Note:
Not everyone sees direct mail as "junk mail." In fact, if people didn't
find useful things to buy in response to direct mail, obviously, the direct-mail
business wouldn't exist. For companies large and small, direct mail has
many advantages
over other kinds of advertising. In repsonse to environmental concerns,
national direct mail organizations offer tips
to help consumers participate in environmental protection.
Subjects
Arts & Humanities
Language Arts, Visual Arts
Mathematics
Arithmetic, Measurement, Statistics
Science
Physical Science, Environmental
Social Studies
Civics
Grades
3-5
6-8
9-12
Brief Description
Students track the amount of junk mail received at their homes in one
week and use the collected data to estimate how much junk mail would accumulate
in a year. Then they explore ways to solve the junk mail problem.
Objectives
Students will
enlist the help of their families to collect and track the amount of junk mail that arrives in the course of one week;
use the data collected to complete a chart that estimating the amount of junk mail the family will throw away in a month and a year;
use the class data set to figure the average amount of junk mail a family receives;
use that data to estimate how much junk mail the entire community throws away in a week, a month, and a year;
explore ways of cutting back on the amount of junk mail;
create brochures to share what they have learned about cutting back on junk mail;
do a follow-up activity in several months to see whether what they do to cut back on junk mail has had an impact in the community.
postage scale or another scale that weighs small units
Lesson Plan
Most junk mail goes from the mailbox to the trash can. Much of it is never even opened! Talk with students about the junk mail nuisance. Then ask, "Why do people call unsolicited mail 'junk' mail? Do you think junk mail is an environmental problem?"
Encourage students to involve their families in this activity by asking them to collect all the junk mail they receive in a week. At the end of the week, the students will bring in the bag of junk mail their families collected. Provide a simple chart on the board for students to copy; have them use the chart to figure out how much junk mail their families contribute to landfills each year.
FAMILY JUNK MAIL
Number of Pieces
Total Weight
One Week
One Month (4 weeks)*
One Year (52 weeks)*
*Estimated
When students have completed the first part of the chart (above), ask: How
might you use the information above to help you figure the average
amount of junk mail received by families in the class? How might you use
that information to figure the amount of junk mail tossed out by an entire
community in one week, one month, and one year?
One possible solution: After computing the average amount of trash
for a family (by adding all the junk mail figures and dividing by the
number of families), students might estimate the number of families in
the community by figuring the average family size among students in the
class and dividing the population of the community by that number. (The
number of families in the community figured in this way will be a low
estimate because many families in the community will be smaller than the
average family size in the class.) Then multiply the average family's
junk mail amount (quantity and weight) by the estimated number of families
to figure the total of junk mail for the community. Fill in the chart
below to reflect those numbers.
COMMUNITY JUNK MAIL
Number of Pieces
Total Weight
One Week
One Month (4 weeks)*
One Year (52 weeks)*
*Estimated
After completing the charts, discuss the following questions with students: How much trash does junk mail add to your town's landfill? (Or how much might junk mail add to the town's trash hauling fees?) What might be done to cut down the amount of junk mail thrown away by families in your area?
Students might create brochures to take home or pass out in the community
that provide the eye-opening data they collected/estimated as well as
some pointers for reducing the amount of trash generated by junk mail.
Students can write letters to companies that produce catalogs and
other junk mail their families don't use or want.
Assessment
Repeat the activity later in the school year to learn whether the junk mail reduction
tips have had any impact on the amount of junk mail families receive.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Visual Arts FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
GRADES K - 4 NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 5 - 8 NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 9 - 12 NA-VA.9-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.9-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 3 - 5 NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems NM-NUM.3-5.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another NM-NUM.3-5.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
GRADES 6 - 8 NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems NM-NUM.6-8.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another NM-NUM.6-8.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
GRADES 9 - 12 NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems NM-NUM.9-12.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another NM-NUM.9-12.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES 3 - 5 NM-MEA.3-5.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement NM-MEA.3-5.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 6 - 8 NM-MEA.6-8.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement NM-MEA.6-8.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 9 - 12 NM-MEA.9-12.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement NM-MEA.9-12.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability
GRADES 3 - 5 NM-DATA.3-5.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data NM-DATA.3-5.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 6 - 8 NM-DATA.6-8.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data NM-DATA.6-8.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 9 - 12 NM-DATA.9-12.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data NM-DATA.9-12.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
MATHEMATICS: Problem Solving
GRADES Pre-K - 12NM-PROB.PK-12.3 Apply and Adapt a Variety of Appropriate Strategies to Solve Problems
MATHEMATICS: Communications
GRADES Pre-K - 12NM-COMM.PK-12.2 Communicate Their Mathematical Thinking Coherently and Clearly to Peers, Teachers, and Others
MATHEMATICS: Connections
GRADES Pre-K - 12NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4 NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science NS.K-4.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 5 - 8 NS.5-8.1 Science as Inquiry NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science NS.5-8.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 9 - 12 NS.9-12.1 Science as Inquiry NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space Science NS.9-12.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
