Session focus: Litter Dating
Inspired by World Cleanup Day and Jason Alexander
Big question
What can litter tell us about how it ended up there, and what could we do to stop it happening?
Aim
Help pupils look at litter differently, use observation and imagination to explore its possible story, investigate litter around their own school and choose one realistic action.
Before the session
Have these ready
- Amy's KAP Club Connection video
- Guess the Litter Age - KAP Activity PowerPoint
- Four areas or corners labelled A, B, C and D
- Gloves, litter pickers and a bag or container if collecting litter
- Paper or mini whiteboards if useful
Follow your school's usual safety procedures. Pupils should not touch sharp, hazardous, dirty or unknown items. Use litter pickers or gloves where appropriate.
Amy's Introduction to Litter Dating
Amy gives a short introduction to this week's theme - Litter Dating - inspired by World Clean Up Day and Jason Alexander from Rubbish Walks.
Run the session
KAP Club Connection
Start with the short video from Amy.
Amy introduces the idea that litter is a problem every day, not just on World Cleanup Day, and that looking closely at the litter around us can help us understand why it is there and what might need to change.
Then move straight into the Guess the Litter Age activity.
Guess the Litter Age: Run Around!
Open the Guess the Litter Age - KAP Activity PowerPoint. Each round shows a real piece of litter and four possible dates, labelled A, B, C and D.
Give pupils around 15 seconds to decide, then ask them to move to the matching corner. Give them ten seconds to change their mind before revealing the answer.
If running is not appropriate, pupils can point, hold up A/B/C/D cards or move to marked areas in another suitable way.
What's the litter's story?
Ask pupils to imagine how each piece of litter ended up where it was found. Who might have had it? Was it deliberately dropped? Could it have fallen from a pocket or travelled on the wind?
Make it creative with a different story challenge for each round. Introduce Jason's Vintage Litter Museum and finish with his litter dragon.
Take the Litter Dating Challenge into school
Go into an agreed area of the school grounds and look for a few interesting examples of litter. Back in the classroom, choose one or two pieces and run a mini Litter Dating Challenge.
Look for dates, fading, weathering, old branding, damage and where the item was found. Then invent its backstory.
Turn it into action
Ask: What is the litter we found telling us? What could we do to stop some of it ending up in our school grounds in the first place?
Encourage pupils to look for patterns, sources, problem locations and practical changes. Ask the group to choose one realistic next step. A good outcome is: We spotted something worth investigating and we know what we're going to do next.
Send something back to KAP
Use the teacher form below to tell KAP what the group discovered and the next step it chose. A photo can be included where the school has the appropriate permission.
Tell KAP what happened
Tell us about one interesting litter find, your best age guess, a favourite invented backstory, what your group noticed and the next step you decided to take.
Try a KAP game or quiz
These work in guest mode. Scores and progress are not saved.
KAP Man
Collect all the rubbish in the KAP bin while avoiding the nasties! The nasties can be put in the bin when they are flashing blue. Come into a non-flashing nasty and you will lose one of your 3 lives.
Soft Packaging Collection Schemes
Litter Dating
Inspired by World Cleanup Day and Jason Alexander
What can litter tell us about how it ended up there, and what could we do to stop it happening?
Aim
Help pupils look at litter differently, use observation and imagination to explore its possible story, investigate litter around their own school and choose one realistic action.
Before the session
Have these ready
- Amy's KAP Club Connection video
- Guess the Litter Age - KAP Activity PowerPoint
- Four areas or corners labelled A, B, C and D
- Gloves, litter pickers and a bag or container if collecting litter
- Paper or mini whiteboards if useful
Session resources
- Teacher Notes – World Clean Up Day – Litter Dating
- Guess the litter age – KAP Activity
- Open Rubbish Walks website
Safety and safeguarding
Follow your school's usual safety procedures. Pupils should not touch sharp, hazardous, dirty or unknown items. Use litter pickers or gloves where appropriate.
Video introduction
Amy's Introduction to Litter Dating
Amy gives a short introduction to this week's theme - Litter Dating - inspired by World Clean Up Day and Jason Alexander from Rubbish Walks.
Run the session
1. KAP Club Connection
Start with the short video from Amy.
Amy introduces the idea that litter is a problem every day, not just on World Cleanup Day, and that looking closely at the litter around us can help us understand why it is there and what might need to change.
Then move straight into the Guess the Litter Age activity.
2. Guess the Litter Age: Run Around!
Open the Guess the Litter Age - KAP Activity PowerPoint. Each round shows a real piece of litter and four possible dates, labelled A, B, C and D.
Give pupils around 15 seconds to decide, then ask them to move to the matching corner. Give them ten seconds to change their mind before revealing the answer.
If running is not appropriate, pupils can point, hold up A/B/C/D cards or move to marked areas in another suitable way.
3. What's the litter's story?
Ask pupils to imagine how each piece of litter ended up where it was found. Who might have had it? Was it deliberately dropped? Could it have fallen from a pocket or travelled on the wind?
Make it creative with a different story challenge for each round. Introduce Jason's Vintage Litter Museum and finish with his litter dragon.
4. Take the Litter Dating Challenge into school
Go into an agreed area of the school grounds and look for a few interesting examples of litter. Back in the classroom, choose one or two pieces and run a mini Litter Dating Challenge.
Look for dates, fading, weathering, old branding, damage and where the item was found. Then invent its backstory.
5. Turn it into action
Ask: What is the litter we found telling us? What could we do to stop some of it ending up in our school grounds in the first place?
Encourage pupils to look for patterns, sources, problem locations and practical changes. Ask the group to choose one realistic next step. A good outcome is: We spotted something worth investigating and we know what we're going to do next.
6. Send something back to KAP
Use the teacher form below to tell KAP what the group discovered and the next step it chose. A photo can be included where the school has the appropriate permission.
