommend changes to student government.
- Sources
- EPA hierarchy, your city’s recycling guide and your own data.
- Product
- Report, 500–600 words with a data table
- Raises the rigor
- State clearly what your comparison does not measure.
Supports
- Investigation plan template
- Boundary checklist
Success looks like
- Clear boundary
- Accurate data
- Accurate use of EPA framework
- Limits stated honestly
High school
Honors: Argue whether cities should charge households by how much trash they throw out.
- Sources
- Case materials plus one teacher-selected article on pay-as-you-throw programs.
- Product
- Argument, 600–700 words
- Raises the rigor
- Address effects on low-income households and illegal dumping concerns.
Supports
- Claim/counterclaim chart
- Equity lens prompts
Success looks like
- Qualified thesis
- Evidence from the article
- Equity considered
- Addresses counterarguments
Pre-AP
Pre-AP: Closely observe the supply list and packaging box, record quantities, and write an evidence-based paragraph proposing one reduction.
- Sources
- The screening supply list, the parts order and the city accepted-materials list.
- Product
- Quantity log plus paragraph (150–200 words)
- Raises the rigor
- Predict the effect of your change and say how you’d measure it.
Supports
- Quantity log
- Question stems: “Where did this item enter the chain?”
- Paragraph frame
Success looks like
- Accurate quantities
- Proposal grounded in the data
- Checks local acceptance
- Measurement plan
AP English Language
AP Lang: Analyze a “be sustainable” poster’s rhetoric and write a more effective, specific version.
- Sources
- A teacher-provided generic poster.
- Product
- Analysis (about 350 words) plus revised poster text
- Raises the rigor
- Explain why vague appeals underperform and how specificity changes behavior.
Supports
- Analysis stems
- Specificity checklist
Success looks like
- Thesis on effectiveness
- Analyzes specific choices
- Revision is specific and accurate
- Commentary explains effect
AP U.S. Government
AP Gov: Concept application: explain how waste policy shows federalism. EPA sets national frameworks, states regulate, and cities run collection. Apply this to the crew’s cups.
- Sources
- EPA hierarchy page and a short explainer on federal, state and local roles.
- Product
- Concept-application response, about 300 words
- Raises the rigor
- Explain why the same cup might be recyclable in one city and not another.
Supports
- Federalism diagram
- Vocabulary: regulation, policy implementation
Success looks like
- Accurate division of roles
- Explains implementation
- Applies to the cups
- Correct terms
AP Seminar
AP Seminar: Individual written argument on “Should cities charge by how much trash households produce?”, using a stimulus packet.
- Sources
- Stimulus: EPA hierarchy, one pay-as-you-throw study, one equity critique and one city’s program description.
- Product
- Individual written argument, 1,200–1,500 words
- Raises the rigor
- Address effects on low-income households.
Supports
- Stimulus annotation
- Perspective map
- Argument outline
Success looks like
- Clear question
- Multiple perspectives
- Original synthesis
- Equity addressed
School pathway
Pre-IB: Write a short investigation report on one item from the last screening, the cups, using the EPA hierarchy, a stated measurement boundary and the city’s accepted-materials list. Then write a reflection on the question: how do we know whether a green choice actually helps?
- Sources
- The screening supply list, the city accepted-materials list, the EPA hierarchy page and the crew’s count after the next event.
- Product
- Investigation report (450–550 words) with a data table, plus a 250-word reflection
- Raises the rigor
- Name one cost your boundary leaves out, such as water for washing, and explain how including it might change the conclusion.
Supports
- Boundary checklist: what the comparison counts and leaves out
- Report template: question, method, data, limits, recommendation
- Reflection stems on evidence and claims
Success looks like
- States a clear, answerable question and boundary
- Uses data accurately and labels units
- Applies the hierarchy as a general framework, not a rule
- Reflection separates what was measured from what was assumed
Middle Years
IB MYP: Investigate “What happens to what we throw away?” and design a school action with a measurement plan.
- Sources
- Case materials and local recycling guide; global context: Globalization and sustainability.
- Product
- Action plan plus 200-word reflection
- Raises the rigor
- Include a follow-up measurement.
Supports
- Statement of inquiry frame
- Action plan template
Success looks like
- Focused question
- Accurate hierarchy
- Measurable action
- Reflection on sustainability
IB Diploma
DP Global Politics: Rehearse an engagement project on local waste policy: frame a political issue about who decides and who bears the costs of waste where you live (collection, landfill siting, recycling contracts), map the actors (sanitation department, council, contractors, residents, schools), plan ethical engagement with a sanitation or recycling office, and connect the issue to the development and sustainability thematic study.
- Sources
- The case materials, the EPA hierarchy page, your city’s recycling guide and one teacher-selected source on where your area’s waste goes.
