Marine Debris Education Materials

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There are several categories you can use to filter through the resources.
  • "Marine Debris Topics" filters help learners discover more about the different types of marine debris, where it comes from, and the ways it impacts wildlife, habitats, and people. Get answers about garbage patches, and learn how you can make a difference and help solve the marine debris problem, whether you live on the coast, or hundreds of miles away!
    • Types and Sources: Resources that incorporate what marine debris is and where it comes from.
    • Impacts: Resources that incorporate the many ways marine debris impacts communities - both wildlife and humans.
    • Garbage Patches: Resources that explore the science, sources, and solutions of garbage patches in the ocean.
    • Microplastics: Resources that dive into these small plastics and the big problems they can cause for our environment.
    • Solutions: Resources that incorporate the large-scale, systemic ways that we can address the issue of marine debris.
    • How to Help: Resources that incorporate individual, specific actions that students can take in their own lives and communities.
  • Audience” filters by grade level, including postsecondary education, and also has a filter option for informal environments and adult learners.
  • Subject” filters by the general subject area, such as Art, Earth science, Math, and more. Many marine debris lessons are interdisciplinary by design!
  • Special categories” offers additional filters for specific instructional strategies or learning environments.
    • Citizen Science: These materials provide students with an opportunity to collect data and contribute to community or participatory science efforts.
    • Working with Data: Students will collect, analyze, and/or utilize marine debris and other data as a part of lesson activities.
    • Cleanups & Waste Audits: These materials instruct students through two popular methods of reducing trash in the environment: Organizing and executing a cleanup or assessing the waste produced at home or in the community.
    • Student Advocacy: Students have the opportunity to develop and share their own opinions on marine debris topics, including raising their voices to the community and decision-makers.
    • Research: Students will independently investigate marine debris topics to ask and answer questions about phenomena.
    • Outdoor Activity: Lessons that incorporate some element of outdoor education - either a field trip to an outdoor space or using nearby spaces like school campuses or neighborhoods.
    • Crafts, Fun & Games: Resources that make marine debris a little more fun! These include upcycling crafts, classroom games, and more.
    • Class Discussion: These resources ask big questions and invite learners to discuss them as a large group.
    • Multimedia: Resources that incorporate videos, infographics, and other multimedia tools as critical lesson components.
    • Virtual Learning Ready: These activities can be easily self-directed, engaging learners outside of direct instruction.
    • Spanish: Resources that are available in Spanish.
    • Scientific Method: These activities are guided by the scientific method as a key learning component or lesson structure.
    • Action Project: Learners conclude these lessons or activities by implementing an action project to address the issue of marine debris in their communities.
    • Models: These resources use models or role-playing as methods of exploring the types, sources, impacts, and solutions of marine debris.
  • NGSS DCI” filters by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs). Not all resources have this alignment. 
229 results

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Created by the NOAA Marine Debris Program and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries , the Ocean Guardian Activity Book teaches students about the ocean, marine debris, and why it's important through word searches, games, and coloring pages. You can also …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 22 August, 2024

These colorful, engaging activity books were created by Prince George’s County , Maryland, with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program . Follow along as Spencer the Sprout learns about how litter becomes marine debris and ways to make a difference in …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Mid-Atlantic

Last updated 22 August, 2024

The Turtle Trash Collectors (2TC) program is a  University of North Carolina MarineQuest environmental education initiative  funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program . The primary goal of the program is to educate youth about the impacts of marine debris …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 29 August, 2024

Use these materials with the Turtle Trash Collectors interactive video . In this video, students can virtually participate in a simulated sea turtle necropsy, or animal dissection, learn how trash can get to the ocean and impact sea turtles, and learn how …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 22 August, 2024

This popular assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers and coloring activities helps children understand the problem of marine debris while having fun at the same time. Suitable for all ages. … 4311 … 2273 … Understanding Marine Debris: Games and Activities …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 22 August, 2024

This assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers, and coloring activities has been adapted for use in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It helps children understand the local problem of marine debris while having fun at the same time.  Suitable for all ages. … 179 … 5418 …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Caribbean

Last updated 22 August, 2024

The classroom activity package Winged Ambassadors – Ocean Literacy through the Eyes of Albatross is available free online courtesy of Oikonos, in partnership with NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 5 September, 2024

The classroom activity package Winged Ambassadors – Ocean Literacy through the Eyes of Albatross is available free online courtesy of Oikonos, in partnership with NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 22 March, 2024

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. … 2281 … 2641 … An …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 22 March, 2024

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 …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Gulf of America, Southeast

Last updated 26 February, 2025

The From Shore to State House curriculum was the product of a project with the University of Hartford to create an open source, replicable, college-level service learning course to improve knowledge, lead outreach, inform policy, and inspire change on the …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Northeast

Last updated 22 March, 2024

Marine debris is a pervasive, global problem and one that is felt locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Through a NOAA Marine Debris Program  prevention grant , the University of the Virgin Islands  adapted and revised marine debris lessons for USVI, …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Caribbean

Last updated 3 July, 2024

Have you ever found litter on the beach and wondered what it is and where it came from? In this project, organized by Oregon Sea Grant and supported through funding by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, students focus on one particular item of marine debris …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Pacific Northwest

Last updated 18 February, 2025

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 curriculum introduces ocean circulation, marine ecology, and human …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  
NOAA Regions: Pacific Islands

Last updated 22 March, 2024

MDMAP
Thank you for your interest in the Marine Debris Monitoring Toolkit for Educators! This resource was updated to align with the updated Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) protocols, and the new version is now available as the MDMAP …
Education Tags:
Marine Debris Topics:  
Impacts  
Solutions  
How to Help  
Audience:  
Grade 3-5  
Grade K-2  
Subject:  
Life Science  
Special Categories:  

Last updated 1 November, 2024