Cleanup Clues

In this lesson, students analyze the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup data to make inferences about which countries documented the most amount of marine debris and the types of debris found/collected. Students also answer prompts about why some states or countries had much higher amounts of marine debris reported than others. Middle school students can do this part as a guided activity and will focus on the domestic data. High school students can do it independently and focus on international data.

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.