- Product
- Engagement-project proposal, 600–800 words, with an actor map
- Raises the rigor
- Explain how a decision made in one neighborhood, such as where waste is taken, can shift costs onto another, and what would make that decision legitimate to the people who bear them.
Supports
- Actor map: formal authority, resources, influence, who lives near the costs
- Engagement plan template: who, how, what you will ask, consent and safety
- Concept prompts on power, interdependence and sustainability
Success looks like
- Frames a political issue about the distribution of environmental costs
- Maps actors and their sources of power accurately
- Plans ethical, feasible engagement
- Connects the local issue to sustainability without overstating it
Access for every learner
- Use picture cards for the hierarchy
- Read the local recycling list aloud
- Spanish vocabulary: reducir, reutilizar, reciclar, desecho
- Offer a partially completed materials sheet
- Reduce to one item: cups
Extension
- Find your city’s recycling rules and compare with a neighboring city
- Research where your area’s trash goes after pickup
Annotated student work
What a draft shows us.
Write a proposal to cut waste at the next Common Room screening.
First draft
We should 1make the screening zero waste. Everyone should bring their own cup and we’ll 2ban all plastic. We can also put up posters that say “save the planet” so people remember to recycle. 3Recycling is the best thing you can do for the environment. This will be easy and 4it will save money too. Last screening there were cups everywhere and the bins were overflowing by the end of the night. People will love it once they get used to it. 5Let’s start next week!
- 1Gap Ambitious. Pick one repeated item you can actually measure.
- 2Audience What about people who need straws or forgot a cup? Name an alternative.
- 3Evidence EPA’s hierarchy generally puts reducing and reusing first.
- 4Gap Maybe. Show the numbers before claiming it.
- 5Strength Good momentum. Add how you’ll check the result.
Revised
For the next screening, we propose one change: cups. Last time we used about 120 single-use cups, and our city’s recycling list doesn’t accept that type. We’ll borrow 60 washable cups from the bookshop, keep 40 compostable cups for anyone who needs one, and ask Rafa and Jordy to run a quick wash station. Flexible straws and single-use cups stay available on request. We’ll count cups used and leftover supplies after the event and compare with last time before deciding whether to keep the change. We’re not claiming it saves money yet.
Assessment
One-page rubric.
Mark the evidence you see. Leave room for a comment and a next step.
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence | No data. | General claims about recycling. | Uses quantities and local rules. | Uses quantities, local rules and a before/after plan. |
| Reasoning | Treats one fix as solving everything. | Ignores trade-offs. | Applies the hierarchy and names a trade-off. | Weighs trade-offs including access and cost with a measurement boundary. |
| Audience & purpose | Commands people. | Relies on slogans. | Specific change organizers can do. | Specific, inclusive change with roles assigned. |
| Revision | No change. | Wording only. | Narrows to a measurable change. | Explains how narrowing makes success testable. |
Evidence I saw
Next step
Standards
What this case teaches, by the book.
CCSS 6–8 3
RI.6.7Students combine the EPA hierarchy graphic with written guidance.W.7.7Students conduct a short research project tracking one event’s supplies.SL.8.4Students present a proposal with relevant evidence.
CCSS 9–10 3
RH.9-10.7Students integrate tracked quantities with the written hierarchy.W.9-10.7Students conduct a short investigation of a school event’s waste.W.9-10.1Students argue for a specific purchasing change.
CCSS 11–12 3
W.11-12.7Students conduct an investigation with a defined measurement boundary.RI.11-12.7Students integrate EPA guidance, local rules and their own data.SL.11-12.4Students present findings with limits clearly stated.
C3 Framework 4
D2.Civ.13.6-8Students analyze the purposes and consequences of local waste policies.D4.6.9-12Students use disciplinary lenses to understand a local waste problem.D4.7.6-8Students assess their capacity to act through a measurable event change.D4.7.9-12Students assess options for individual and collective action on waste.
AP English Language 3
Claims and Evidence (CLE)Students avoid overclaiming environmental benefits without measurement.Reasoning and Organization (REO)Students build a proposal from data to recommendation.Rhetorical Situation (RHS)Students write to event organizers balancing cost and convenience.
IB MYP 3
Individuals and Societies B: InvestigatingStudents track and analyze an event’s materials.Individuals and Societies D: Thinking criticallyStudents evaluate trade-offs including access.Individuals and Societies C: CommunicatingStudents communicate findings with clear units and limits.
IB DP 2
Environmental systems and societies — waste management strategiesStudents compare reduction, reuse, recycling and disposal for a real event.Global Politics — key concept: sustainabilityStudents analyze who bears the costs of waste decisions.
Take it off the page
Change one thing before the next event.
- Pick one repeated item at a school event: cups, flyers, plates
- Count how many were used last time
- Check your city’s recycling list and propose one reduction or reuse option
- Count again after the event and share results with the organizers