Language Arts

Students will learn about what happens to floating marine debris (surface, near surface, and in the water column) that doesn’t get collected during beach cleanups. They will apply knowledge of oceanic water movement to understand why trash gets trapped in specific areas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Students will interpret maps published in news articles.

This concluding section of the Trash Shouldn't Splash Toolkit highlights the project team's lessons learned and tips for groups interested in organizing their own marine debris prevention group in their community.

These materials can support student groups who are interested in reaching out to their school communities, including organizing art contests and visiting peer classrooms with marine debris education presentations. 

These materials can support student groups doing informal outreach, including tabling events, as well as reaching out to local decision-makers on topics to prevent marine debris. 

These materials can support student groups in reaching out to restaurants to collaborate on efforts to prevent marine debris by reducing single-use plastics. Materials include a script for engaging with restaruant staff, tips on how to effectively recruit restaurant partners, and examples of products and outreach materials to share with restaurant partners.

The Communication Materials can support student groups in creating and designing a flexible outreach campaign for reducing single-use plastics in their community, including a logo, website, and social media materials. 

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  As a final activity, this lesson provides an opportunity for students to reflect on what they have learned through the curriculum, think critically about their role in the issue of plastic pollution, and plan strategically to take action.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--> In this activity, students will use persuasive communication methods to contact a local retailer to educate and encourage them to shift to more sustainable practices. Note: Environmental science and marine debris is an interdisciplinary field.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  In this activity, students will have the opportunity to research and present different perspectives from community members considering a policy on plastic bags.

Students will learn about public outreach campaigns and the communication tools that are used to educate and encourage the public to change their behavior. Students will then utilize their creative talents to explore and develop a component of an outreach campaign to educate consumers about New York State’s Bag Waste Reduction Law.

Communities across the world have implemented various policies to reduce the presence of plastic pollution. Policies that aim to change personal and business use of disposable plastic items, in the forms of bans or fees, have grown in number. In this activity, students will read about the current status of these policies in the United States and their local communities.

In this activity, students will learn more about the career of a research scientist who studies plastic pollution. Dr. Sherri “Sam” Mason is a leading researcher in the field of plastic pollution and has published numerous peer reviewed academic articles.

In this lesson, students will use the knowledge gained from the previous activities and/or independent research to develop a personal position on plastic pollution in their lives and communities. They will support this position with factual information from credible sources, write a concise position statement, and present it to their class.

By listening to and reflecting on a TEDTalk from author and political commentator Van Jones, students will explore how the life cycle of plastic has various ecological impacts and can have a disproportionate impact on different communities.

Motivate people in your community to help solve the marine debris issue by creating your own behavior change campaign. Students will be able to use behavioral insights and communication strategies to motivate people to help solve the marine debris issue in their community.