Where Do Apples Go?
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Provided by: The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education|Published on: May 4, 2026
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
K12
Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will read a story to understand why we have to take care of human-made materials and dispose of them properly.
- Students will identify human-made and natural materials and design a product that uses a recycled human-made material.
Subjects: Science, English Language Arts
Authors: The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education, TerraCycle
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This builds the foundational knowledge students need for taking care of their environment.
Prerequisites
- The activity in this lesson requires examples of natural and human-made materials. Teachers can either print pictures or collect artifacts to use as examples.
- The link to the story does not work, but teachers can find it here.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can make connections to environmental topics by explaining how litter can impact the environment. This video uses plastic straws as an example of waste that harms the environment.
- Some students may need additional guidance for creating their reuse proposal. Teachers may benefit from showing students an example of something made from a recycled or upcycled material.
- Teachers can pair this lesson with an exploration of the life cycle of an apple and have students create a life cycle of their chosen material, ending with the product they designed.
In this lesson, students will learn about waste and how natural materials decompose differently from human-made materials over time. Students will read a story illustrating this, and then will brainstorm how to dispose of these items differently. This lesson is a good segue into additional environmental topics related to waste. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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