About this resource
This lesson addresses the problems of plastic pollution and its detrimental impact on all parts of our environment, particularly ocean life. Students will have the opportunity to consider and develop strategies for decreasing plastic waste on the school campus.
Curriculum & Standards
Related General Curriculum / Common Core Area
Science, Language Arts
Related Curriculum / Common Core Standard
Literacy/Writing Standard 6: Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
What students will do
Articulate what is known about a topic, problem or question. Identify and use appropriate sources to acquire background information. Select information to answer questions or solve a problem. Work in teams to produce original work or solve a problem.
Students will identify a problem, recognize the requirements of creating a solution and have a plan to advocate for the consideration of their proposal.
Resources Needed
One large movable dry erase board, student devices such as laptops or iPads, dry erase markers, art supplies, computer, and projector
Ted Ed Talk Video (4min): https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-really-happens-to-the-plastic-you-throw-away-emma-bryce
Photographs of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch found on the National Geographic website: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
Lesson sequence & procedures
Hook: (25 minutes) Students will note what they know and what they want to know about this topic: "What really happens to plastic that is thrown away?" by taking turns responding to this question on a KWL chart posted on a white board. The initial questions for response before the video will be What I Know and What I want to Know.
View and discuss the Ted Ed Talk video. Respond to the guided questions that correspond to the video. Then, students will complete the "What I Learned" content area on the KWL chart.
Direct Instruction and Guided Practice:
Follow up the video by looking at photographs of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch found on the National Geographic website. Ask the students to consider how our actions in our school community contribute to the harmful effects of plastic on the environment. Students will identify problems on our campus that augment wide ranging problems with plastic. Answers could include: Bringing plastic bottles of water or other drinks to school and not recycling them, using straws, and using plastic forks and other cutlery. After sharing some of the issues at school, we will note that while these may seem like minor instances of plastic waste, dealing with them is the first step in tackling the larger problem at hand.
Remind the students that the National Geographic website is a trustworthy source because it meets the five criteria for Resource Evaluation that we have used in prior research projects: Kathy Shrock's Five W's for Website Evaluation.
http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/5w_example.pdf
Look at the Plastic Coalition website and assess its validity using Kathy Schrock's checklist.
Guided Practice: (35 minutes): Break up students into groups of four. The students will collaborate in their groups to solve or initiate steps to solving a plastic problem in their school community. Possible issues to work with include: overuse of straws and their availability in the school Commons, excessive plastic waste at lunch and school parties, and a general unawareness or complacency regarding the impact of our plastic footprint as a community.
To guide the groups as they collaborate, check in with the students encouraging them to focus on how they can solve this problem or create a campus wide awareness of the problem. Remind students to critically evaluate the information they find online, using only reliable sites, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency for research.
Students will address the following in their proposal:
- What plastic problem will your group attempt to mitigate?
- How will your group draw attention to the situation or make an improvement? Examples include writing a proposal to ban straw use in the school commons, with a plan to turn the proposal into a science teacher, school administrator or school board member.
Or, students can become stewards of the environment by presenting the school community with facts and research outlining the dangers of plastic pollution to our environment. This information could be shared by creating posters, a TED talk, slide show or interactive display that examines one plastic item that is commonly used and its specific effect on the environment. Additionally, the students could work with the school art teacher to design a sculpture of a given plastic item and how much of it is used and then thrown away at our school in one week. Finally, the groups of sixth graders could outline tips for reducing plastic use by creating a bulletin board or display in the school commons that highlights tips for reducing plastic use when we eat. These ideas could include packing a waste free lunch, giving up chewing gum which is mostly plastic, shopping at a local farmers market rather than at a chain grocery store, creating your own cleaning products at home with your family, refusing to use plastic cutlery, supporting plastic free eateries, promoting a contest for the design of reusable lunch bags with the school's logo, or have a "bring your own" classroom party where students bring their own dishes and cutlery but food is provided. Students will consider what their group hopes to accomplish by taking these steps and how it will affect students and the campus as a whole.
Closing Reflection: Students will share an outline of their project with their classmates and have a brief question and answer session.
How learning is assessed
Students will be observed and assessed based on the level of their engagement in discussions. They will also be assessed on whether or not they selected a plastic problem, researched methods for creating a solution or generating awareness of the problem, and whether they have a plan to advocate for the consideration of their proposal.