IT ALL ADDS UP:
Using Statistics to Persuade People to Recycle

Grades:  6-8, 9-12

Subjects:  Geography, Mathematics, Media Studies

Related New York Times Article
"City to Resume Recycling of Plastics, By MICHAEL COOPER,", January 15, 2003

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students will find statistics about how recycling programs help conserve the natural environment and the amount of waste that would be deposited into landfills without these programs. Then students will design posters, displaying a compelling statistic about recycling, to convince students at their school to recycle.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:   1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

1. Brainstorm ways to convince the President of the United States to allocate additional money to recycling programs.
2. Learn about New York City’s decision to resume its recycling program by reading and discussing "City to Resume Recycling of Plastics."
3. Develop a statistics-based print advertising campaign to encourage students to recycling.
4. Design posters to be displayed in their school.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

• student journals
• pens/pencils
• paper
• classroom board
• copies of the article "City to Resume Recycling of Plastics" (one per student)
• resources about recycling and the environment (global history textbooks, library references, computers with Internet access)

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Students respond to the following prompt in their journals (written on the board prior to class): "You are a lobbyist for a large environmental group. You have secured a short meeting with the President of the United States, and you will have only one minute to convince him to allocate additional money to recycling programs. What three reasons will you give him to convince him to emphasize recycling programs in his budget?"
   List the reasons students come up with on the chalkboard. As a class, discuss which reasons are the most convincing and why. Distinguish between reasons based in fact and reasons that are only personal opinions.
2. As a class, read and discuss the article “City to Resume Recycling of Plastics,” focusing on the following questions:
   1. When does New York City plan to resume its recycling program?
   2. Why was the New York City recycling program suspended in the summer of 2002?
   3. When will the city resume its recycling program?
   4. What company will be handling the city’s recycling program?
   5. Why will the program still cost the city money?
   6. What are the expected advantages of the new recycling program?
3. Ask students to reread the article, underlining or circling all the statistics they read. Explain to students that people often use statistics to support their argument. Since they are fact-based, rather than personal opinions, statistics can be more effective than rhetoric in persuasion.
   Allow students to discuss briefly how the city officials use statistics to support the argument that the new recycling program will be more cost-effective.
   Tell students that they will be developing a print advertising campaign at their school to encourage students to recycle glass, plastics, paper, and/or metal, depending on the recycling programs available locally. They will use statistics to convince their peers that recycling is important.
   Provide time in class for students to find statistics about how recycling programs help conserve the natural environment and the amount of waste that would be deposited into landfills without these programs. Many sites are available on the World Wide Web; find them by entering "recycling statistics" into a search engine. For local statistics, narrow the search by including the name of the country, state, or tow in which your students are interested. Each student pair or group should find 10-15 statistics to report back to the class.
   Allow each student pair or group to present their five most compelling statistics. Discuss what makes statistics impressive to readers. For example:
   Which is a more compelling statistic?
   • "The average American produces about four and a half pounds of residential garbage every day."
   • "The United States produces about a hundred million pounds of residential garbage every day."
   
   Explain to students that advertisers often manipulate statistics to present them in the most convincing way. Students should feel free to do this as well, although they should not include any inaccurate statistics. Be sure that students understand the difference between presenting statistics more convincingly and falsifying statistics.
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK:
   Students should complete their research, if necessary. Then each student should design a poster displaying a compelling statistic about recycling, to convince students at their school to recycle. The poster should also include a graphic and slogan that work with the statistic to promote recycling.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What does Councilman Michael E. McMahon mean when he described the recycling program as a “win-win situation?”
• When faced with difficult budget cuts, what should the mayor cut from the city budget?

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal entries, participation in class and group discussions, thoughtful participation in group research, and individual posters.

VOCABULARY:
poised, resume, suspended, fiscal, confronting, refuse, exporting, budgetary, astronomical

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. Create a Public Service Announcement (PSA), to be aired on television, which would encourage Americans to recycle. To run in a standard commercial spot, the video must be exactly 30 seconds long.
2. Visit a recycling or sanitation plant. Describe the plant: sights, smells, sounds, etc. Interview a worker, if possible.
3. Create and exchange word problems with your classmates, using the statistics you have found about recycling.
4. Evaluate your school’s recycling program and the recycling habits of the people within your school. Write an article for the school paper about how committed the people in your school are to recycling.
5. Compare the recycling programs in your own country to other countries around the world. Create a map of the world that is coded to show recycling.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Economics – Investigate the costs of your own town or city’s local recycling program. Write a letter to your town newspaper, expressing your opinion on whether the program is cost-effective. Provide statistics to support your opinion.

Language Arts – Write a creative piece from the point of view of an item or product made from recyclable material. Tell the story of the many things into which you have been recycled.

Science — Another way to reduce the waste deposited into landfills is by composting. Start a composting project at your school.

Copyright 2003
The New York Times Company