In Water Education For All lesson 2: Marine Debris, students come to understand the problems caused by plastic pollution, explore solutions and become engaged as stewards of our beaches, rivers, and other water bodies. Using data from San Diego Coastkeeper beach cleanups students will learn the most common item found on our beaches, why this is a problem for our ocean, wildlife and human health, and how to prevent marine debris pollution.
We included the “How Long Does It Take to Break Down?” Beach Cleanup Activity, a short hands-on lesson that can be taught during a beach cleanup or in the classroom. Students will learn how long our trash can last in the ocean and the effects on our marine life.
We also included a fable about a Garibaldi named Gerald. Gerald Discovers Debris will help your students to practice reading and writing while learning to care for the ocean and other living creatures (nice or naughty!).
Lesson Materials
- Marine Debris Lesson (English)
- Marine Debris Lesson (Spanish)
- Marine Debris Decomposition Lesson
- “How Long Does It Take To Break Down?” Beach Cleanup Activity (English)
- “How Long Does It Take To Break Down?” Beach Cleanup Activity (Spanish)
- Beach Cleanup Data Sheet (Spanish)
- Marine Debris PowerPoint
- Kids Story, “Gerald Discovers Debris”
- “Gerald Discovers Debris” Reading Comprehension Questions
- Marine Debris Activity Booklet
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