The happy chatter and clatter of students bounce off the lunchroom walls at a Northside Elementary School in Sandpoint, Idaho as children eagerly gobble their food and slurp their drinks. Boys and girls with crinkled brown bag lunches filled with disposable products sit next to students with trays heaped with hot lunch and all manner of synthetic packaging. As the recess bell clangs, the students dash to the garbage cans to toss their trash. One student bravely peeks over the rim in disgust at the slimy mess! The look on this child's face necessitated a change that could be accomplished by involving students in an environmental inquiry. However, the teachers did not have this type of science curriculum. To fill this deficit, a team of three teachers and the author developed a simple reproducible template that allows for the systematic incorporation of practices outlined by the "Next Generation Science Standards". This article describes the process of using the template and the results of using this template during an environmental investigation focusing on solid waste with the sixth-grade students.