Provided by: LabXchange|Published on: May 22, 2026
Lesson Plans
567
Synopsis
This 2-hour lesson plan guides students through investigating food waste as an environmental issue,
Students will collect and analyze data on what is thrown away during snack or lunchtime, brainstorm solutions to reduce waste at home and school, and create models to represent these solutions.
Ensure students are familiar with greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect.
Consider introducing and defining compost at some point in the lesson.
Preparation:
Prepare separate bins or collection systems and gloves for the food waste data collection phase.
Gather recycled materials for students to build their kitchen models.
Differentiation:
Consider simplifying some of the language in the slides for younger learners.
Simplify the data collection activity by having students track and record their own food waste at lunch, rather than collecting wasted food at lunch time.
Challenge older students to calculate the projected annual waste volume from their lunchtime data.
Extensions:
Have students weigh the wasted food and commit to reducing this weight in a week or so. Repeat data collection and graph the reduction in waste.
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About the Partner Provider
LabXchange
Harvard University’s LabXchange is a free online platform for science education, created with support from the Amgen Foundation. It makes learning science online flexible and fun, with interactives, lab simulations, and more.
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