Packaging Lesson #1: Essential Question: Packaging - what is it, where is it, and how is it used?

Introduction:

During this lesson students will take a closer look at packaging in their lives. Packaging is often overlooked, but it plays an important role in the transportation, sale, use, and enjoyment of a product. This lesson lists three possible ways to conduct the suggested packaging scavenger hunt.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will increase awareness of the purpose of packaging through group collaboration, product documentation, and reflection.

Classroom Time Required:

• 15 minutes of a class period to introduce the activity.
• 1 class period for activity itself: 60 minutes or 90 minutes if traveling to a store.

Materials Needed:

• Handout: (1) Packaging Scavenger Hunt
• Digital Cameras or Flip Cameras


Technology Required:

• Digital cameras or flip cameras (minimum of two)
• Optional: A computer with projector for sharing results

Pre-activities:

None

Lesson:

Option 1 - Conduct the Scavenger Hunt on Location 


1. There are many benefits to conducting the scavenger hunt on location:
   • It is fun and exciting.
   • It is active and fast paced.
   • Students get to see and touch packaging.
   • Provides leadership opportunities for students.
   • Parents get to be involved.

2. There are challenges to this approach as well:
   • It takes more time.
   • You need transportation.
   • It takes time to prepare: arranging volunteers and getting permission from the stores for visiting.
     This is one approach used for leading this lesson. Adapt as necessary to best suit your situation.

3. Contact stores. 


   • Contact a drug store and grocery store within walking distance to school. (Please note: to save time students used public transportation to travel to the farthest store.)
Students were also divided into two groups. One group went to the drug store with one teacher, while the other group went to the grocery store with the second teacher. 

4. Explain the activity to the managers and established a date and time that would least interfere with their business.
   

 If you go to two locations simultaneously, you will need to coordinate a time and date that works for both locations.
5. Recruit parent volunteers to help. 


   • Ideal ratio is one parent volunteer to every four or five students. 

6. Spend 15 minutes in one lesson prior to the scavenger hunt to introduce the scavenger hunt and ask students to bring digital cameras or flip cameras. Divide students into smaller mini-groups of four or five students per group. Give clear expectations of student behavior - no running, no harming packaging, put everything back exactly as you found it, stay next to your adult chaperone, stay with your group, etc. 


   • Have two school owned digital cameras or flip cameras that students can use during this activity. 

7. Travel to location. Again...give clear expectations of student behavior - no running, no harming packaging, put everything back exactly as you found it, stay next to your adult chaperone, stay with your group etc.
8. Upon arrival devise a plan. Designate one or two students to become the official record keeper(s) for the group. 


   • This is a timed activity, because time is limited according to the school schedule. Therefore, the best plan is to allow two student groups and their chaperones in the store at one time. Everyone else waits calmly outside the store. 


   • Before groups go in to the store they know two or three specific items from the scavenger hunt list that they are trying to find. Parents accompany students the entire time.


   • When students find their packaging examples they take a photo of it. 

Once students find the two or three examples of packaging OR once five minutes has passed, students come out of the store and report their results to the recorder.


   • While students are in the store the recorder(s) are getting the next two groups of students ready by choosing the two or three examples of packaging that they will look for. As soon as students came out of the store the next groups go in with their parent chaperones. 

9. When student groups come out of the store they show their photos to the student recorder. The packaging examples are then checked off the list... if the example are deemed appropriate by the other students and the teacher. To avoid confusion - when an item is being checked off, write down the product name in the box on the Packaging Scavenger Hunt sheet. 


   • My students were able to complete this portion of the activity within 30 minutes. 

10. Once students are done or when time is up, return to school. 

11. At school spend whatever time is left discussing the specific examples that students found and their reactions to their increased packaging awareness. 


    • Possible Discussion Questions to include:
      • Which item from the scavenger hunt was hardest to find? Easiest to find?
      • What is something that you have never noticed about packaging before?
      • Which example of packaging was most interesting to you?
    • Modification: Place a variety of abilities within one small group. Assign your strongest volunteers to your most potentially challenging groups. 


    • Provide hints during the scavenger hunt as needed.

Option 2 - Students Conduct the Scavenger Hunt Outside of School


1. For homework, ask students to document as many of the objects as they can on a shopping experience with their parents/guardians. Students should set a goal to fine 15 or more items on the list.

2. If possible, students should then e-mail pictures to the teacher prior to the lesson. Or, students can bring in actual packaging. 

3. If taking pictures and/or bringing in packaging is not possible, then students should write down the specific item(s) that they found on they Packaging Scavenger Hunt check-off sheet. Parents could sign the completed worksheet as proof of effort. 

4. Discuss student findings during the lesson. 

   • This option will allow students to discuss the wide variety of packaging that they found for each item on the scavenger hunt list. 

5. After the class conducts a discussion, students could work together to create a bulletin board of their images and examples of packaging.

   • Modification: Give students the challenge to find fewer items on the list.

Option 3 - Students Simply Brainstorm and Teacher Gathers All Materials

• Another option would be to have students brainstorm, draw, and/or describe packaging that meets the different criteria from the Packaging Scavenger Hunt. 

• Students could look up and print images of the packaging on the Internet.

• The teacher could also gather several examples of packaging that meet a variety of the criteria from the Packaging Scavenger Hunt.

• After the class conducts a discussion, students could work together to create a bulletin board of their images and examples of packaging.
  Modification: Be sure to provide concrete learners with physical examples of packaging.

Assessment:

As the scavenger hunt is completed, monitor student success.

Informal assessment of understanding through student responses during the discussion.

Select one of the discussion questions. At the end of class students should write their answer on an index card as their “ticket out the door”.