Why Plastic?

Standard: H.4.3*: Show how science has contributed to meeting personal needs, including hygiene, nutrition, exercise, and health care.

Objective: Students will be able to state reasons for various uses of the ACC Safety Poster and to inquire about why the children are wearing plastic for safety devices.

Materials: American Chemistry Council Safety Poster

Activity: Launching Activity:

• Present Safety Poster to children.
• Ask students to identify all the plastic safety features on the poster.
• Brainstorm why plastic is used for safety equipment over other materials such as wood or aluminum.
• Record responses on large sheet of paper/overhead/board.

Cable Programming: ESPN, ESPN2, FOXSPORTS, SPIKE TV: Snippets from sports shows are an excellent compliment to the poster to introduce how wearing helmets help to keep us safe while participating in sporting activities.

Assessment: Ask students to record in student journals why they think plastic is the material most often used for safety equipment. Also have students state three “pros” for plastic use.

Resources: American Chemistry Council: www.americanchemistry.com/teachingplastics

*Wisconsin Model Academic Standards

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