April 2023

How Were These Toys Made?

Download this lesson

Academic Standards

Reading Objective:

Children will identify the steps required to turn plastic milk jugs into toys that are made in a factory

Next Generation Science Standards:

K-2-ETS1: Engineering Design

K-ESS3: Earth and Human Activity

Vocabulary:

plastic, recycling, mallet

Check comprehension and inspire discussion.

 

1. What does a company turn milk jugs into?
(toys)

2. What is the first step? (Hint: You can probably do this.)
(Put your empty plastic milk jugs into a recycling bin.)

3. How does the plastic change when it’s put in a hot machine?
(It melts and gets soft and runny.)

4. What kind of toy would you like to make from recycled milk jugs?
(Answers will vary)

Go online to print or project the Reading Checkpoint.

  • A mom helped start Green Toys. She could not find toys made from recycled plastic to buy for her kids.

 

  •  The toys come in boxes made of cardboard that can be recycled and made into new things.

 

  •  The company makes its toys in the U.S. They don’t have travel far and use a lot of fuel to reach kids

Materials: empty plastic bottles, balls to bowl with, masking tape, pencils, copies of the skill sheet (optional: water and food coloring or drops of paint to fill bottles, Sharpie to write the numbers 1-10 on the bottles)

Overview: Children “upcycle” used plastic bottles into a new toy: bowling pins!

Directions:

  1. A few days before the lesson, ask students to bring in empty plastic water bottles to “upcycle” into a new toy! Collect enough bottles for several small groups to have 10 pins each. You can fill bottles with water and color and number them, or leave as is.
  2. To start, tell kids their water bottles have become bowling pins! Divide them into groups. Give each child a skill sheet and give each group of kids 10 pins and a ball.
  3. How can kids set up their pins so they’re easiest to knock down? They can experiment with different configurations.
  4. Then let them see what works better—rolling the ball hard or softly. Record results on the skill sheets.