TRASH Clean up
GRADE LEVEL(S) K-5
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to:
· define and give examples of marine debris,
· categorize and sort objects according to similar and differing properties,
· quantify the amount of each type of trash collected,
· construct a visual representation, Investigation and Experimentation picture, graph, chart, etc., of the amount of each type of trash collected,
· discuss ways to reduce marine debris in the community.
EDUCATION STANDARD(S)
K - Physical Science 1.a; Investigation and Experimentation 4.a, 4.b, 4.d, 4.e; Numbering Sense:1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; Algebra:1.0, 1.1; Statistics:1.0, 1.1
Grade 1: Investigation and Experimentation 4.b, 4.c; Statistics 1.0, 1.1, 1.2
Grade 2: Investigation and Experimentation 4.a, 4.b, 4.c, 4.e, 4.g; Statistics:1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4
Grade 3: Life Science 3.c, 3.d; Investigation and Experimentation 5.b, 5.c, 5.d, 5.e
Grade 4: Investigation and Experimentation 6.a, 6.b; 6.d, 6.f; Statistics1.0, 1.1
MATERIALS NEEDED
Note cleanup supplies may be available for pick-up at Heal the Bay, 1444 9th Street, Santa Monica CA 90401.
· Rubber bands for entanglement demo
· Glove, one per student
· Trash bag, one per 3-5 students
· Heal the Bay Data Card, one per 3-5 students (optional)
· Clipboard, paper, and pencil
· Poster board and art materials for constructing graphs and drawings
· Pictures of animals tangled in trash
MOTIVATION
Review the storm drain system, especially the fact that everything dropped on the ground can get into the storm drain system and end up polluting the ocean. Ask students, “How do you think trash in the ocean might hurt ocean animals?”
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
1. Awaken enthusiasm for the cleanup by taking students outside and asking them to spot trash. Point and say, “Ah ha!! I see a… etc.” Do this in an “I Spy” fashion. Set the stage for students to be stealthy in their search.
2. Don’t pick up trash yet! Once you have established that there’s trash, ask how it looks. Does it look good? Ugly? What will happen with the trash? Might it hurt ocean animals?
3. Introduce the term “marine debris” – trash that gets into the ocean. Tell students that two big things can happen to ocean animals that encounter it: 1) they can get stuck in it, and 2) they can eat it by accident. Both of these things are bad for the animals.
4. Do a demonstration, where you place a rubber band around your thumb, over the back of your hand across your knuckles, and around your pinky finger, then try and get it off. Is it hard or easy to get it off? That mimics the experience of sea animals if they get stuck in trash. Introduce the word entanglement for upper grades.
5. Another bad thing that can happen to animals that encounter trash is that they can eat it by accident. If animals eat trash by accident, they can starve. Give examples, like a balloon which looks like a sea jelly in ocean. Introduce the term ingestion for upper grades.
6. Ask students, “What could we do to help the problem of trash in the ocean?” Decide that a cleanup would help out with the problem of marine debris!
GROUP/INDEPENDENT WORK
1) Introduce the cleanup project.
a) Go over safety rules:
i) Wear one glove at all times.
ii) Do not pick up sharp items, needles, or unfamiliar items (tell the teacher). The teacher should pick up these items carefully, only if he/she feels safe doing so.
iii) Do not pick up dead organisms (tell the teacher). The teacher should pick up these items carefully, only if he/she feels safe doing so.
2) Go over student jobs: trash bag keeper, data collector, lead trash grabber, trash grabbers, etc. Be sure to explain jobs fully, such as data collector, by telling students exactly what you want them to do and demonstrating how to fill out the Data Card.
3) Designate boundaries and time allotted.
4) Pass out cleanup materials. Each child gets only one glove (not two). This minimizes the waste we produce and still is safe. Each group gets a trash bag and data card.
5) Pick up trash. Tally the trash found on your Heal the Bay data card, as you collect it. Help students add up tallies on their data card for each kind of trash.
6) Go inside or to an area without wind. Categorize and sort objects according to similar characteristics, for instance, food wrappers, cigarette butts, paper products, etc., or things that an animal could get stuck in versus things that an animal might eat.
7) Put trash back in trash bags and dispose of it properly.
8) Create a grid, chart, graph, or other visual representation of your data.
9) Draw conclusions based on the data. Which kinds of trash did you find the most?
10) Offer solutions to the problem of excessive trash in the environment. Have students act out the solutions as you discuss them. Pretend to cut your six pack rings, for example.
11) Here are some other suggestions to tackle the problem of ocean pollution: make a class pledge to not litter, discuss ways to raise awareness about trash on school grounds, or decide to participate in a beach cleanup.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS
For lower grades: Use one data card for the entire class. Put all your trash in a pile and tabulate it as a class, after doing the cleanup. As you discuss ingestion, have students rub their tummies or pretend to get sick, and act out other elements of accidentally ingesting trash. Do theatrics for entanglement, as well.
For upper grades: Use the terms entanglement and ingestion, so that students are able to repeat back and describe what each of these two terms mean. Apply your math skills to the lesson. For example, if you’re doing fractions in class, do a fraction with the number of cigarette butts over the total number of trash items, etc.
The teacher can build background by showing the students pictures of animals impacted by trash (available on the internet).
Safety rules and student jobs should be thoroughly discussed and written down.
ASSESSMENT/WRAP UP
Students create a visual representation of data, interpret results, and draw conclusions by analyzing their picture, chart or graph. Students offer solutions to the problem of ocean pollution by verbally explaining them, writing them down, drawing a picture or acting out their solutions.