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Sandy's Incredible Shrinking Footprint

Elementary

Description

Sandy is enjoying a day at the beach with her grandfather when much to her chagrin she discovers a pile of garbage.  As she cleans up the mess she is suddenly joined by the very peculiar "Garbage Lady".  The "Garbage Lady" turns out to be a friend who teaches Sandy all about her ecological footprint.  Determined to help the Earth, Sandy challenges her family to rethink, reuse, reduce and recycle.  As Sandy's footprint shrinks, the book encourages the reader to think about their own ecological footprint with twelve tips for taking action.

General Assessment

Recommendation of how and where to use it

This book challenges students to think about their relationship with the environment and examine their own impact on the natural world.  Thus, this story would make a great introduction to a unit on the 4 R's.  Students could measure and quantify their footprint with activities such as timing their showers, counting the number of plastic bottles they use, or measuring the amount of paper used in the classroom.  A class could also organize events that demonstrate the 4 R's in action such as a school book swap, a toy/clothing drive for an organization such as the Salvation Army, or the promotion of litter-less lunches.

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

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  • Alberta
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      • Social Studies
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        • Citizenship: Understanding local, national, and global issues empowers individual and collective action toward an inclusive society
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        • Citizenship: Understanding local, national, and global issues empowers individual and collective action toward an inclusive society.
        • Systems: Evaluating processes and structures of organizations builds understanding of decision making in the world.
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        • Citizenship: Understanding local, national, and global issues empowers individual and collective action toward an inclusive society.
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        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Local Communities: Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals and care for the local environmen
        • Local Communities: Our rights, roles, and responsibilities are important for building strong communities.
        • Local Communities:: We shape the local environment, and the local environment shapes who we are and how we live.
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      • Social Studies
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        • Regional and Global Communities: Individuals have rights and responsibilities as global citizens
        • Regional and Global Communities: Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.
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        • My Environment
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        • Communities of the World: Connecting with Canadians
  • New Brunswick
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        • Explore Your World: Diversity and Social Responsibility
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        • My Province, Exploration, History of the Atlantic Region: Civics
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        • Connecting and Belonging: My Environment
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        • Communities of the World:Connecting with Canadians
  • Nova Scotia
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        • Social Studies 1: Age Appropriate Action
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        • Social Studies 3: Citizenship
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        • Connecting and Belonging: Citizenship
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      • Social Studies
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        • Connecting With the World: Citizenship
  • Ontario
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        • People and Environments: The Local Community
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        • People and Environments: Global Communities
  • Prince Edward Island
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        • Interactions: Environments
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        • Provincial Identity: Citizenship
  • Yukon Territory
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 1
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Local Communities: Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals and care for the local environmen
        • Local Communities: Our rights, roles, and responsibilities are important for building strong communities.
        • Local Communities:: We shape the local environment, and the local environment shapes who we are and how we live.
    • Grade 2
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Regional and Global Communities: Individuals have rights and responsibilities as global citizens
        • Regional and Global Communities: Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.

Themes Addressed

Citizenship (2)

  • Ecological Footprint
  • General Guide to Taking Action

Waste Management (1)

  • Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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