Recycling in Riverwood

A Self-Study of Continued Recycling

a WebQuest for Tenth-Eleventh Grade ChemCom

by Patricia Soghigian


 









 Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
 
 

Introduction

The Recent fish kill in the Snake River, and subsequent water ban and cancellation of the "Fall Fish-in" have forced the Riverwood Town Council to review the current town budget. The Council has come to the decision that is necessary to cut back the recycling program in an effort to offset the expenses incurred during the water ban. Currently six resources are recycled in Riverwood: paper, aluminum, glass, plastic, oil, and batteries. The Town will only be able to continue to recycle three of these resources.


 

The Task

The Mayor has requested that the Town Council prepare a Recycling Report, to determine which of the three resources the town will continue to recycle. In order to make an informed decision; the Mayor has asked the Town Council to take environmental and economical issues into account.

The Town Council has decided to break up into six subcommittees, each with the responsibilities for:

Each Committee will present their finding, using PowerPoint, to the Town Council during its next meeting. Following the presentations, there will be a discussion of each subcommittee's findings, and a final vote will be made to determine which resources the town will continue to recycle.


 

Resources
 
 

General

Plastics

Paper

Glass

Aluminum

Motor Oil

Batteries


 

The Process

In order to accomplish your task, each subcommittee must go through the following steps

  1. The Mayor will assign each student to a subcommittee to investigate a specific resource to be recycled.
  2. Each member of the subcommittee will assume one of the following roles:

Subcommittee Chair

Responsible for keeping the subcommittee on task and working efficiently. Responsible for a 5 paragraph summary of the committees findings.  Researches how the resource is recycled. Subcommittee Chair Questions.doc

Head Researcher

Responsible for documenting and verifying reliability of resources. Must keep materials in an organized fashion and summit a subcommittee portfolio containing all relevant materials.  Researches the environmental concerns. Head Researcher Questions.doc

Graphic Artist

Responsible for a brochure to be handed out to the members of the community.  Researches the uses of the recycled material. Graphic Artist Questions.doc

Media Consultant 

Responsible for the creative control of the PowerPoint presentation.  Researches legal ramifications. Media Consultant Questions.doc
  1. Each Subcommittee member should take part in researching the topic over the Internet. The head researcher should rate each source based on the sources ability in completing the task, and keep documentation from all sources in a chart.  Each rating must have a brief explanation for the reason of the rating.


 

 
 







Sample Chart


 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

URL

Date Visited

Topic of the site

rating 
(1 = poor) 
(5 = excellent)

reason for the ratings


 

  1. As the subcommittee finds research, the Head Researcher should organize the materials into a neat and coherent portfolio, which includes: copies of all relevant materials, any notes taken, charts, and any conclusions.
  2. When research is completed, all subcommittee members should brainstorm for materials that will be used during the presentation, which will aid in completing the task. The subcommittee should then create an outline of the presentation.
  3. Once the presentation has been outlined, the Leader should write a five-paragraph essay, which summarizes the presentation.  The subcommittee will then review the essay and make adjustments or approve the document.
  4. All subcommittee members will aid in the construction of the PowerPoint presentation; but the media consultant will be responsible for the final design of the PowerPoint presentation. The design MUST describe how the resource is recycled, environmental concerns, and legal ramifications and uses of the recycled material. The presentation should not just be paragraphs. The design of the presentation should also include some visual aids, such as summary tables, flow charts, concept maps, or diagrams.
  5. At the completion of the presentations, each member of the class will write a letter to the editor in the form of a 5-paragraph essay giving their indivdual opinion on which 2 materials should be recycled in Riverwood.

Evaluation


 

Conclusion

Once all of the subcommittees have presented their findings, the Riverwood Town Council will have a better understanding of the recycling process and all of the factors that will affect the decision of which resources to recycle.


 
 


Based on a template from The Webquest Page.