LS4: Biological Evolution

Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) produced these resources as a part of “A Community Approach to Addressing and Preventing Derelict Recreational Fishing Gear,” a project supp

One Cool Earth, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program and Bay Watershed Education and Training program, created a series of standards-aligned lesson plans exploring issues related to marine debris and environmental stewardship.

Nature’s Academy created this Standards-Based Curriculum as part of their Science Literacy Project, part of an effort supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund created this Marine Debris Keiki (Children) Education & Outreach curriculum for grades K-5 as part of a project supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Developed as a means to educate the next generation about ocean trash and, most importantly, how we all can prevent it. Created through an educational partnership between Ocean Conservancy and the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Flexible curriculum, appropriate for all ages.

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.

This guide is designed for educators in both formal and informal education situations. It is a regional introduction to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear. Appropriate for grades 5-8.

Turning the Tide on Trash is a learning guide on marine debris. This set of lesson plans and background information introduces educators, students and researchers to the topic of marine debris. The interdisciplinary education guide is designed to provide maximum flexibility in the classroom: it can be used as a stand-alone teaching tool or to supplement work in other subject areas.

As a class, students organize and conduct a cleanup of a local beach, lake, or stream. Students keep track of the types and amounts of trash picked up and analyze this information in the classroom. As a class, students discuss the marine debris problem in their community and consider ways to prevent it.

In this unit, students will learn steps they can take to prevent marine debris, investigate what individuals and organizations are doing about the problem, and explore ways to educate others about possible solutions.

Reading and accompanying activity about the importance and challenges faced by diamondback terrapins.

In this lesson, students build a model showing how water flows through a system and evaluate different management practices to see how they might reduce the amount of marine debris that enters the marine environment. The models in this lesson could be used as a classroom demonstration or traditional lab investigation for students, depending on time efficiency of instructor and students.

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.

Students will begin to understand the impact marine debris has on their own comunities and lives. 

Students use scientific models as a tool to evaluate the many kinds of risk tsunami marine debris poses. They then explore the risk posed by live organisms that have colonized tsunami marine debris.