YES Elementary

Engineering Trash Collectors

Kindergarten Earth and Human Activity In Classrooms

Students consider how materials behave in water and can be shaped as they engineer a collector to remove trash from a model pond.

unit Overview

Students use the Engineering Design Process to design a trash collector that can remove trash from a model pond. Students learn about the basic needs of living things, ecosystems, human impact on the environment, and recycling and environmental stewardship.

  • 8 lessons
  • 45 minutes per lesson
  • Student materials available in Spanish

Standards Alignment

YES units align with state and national science standards, integrating seamlessly with popular elementary science curricula.

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unit Resources

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Unit Map

Students read a story about two children who design trash collectors to clean a local pond. Students sequence the events of the story to learn about the Engineering Design Process.

Students add trash to a model pond to understand why it is a problem for the animals living there.

Students activate their prior knowledge of collectors and explore materials to consider how they might be used to make a trash collector.

Students explore how changing the shape of a trash collector affects its ability to pick things up.

Students test materials to determine which are good or poor choices for use in water.

Students use what they learned to imagine ideas for their trash collectors. They work in pairs to make a plan that meets the design criteria.

Students create and test their trash collectors. They use their test results to inform design improvements.

Students share their trash collector designs in a gallery walk. They reflect on their growth as engineers.

Teacher Preparation Videos

Play Video
Lesson 4 Preparation: Trash Collector Handle
Play Video
Lesson 4 Preparation: Shapes Work Station
Play Video
Lesson 5 Preparation: Water Work Station
Play Video
Lesson 7 Preparation: Trash Collector Work and Test Station

This unit is adapted from the previous EiE for Kindergarten version, Here’s the Scoop: Designing Trash Collectors. To access the resources for the previous version, click here.