The Sad Playground
Once upon a (not-so-clean) time, there was a little playground at Happy Hill Primary. It had everything a
playground should have—swings that squeaked like old shoes, a slide so fast it felt like a rocket, and
monkey bars that even real monkeys would love.
But there was one BIG problem.
No one was cleaning up!
Every day, the playground got messier and messier. Empty juice boxes hid under the slide like ninja litter.
Crumpled papers flew around like butterflies. Plastic bottles were playing hide-and-seek in the bushes.
Even though there were bright recycling bins—one blue, one green, one yellow—nobody used them. They
just tossed their trash wherever they pleased!
One morning, the animals who lived nearby had had enough.
Fiona the Fox was trying to do her morning yoga but slipped on a sticky sweet wrapper. “Argh! My tail is
glued to the ground!”
Oliver the Owl, who was very wise, tried to give a speech about cleanliness, but a flying chip packet
landed on his head. “Who threw that?! I’m owl-fully upset!”
Sammy the Squirrel was building a nut castle, but plastic straws kept poking out of the sand. “This is NOT
a straw-some day!”
Even Barry the Beetle, the toughest bug in town, was mad. “I’m not strong enough to carry a soda can! I’m
only six legs tall!”
So, the animals called an emergency meeting under the jungle gym.
“This playground is sad!” said Oliver.
“It’s more than sad—it’s yuck-a-licious!” added Fiona.
“We need the children to help!” squeaked Sammy.
Just then, the bell rang, and the children came running out for break.
But wait… what’s this? They stopped. They looked around. They saw the mess.
And they saw the animals holding little signs that said:
• “Help Me, I’m Drowning in Juice Boxes!”
• “Trash Belongs in the Bin!”
• “I Can’t Build Castles With Cans!”
The children were shocked!
“Did we do this?”
“We didn’t mean to!”
“Let’s clean it up!”
So they all got to work—picking up, sorting into the right bins, and even reusing some of the litter to make
funny art and signs.
Fiona the Fox could yoga again.
Oliver the Owl gave his speech.
Sammy built the best nut castle ever.
And Barry the Beetle? He finally lifted a can (with a friend’s help).
From that day on, the playground was no longer sad. It was the Happiest, Cleanest, Most Animal-Friendly
Playground in town.
And every time a piece of litter showed up, someone would say,
“Don’t make the playground sad again!”
And everyone laughed—and recycled it!
Moral of the Story:
Even small things like putting your trash in the right bin can make a BIG difference—for your school, your
friends, and even for foxes doing yoga!
Assessment Rubric:
Learner Name: ____________________________ Date: __________________________
Needs Support
Criteria Excellent (4) Good (3) Developing (2)
(1)
Identified the problem
clearly
Worked well in a group
Followed the 5 design
steps
Product is useful/creative
