Sharpen your (sustainably harvested wood) pencils: school is back in session!
If you think schools should be supplementing reading, writing and arithmetic lessons with some schooling on those other three r’s – reducing, reusing and recycling – the Story of Stuff Project has some great resources for you, your kids and their teachers.
For high school teachers and students we collaborated with Facing the Future to create Buy, Use, Toss: A Closer Look at the Things We Buy , a free two-week curriculum that includes ten, fully planned lessons aligned with national science and social studies standards.
You can download this incredible learning resource at Facing the Future’s website, where it’s already become a smash hit.
For the younger set, Annie Leonard worked with WGBH-Boston and PBS Kids to develop Loop Scoops, a series of fun 2-minute videos that help get kids thinking about the Stuff in their lives. Things like: What is this made of? Where did it come from? Who made it? And what happens when I throw it away?
Check out the videos, share them with your kids and pass them along to their teachers for use in the classroom.
For the life-long learners among us, we recently released a companion Reading Guide for The Story of Stuff book, which is now available in paperback in the U.S. and in more than 10 languages.
This free Guide includes discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Annie Leonard. Grab a copy of the book from your library – or buy one from a local bookseller – and then download the reading guide from our site.
And, of course, you can always view, download and share all of The Story of Stuff Project movies on our website, including the original Story of Stuff, which The New York Times called “a sleeper hit in classrooms across the nation.”
We hope you use, enjoy and share these resources widely. After all, rewriting the story of stuff is going to take many hands, including those just grasping a pencil for the first time!
Sincerely,
Annie, Michael, Allison, Christina & Renee
The Story of Stuff Project Team
P.S. For more information about how to green your school, check out our friends at the Green Schools Initiative, who have mobilized to improve the environmental health and ecological sustainability of American schools.
