Product Life Cycles
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Provided by: World Wide Climate and Justice Education|Published on: January 27, 2026
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
2-12
Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson from the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation, two activities guide students in exploring the life cycles of various products and consider how products use resources and affect the environment throughout these life cycles.
- The first activity is for students in grades 2–12 and has students studying and discussing the product life cycle of a slice of pumpkin pie. The second activity for grades 6–12 invites students to research the life cycle of a specific product, noting all that happens from creation to disposal.
Subjects: Science, Economics
Authors: Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This lesson is adaptable to fit a variety of needs, with many adaptations suggested within the resource.
- Students will enjoy studying products that are familiar to them and understanding their life cycle.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to print and cut the pumpkin life cycle cards ahead of time.
- Teachers may need to define the terms linear system and growth cycle for students before beginning the first activity.
- Students may need background information on a plant’s life cycle, including decomposition.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can make connections to climate change by discussing things like food waste and its contribution to emissions.
- Teachers can use this lesson to build a foundation towards lessons about a circular economy. Teachers of older students can transition into this module after students have a good understanding of product life cycles.
- For younger students, teachers can use the pumpkin life cycle cards as a center activity, where students put the cards in order and have the key available to them to self-check.
- Students studying the UN Sustainable Development Goals can use this lesson to make connections to SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.
In this lesson, students learn about life cycles and how everything we use has one. Depending on the students' backgrounds, they may need additional information or guidance on vocabulary and the stages of a life cycle. The materials do provide a few extra resources with further information. The lesson prepares students to think about sustainability, waste reduction, and energy conservation. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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