A lesson plan for An Educator's Guide to Marine Debris

In this lesson, students make observations about what is in their classroom trash receptacle (or various trash items brought by instructor). Students then go outside to collect trash from the surrounding area and record what they find using the NAMEPA Trash Data form. The class then looks at the data they have collected and makes inferences about sources, origins, and most common types of marine debris.
An Educator's Guide to Marine Debris was designed as a stand-alone teaching tool or to supplement lessons for educators in both formal and informal settings. Appropriate for students grades K-12, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) objectives.