School Supplies
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Economics
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 →
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What it is
- This article gives advice for being more environmentally conscious when selecting school supplies.
- The article also provides a list of a few brands with innovative approaches to make their supplies better for the environment.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This article discusses a topic that is extremely relevant for students, which will get them thinking about making eco-friendly choices in their lives.
- The school supplies listed in the article may also spark curiosity as to what other ways common items can be engineered to be more eco-friendly.
Prerequisites
- Teachers may want to consider the socioeconomic background of their students before assigning this article. It is important to consider that some families cannot afford to invest in the eco-friendly brands listed here. Because of this, teachers may want to focus on just the first part of the article and skip to the Action link, which has a more generic list of sustainable swaps.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This article can be read at the end of the year, to get students thinking about how to store their supplies from this year so they can easily access them in the fall before buying anything new.
- Teachers may want to emphasize that the most sustainable thing to do is to use what you already have until a replacement is necessary.
- This article can spark a related discussion about caring for the supplies you own to avoid having to replace lost or broken items.
- After reading about the innovative ways some companies are making school supplies more sustainable, students can take part in a design challenge where they come up with an idea for a more sustainable design for something on their school supply list.
From the scientist review
This resource is a guide to selecting environmentally friendly school supplies. The guide is strongly grounded in sustainability science and the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle concept. Numerous external links are included in the text for additional learning, and some purchase options are also linked. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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