Curriculum Guides
Engage the next generation to learn about the impact of their mobile phone. You can download the curriculum guide here, order it on through our form here, or continue on to see our specific lesson plans and other materials.
Our curriculum resources bring together immersive digital resources and curriculum linked lessons, to foster critical thinking and enable students to make decisions and take actions that contribute to creating a sustainable world.
We have developed curriculum guides and lessons that you can use in the classroom for early learning, primary and secondary. Our comprehensive Mobile Connections program provides also a unit of work for Geography students in secondary.
Early learning
Our guide for the early childhood setting will enable children to learn about recycling and sustainability through sensory and play-based learning. Participating in these activities will provide children with greater understanding of their relationship with the world and the impact of their actions on the environment.
This guide relates the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) learning outcome two Children are connected with and contribute to their world and specifically 2.4 Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment. Using this guide children will:
– use play to investigate, project and explore new ideas.
– participate with others to solve problems and contribute to group outcomes.
– demonstrate an increasing knowledge of and respect for natural and constructed environments.
Stimulus material
Start the unit of work with some picture books relating to the environment and recycling. Some popular titles include Michael Recycle (Ellie Bethel), Charlie and Lola We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers (Lauren Child) and Don’t Throw That Away! A Lift-the-Flap Book about Recycling and Reusing (Little Green Books).
Set up a recycling centre in the classroom using dramatic play to encourage students to learn about what can be recycled.
- Provide a large container of items for the children to sort. The majority should be able to be recycled and a few that cannot. You can make the activity a little more abstract by printing images of items to be sorted. Place them all in the container or basket for the children to sort.
- Provide recycling bins for various items i.e. paper, plastics, and electronic devices and a non recycling bin. Ensure that you attach a recycling symbol to the bins to reinforce the activity.
- To encourage dramatic play, set out some work gloves, construction hats and chairs to resemble a recycling truck so that the students can pretend to be recycling workers. Arrange pictures on the wall to help set the theme and to give the children ideas on what sorts of things they can do.
- When a group of children have gone through the container, point out the features that make each item recycle or non-recyclable.
- When finished put the items back into the original container for other children to have a turn.
This creative movement activity will allow students to use their listening skills and stimulate creative thinking. It will reinforce the message that you can recycle old mobiles and other items.
- Place a rug with a recycling sign in the middle of the dance area. Tell students that this is a pretend recycling box.
- Find Jack Johsons: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – 3R’s Song to play during the game.
- When the music plays the students dance around pretending to be mobile phones when it stops they need to sit down on the rug/recycling box.
- Once they have accomplished this, have them move and dance like other products that can be recycled for example cans, milk cartons, glass jars, paper.
Students can create their own toy mobile phones out of recycled materials. This activity shows how you can reuse materials and turn them into something new before it gets recycled.
- Collect a range of recycled materials to create a mobile phone. Small cardboard boxes can be used for a handset, small lids that can be used as buttons and paper that can be used for a screen.
- You will need sticky tape and glue to construct your mobile phones and materials to decorate them.
- The mobile phone art can be displayed around the classroom.
- At the end of the display period ask the students to dismantle their mobile phone so the materials can be sorted and recycled.
Extension activity
The colouring-in worksheet will develop fine motor and counting skills. The sheets will help students to identify places within their local community, i.e. shop, library and post box where they can drop off old mobile phones for recycling. The worksheet will also develop symbol and colour recognition as students need to locate and specifically colour in green the three symbols within the scene.
Would you like to run a muster at your centre?
It’s a great way to ensure that children are able to practice what they have learnt and change their behaviour in the long term.
Primary
Our primary school program will increase students’ understanding of sustainability and recycling through game based learning. Our primary school program has been developed in partnership with Cool Australia. The unit contains six lessons for Years 3-6 and uses game based learning to increase students’ understanding of sustainability and recycling. The lessons provide links to the Humanities and Social Sciences, Design and Technology and Science curriculum and contain teacher and student worksheets.
Secondary
Our secondary program, Mobile Connections, has been developed to address key inquiry questions in the Geography of Interconnections content area and covers personal connections, technology, trade, production and consumption all through the lens of a mobile phone. You can download the Mobile Connection Curriculum Guide (68 pages) or browse the lessons on our website.