Grade 6-8

This activity will serve as a catalyst for students to derive connections between their actions and the impact on the environment. Students will observe marine debris from around the world, collect their own trash data around school, and use technology to further research. Once the data can be compared, students will communicate their findings in a group setting.

In this lesson, students will collect debris on their school grounds,“x” number of miles from the ocean and compare the quantity of plastic in the sample with a similar sample at the mouth of the river, where it empties into the ocean.

Students perform an experiment to learn how different types of debris break down over time and how they are their degradation is affected by environmental conditions. This activity is available for Grades 6-8 and 9-12, within the "Composition and Abundance" unit. 

Students relate the location of plastics in the water column to the feeding behavior of various marine organisms. They discuss how marine debris can cause problems for different animals inhabiting a variety of ocean depths. This activity is available for Grades 4-5 within the "Impacts" unit, and for Grades 6-8 and 9-12 within the "Composition and Abundance" unit. 

There is a great deal of information and misinformation about how much marine debris exists in the open ocean and how it is distributed. We often hear that “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas”, but what exactly does that mean? Students will read and discuss the article “Pacific Ocean 'garbage patch' exaggerated, new analysis asserts”.

Students use a sampling protocol to collect, sort and quantify (by number or by weight) marine debris collected from a beach. The 5 Gyres lesson provides data cards for macro and micro marine debris. This activity is available for Grades 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12, within the "Composition and Abundance" unit. 

In this activity, students explore contents of ‘beach boxes’ in groups at tables, sorting contents into “marine debris”, “NOT marine debris” and “not sure”. This activity is available for Grades 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12, within the "Composition and Abundance" unit. 

After creating the masks, take the opportunity to spread the message by sharing what you’ve learned. Post the faces in the hall and write out messages, put them on the stage and share their messages with the school, or use them to present what was learned to the larger community at a local event!

This lesson will begin with an introduction to the mosaic technique and then students will create the background (skin) of the plastic and earth masks.

Students will explore the concept of packaging, both what it has been and what it is. Then they will consider how modern packaging is affecting the environment and what they can do about it.

Students will learn how to process materials to create intentional lines in order to make the hair for both masks.

Students will create a class definition for single use plastics. Next, students will create T-shirt bags as an alternative to plastic bags and explore the environmental cost of different types of bags.

Students split into teams on opposite sides of a visual barrier in the classroom. Debris will be spread over each team’s side of the barrier. Their goal will be to remove all the trash from their side, and they will win when there is no trash on the ground. Students will find that the only way that they can win is by taking care of their own trash rather than throwing it onto the other side.

Students will use a series of videos to explore modern landfills, recycling, and plastic in the environment.

Washed Ashore, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, developed an integrated arts marine debris curriculum to educate school students about marine debris.

Students will explore using texture as a means of communication and begin to work with the materials used in this curriculum.