Scientific Method

While there are trash monitoring protocols for waterways and shorelines, less attention is paid to plans for addressing trash along urban streets. Marine debris education, activities and messaging are predominantly geared toward coastal areas, leaving out urban areas. 

“Plastic Pollution and You,” published by New York Sea Grant, is a 15-lesson curriculum focused on marine debris sources, impacts, and solutions. These hands-on lessons and activities help students learn the different types of plastics, their impact on marine and freshwater ecosystems, and about ways to address and prevent plastic pollution.

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.

Microplastics, or plastic particles smaller than 5mm, and the closely related microfibers might be small in size, but they have a huge impact on our environment.

Marine debris is a pervasive, global problem and one that is felt locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

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

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.

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.

Students perform an experiment to learn how different types of debris break down in the environment (degrade) and how weather and sunlight affect the rate of degradation.

Students perform experiments to examine whether or not trash can float, blow around, or wash away. The effects of these characteristics on marine debris in the environment are then discussed.

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

Experiment comparing the breaking points of several weights of fishing line.

A simple experiment demonstrating the bouyancy of several common types of debris and their potential behavior throughout the ocean's currents.

In this lesson, students assess where particles are suspended in the water column (using a premade plastic slurry). Next, the slurry is mixed into a tub of water that is designed to mimic seawater and students take samples to assess the amount, size, and type of the particulates. Students relate this activity to what they might actually find in the ocean.