r teams for inspiration.
Once teams have an idea of what to make, they have some latitude in how to proceed. They can work together to make the object functional and beautiful. If their design is straightforward, have students consider making a prototype as a team and then individually making different variations of the object.
Many students have used YouTube how-to videos for Minecraft or rubber band bracelets. Have students use Wixie to write and illustrate how-to instructions for their design to provide others with the information necessary to start upcycling on their own! You can share the URLs for their work, print QR codes to display near the products, or print the instructions for offline use.
Host a gallery walk as teams are finishing up their upcycled designs. As a class, discuss ways you might sort and group objects together for display. Consider how you will display objects so that people can see them. Determine how people will pay for items. For example, you can showcase items as if they were at a store or hold a silent auction.
Consider too how you will promote the upcycle fair and advertise the students’ products.
It’s better for the Earth if more people upcycle. How can you encourage more people to start upcycling?
Outline the tasks you have identified as essential for hosting your own product fair. Form new teams to tackle these tasks. This allows students to self-select tasks they are interested in. If you haven’t already, this is a great opportunity to get students’ families involved.
Tasks might include:
Moving beyond making for making’s sake can be an involved process. Consider having a team of students, either from your class or from a technology class, document the entire process using video or as a web site. This is a great authentic opportunity to begin blogging!
Host an upcycle fair to show off student work and raise funds for a community or conservation organization chosen by students. In addition to inviting parents, send invitations explaining when and where other students and community members can shop as well.
This connection to an audience beyond teachers and parents helps students see that their efforts are valuable (especially since they are making money) and will incentivize them to develop quality products.
You will want to advertise the upcycled products students have created. While you can display them around school and share photos with parents, this is also a great opportunity to have students develop ads to persuade others to buy their products. Students may choose to highlight how their products promote conservation, or they may prefer to persuade others to purchase the upcycled creations for their usefulness or beauty.
You might also consider donating student-created items to a local low-income preschool, senior home, or non-profit second-hand store.
Your first discussions about recycling and upcycling will help you gauge students’ understanding of the impact of waste on the environment.
Be sure to include creativity in your evaluation. Are students demonstrating habits of creativity, such as being inquisitive, persistent, imaginative, collaborative, and disciplined?
Do they take risks both creatively and with their team? Do they prefer to follow someone else’s directions? Did they impart their own influences on the items produced? How much effort and creativity did they contribute to create something new/beautiful/valuable?
You can use Wixie to include a reflective component in this process. Ask students to create a Wixie project that includes a definition of upcycling, describes how upcycling is beneficial, showcases their upcycled design and lists the materials that were salvaged, includes an advertisement for their product, and shares what they learned along the way.
Miranda Paul. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Woman of the Gambia ISBN: 1467716081
Pam Scheunemann. Trash to Treasure: A Kid’s Guide to Crafts ISBN: 193806318X
Garth Johnson. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew ISBN: 1592535402
Conceiving and developing new artistic ide