Plastic Free July, Zero Waste, and Teaching Climate Change Essentials

To raise awareness and mitigate the environmental impact of plastic pollution, we invite you to take the Plastic Free July challenge and say no to single-use plastics.

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Bananas About Bananas

Through readings, activities and discussions, students trace the journey of bananas from farm to home and beyond, consider its environmental impact, and envision a greener journey.

Lesson Series Summary

Unit Overview

Through readings, activities and discussions, students trace the journey of bananas from farm to home and beyond, consider its environmental impact, and envision a greener journey.

Grades

  • Kindergarten
  • Grade 1
  • Grade 2

Lesson Type

In-class or online lesson

Environmental Topics

Pollution, Resource Conservation, Sustainable Human Development, Waste Management

Environmental Literacy Core Principles

For a summary of the environmental literacy principles and concepts embedded in this lesson series, please visit Green Guardians Environmental Literacy Core Principles.

Standards

ELA: RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.3, RI.K.4, RI.K.6, RI.K.10, RI.1.1, RI.1.2, RI.1.3, RI.1.4, RI.1.6, RI.1.10, RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.3, RI.2.4, RI.2.7, SL.K.1, SL.K.2, SL.K.3, SL.K.5, SL.K.6, SL.1.1, SL.1.2, SL.1.3, SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.3
Science: K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, K-2-ETS1-1

Guides

Teacher Guide

This project may easily be extended into optional family discussions and activities around environmental literacy. To facilitate this engagement, a family guide (in English and Spanish) has been created. We encourage teachers to send the family guide to parents and guardians together with the storybooks and activities.

Family Guide (English)

Family Guide (Spanish)

Lessons

Three lessons of 30-40 minutes each.

Lesson 1: The Banana’s Journey

Through a story and related activities, students explore the journey of bananas from farm to home and to the garbage dump and discuss how they get from point to point.

Lesson 2: The Pollution Problem

Through a story and related activities, students learn about the environmental impacts of the journey of bananas. These include the vehicles that transport them, the places they visit, the packages in which they are contained, and how the resulting waste is disposed of. 

Lesson Materials

Lesson 3: Bananas and My Blue and Green Earth

Through a story and related activities, students discuss ways to make the bananas’ journey cleaner and greener. Concepts like clean energy, composting, and “shop local” are introduced.

Lesson Materials