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Program
1. Build background.
Explain the following to students: Over a lifetime, each American throws away nearly 15 tons of packaging. Much of this ends up in the oceans, and much of it is plastic. As plastic ages it breaks into pieces called “nurdles” or “mermaid tears.” These pieces make their way into the food chain and can sicken or kill wildlife. Show students the map of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Explain to students that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an area that covers an estimated five million square miles of ocean waters—an area the size of the United States, Mexico, and Central America combined. The trash is carried and trapped by a system of surface currents called the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Almost 80% of the trash is plastic and carried from the shores of Asia and the Americas.
2. Introduce the week-long activity.
Tell students that they are going to collect their recyclable trash for a week. Students should bring in “clean” trash only. Bottles and cans should be rinsed and dried. All paper, plastic, and metals should be clean.
3. Set up an area of the classroom for collection.
Set aside an area of the classroom for students to put their trash over the course of the week.
4. Weigh and calculate trash.
After one week, have students measure and weigh the accumulated trash. Then ask students to calculate:
- how much trash they generated in one week
- how much trash they would generate in one year
- how much trash they would generate in ten years
5. Have students reflect on their experience.
Ask: Why is plastic harmful to the environment? What could people do to produce less trash? Ask students to share what they learned from the activity.
Informal Assessment
Rate students on a scale of one to five based on the following components:
- participated in a classroom discussion about plastic trash
- contributed clean, recyclable trash to the class collection
- participated in the “weigh-in” of collected trash
- extrapolated one week’s worth of recyclable trash to a year and ten years
- made a connection about personal consumption and how the waste each of us generates can have a negative impact on the environment
Extending the Learning
Go to the National Geographic Society website to find out where you can get the Human Footprint DVD.
Subjects & Disciplines
- Geography
- Mathematics
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- describe the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and how it was created
- collect their recyclable trash for one week
- measure and weigh their accumulated trash
- calculate how much trash they generate over time
Teaching Approach
- Learning-for-use
Teaching Methods
- Discussions
- Hands-on learning
Skills Summary
This activity targets the following skills:
-
Critical Thinking Skills
- Analyzing
- Applying
- Understanding
Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practices
NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
- Number & Operations (6-8) Standard 1: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems
- Number & Operations (9-12) Standard 1: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems
National Geography Standards
- Standard 14: How human actions modify the physical environment
What You’ll Need
Materials You Provide
- Labels
- Large container for collecting trash
- Scale
Physical Space
- Classroom
Grouping
- Large-group instruction
Other Notes
Ideally, students will collect their recyclable trash over one week.
Background Information
The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a collection of trash covering an estimated five million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. The trash is carried and trapped by a system of surface currents called the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Prior Knowledge
- None
Recommended Prior Activities
- None
Vocabulary
group of organisms linked in order of the food they eat, from producers to consumers, and from prey, predators, scavengers, and decomposers.
area of the North Pacific Ocean where currents have trapped huge amounts of debris, mostly plastics.
Websites
Partner
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Human Impacts on the Environment
Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water. Help your students understand the impact humans have on the physical environment with these classroom resources.
-
Plastic Pollution
Plastic is ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Some plastics we can reuse or recycle—and many play important roles in areas like medicine and public safety—but other items, such as straws, are designed for only one use. In fact, more than 40 percent of plastic is used only once before it is thrown away, where it lingers in the environment for a long, long time. It often breaks down into smaller and smaller particles, called microplastics, which can be ingested by both animals and people. Fortunately, there are things we can do to help—like stop using plastic bags, straws, and bottles, recycling when we can, and disposing of waste properly. Use these classroom resources to teach about ocean plastics and check back for more coming later this year!
-
The World's Plastic Pollution Crisis Explained
Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?
-
A Whopping 91 Percent of Plastic Isn’t Recycled
Billions of tons of plastic have been made of the past decades, and much of it is becoming trash and litter, finds the first analysist of the issue.
-
Ocean Trash: 5.25 Trillion Pieces and Counting, but Big Questions Remain
Big questions remain. The numbers add up to trouble for the oceans, wildlife, and us, but scientists are struggling to understand how. The numbers are staggering: There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea.
-
Human Impacts on the Environment
Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water. Help your students understand the impact humans have on the physical environment with these classroom resources.
-
Plastic Pollution
Plastic is ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Some plastics we can reuse or recycle—and many play important roles in areas like medicine and public safety—but other items, such as straws, are designed for only one use. In fact, more than 40 percent of plastic is used only once before it is thrown away, where it lingers in the environment for a long, long time. It often breaks down into smaller and smaller particles, called microplastics, which can be ingested by both animals and people. Fortunately, there are things we can do to help—like stop using plastic bags, straws, and bottles, recycling when we can, and disposing of waste properly. Use these classroom resources to teach about ocean plastics and check back for more coming later this year!
-
The World's Plastic Pollution Crisis Explained
Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?
-
A Whopping 91 Percent of Plastic Isn’t Recycled
Billions of tons of plastic have been made of the past decades, and much of it is becoming trash and litter, finds the first analysist of the issue.
-
Ocean Trash: 5.25 Trillion Pieces and Counting, but Big Questions Remain
Big questions remain. The numbers add up to trouble for the oceans, wildlife, and us, but scientists are struggling to understand how. The numbers are staggering: There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea.