Trees to Paper

• Get the students to research and draw a diagram about how trees are turned into paper, and how paper gets to stores across the world. This will demonstrate the devastating effects of deforestation and the amount of effort that goes into getting paper to market. See if students can work out how far the paper they use in class has traveled from the time it was a tree.
  
  

The Recycling Process

• As a counterpoint to step 1, also get the children to draw a diagram of how paper can be recycled and the processes involved in recycling. This will show the efficiency of the recycling process compared to the process of making virgin paper. Also have them work out the distance recycled paper travels to reach their classroom and compare their findings to the distance they calculated for virgin paper in step 1.
  
  

Recycled Paper Around You

• Encourage the kids to make a list of everything they encounter which contains recycled paper. This will give them a good understanding of how much of the paper people use in day-to-day life is now recycled. This can later be turned into a list of things which use recycled paper. Remember to get the children to make a note of how much recycled paper is included in each item and find out why the percentage of recycled content varies.
  
  

Comparison

• Do a comparative test between recycled and non-recycled paper products. A good way of doing this is with kitchen towels. Pour some water on a work surface and see which is best at absorbing the liquid. Alternatively, you could carry out a strength test on food packaging or a printer ink absorption test on plain writing paper.