Most children know they should not pollute but have never considered why. One elementary school teacher creates a lesson for third- through fifth-grade students that makes the connection concrete. In the lesson, students consider the possible effects a trash item would have on an animal and its habitat, identifying ways in which the piece of trash could be helpful or harmful to the animal and its habitat and then communicating their ideas about how people can clean a polluted environment to make it safe for animals. Along the way, students use reading skills to gather information about the animal and its habitat, writing skills to record their ideas on paper, and speaking skills to share their ideas about their animal and piece of trash with the class. Technology can also be integrated if the teacher chooses to use websites for the reading portion of the activity.