From Old 2 New

Teaching Pre K-8, Mar 2004 by Engstrom, Daniel E, Boulton, Janice L, Wurzelbacher, Lisa

A wonderful integrated activity teaches students an important lesson in recycling and puts some old crayons to good use

Did you ever wonder what to do with all the small pieces of crayons that accumulate so quickly? They're too small to let young children use and many of us feel guilty just throwing them away. Worst of all is when students step on them and it makes a huge mess on the floor, especially if there is carpeting. This integrated, authentic activity is a great way to teach students about recycling, manufacturing, measurement, art and ecology while at the same time putting those old crayons to a great use.

Humble beginnings. As part of a lesson on ecology, we read I Heard the Willow Weep by Toni Albert (Trickle Creek Books, 2000) to fourth grade students. The class really liked the recycling ideas explored in her book, especially recycling something as insignificant as crayons. We brainstormed and decided to allow students to experience recycling through a manufacturing process while integrating other subject areas at the same time. Our idea was to organize the students into a manufacturing company. The company would melt crayons into molds to form a new product that students could then sell.

We began by collecting used crayons from other teachers. They were happy to dispose of them and we had some free materials to begin our project. Students became excited as a manufacturing area was created in the rear of the classroom. We placed two tables end to end to create the manufacturing space. Red tape on the floor indicated safety zones and quiet zone signs hanging from the ceiling designated our work area.

An assembly line design was established based on a flow chart developed by the students. A flow chart uses five symbols that are standard for industry in the United States. These symbols show step-by-step how a product is manufactured, inspected for quality and packaged for resale. These symbols can then be connected to show how the manufacturing operation will function.

Our assembly line. Students were organized into rotating work groups in an assembly line and the project began. First, one group peeled paper from the crayons, washed and dried them and then sorted them by color. A second group broke the crayons into smaller pieces, placed them in a six-ounce paper cup and weighed it. The crayons had to be weighed to ensure the proper amount of material would fill the mold without overflowing. When you are preparing this lesson for your own class, be sure to experiment to determine how much crayon weight to put in each mold. all students had an opportunity to experience all jobs in this material preparation phase of the assembly line.

Freshly-baked crayons. Once the crayons were prepared, the material refinement phase of the project began. We purchased 12 metal fish-shaped molds and obtained a toaster oven for the continuance of the project. We also quickly discovered that the molds must be made of metal and not plastic.

The third group prepared the molds by sprinkling baby powder in them to prevent sticking and filled the molds with different colored crayons. A fourth group of students helped with the melting process. The crayon molds were baked in a toaster oven for two minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The time and temperature may vary for different mold sizes and quantity of crayons. After the crayons were baked, they were removed from the molds and allowed to cool on the tables in our manufacturing area. Beautiful, colorful fish soon appeared.

Selling the product. Another part of our manufacturing process was for students to prepare packaging for our product. We integrated design and art by having students create a logo for the label. First students brainstormed by drawing thumbnail sketches of their ideas. Each student chose his or her best design and drew a larger colored picture of it. Everyone presented his or her picture and the class chose the winner by voting - Old 2 New was the winner. The design for the label was a series of green leopard paws with yellow text - our school mascot and school colors. As part of the assembly line, the fifth group used rubber stamps and printed the labels. Finally, three fish were packaged in a plastic sandwich bag and the labels were attached.

Before selling our fish, students needed to decide how the proceeds from the project would have an ecological benefit. Many ideas were considered and after some research and much discussion, the class decided to sponsor a snow leopard at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

And...sold! In December our school has Santa's Secret Shop where students may buy gifts for family and friends. Our Parent Teacher Organization sponsors this activity and let our class have a table to sell our crayons. Working in pairs, all students had a chance to experience selling the finished product. Each package was sold for $1.50 and the students sold them all in three days, earning a total of $160.00. Our Parent Teacher Organization donated an additional $40.00 for a grand total of the $200.00 needed for the zoo sponsorship.